the sci guy 

She is having a heck of a time finding good riding pants/shorts. There's no shortage of choices for men, but for women it seems much harder to find good cycling clothes (that she also likes).

So, ladies, what do you wear to cycle in? She commutes to school often, but we also go on recreational rides on the weekends.
I can tell you right now, she does not want spandex. Hates how it feels and looks.
She's short, about 5'3", and has muscular legs (yoga, runner).
It seems everything we find are made for women who are models. You know, 5'9"-6'5", slender, zero body fat. Because that makes sense.

She'd greatly appreciate any suggestions!
Thanks.

Machka 

I've never worn spandex cycling shorts ... I'm not sure if they even make spandex cycling shorts.


However, I wear these and have done for about a decade (not the same shorts, obviously, they wear out after 2 or 3 years and I have to buy more)
https://www.mec.ca/product/5017-597/m...10+50002+50095

They are "Made of a circular knit nylon blend; 59% nylon, 22% polyester and 19% LYCRAŽ." ... a good blend. I'm allergic to 100% lycra.


Does she want padded shorts?
Does she want capris style pants?

Retro Grouch 

Try Georgena Terry Cycling. They've carved out a market nitch for short women.

the sci guy 

no and no

the sci guy 

LoL ok when I said she didn't want spandex, I meant she doesn't want shorts the way spandex looks. Nothing skin tight. She wants something like a more normal short or pant, where she can get off her bike at a grocery store or at school and walk around not looking like she just got home from a bike race.

Machka 

Pretty much any shorts should work ... she'll probably want them long-ish, like down to the knee so that they don't ride up and bunch, and she'll probably want them with a bit of stretch to them.

I cycletour, and for my husband and my recent tour, I took cycling shorts, but I also took stretchy capris pants which I often wore over the shorts, or just with underwear, depending on the amount of cycling we were doing that day.

I found the capris to be a nice length because they didn't bind over the knees and give me knee problems like long pants do, they don't need to be tucked into my socks like long pants do, and they look like normal clothing when off the bicycle.

I picked up one pair of those stretchy capris here in Australia before we left on the tour at Target or K-mart or Big-W ... one of the department stores. I liked them so much that I decided to pick up a second pair when I came across some at a discount place in Germany about 2 months later.

goldfinch

I buy a lot from Team Estrogen online. You can call them and they will make suggestions on shorts that will work. Their return policy is excellent. https://www.teamestrogen.com/?utm_sou...&utm_term=logo

I am shorter than your wife and had no problem finding shorts. I have both the skin tight kind and regular shorts with liners. The Shebeest board shorts are nice for loose fit shorts. I have a number of pairs of Zoic shorts as well.

the sci guy 

I will check that site out.
I should clarify she doesn't want loose baggy shorts either. She wants something in between spandex tight, and MC Hammer pant loose.

She's basically as picky as I am. Must be how we ended up married.

fietsbob

Maybe the pants from the horse riding set will work,
Ive had at least 1 customer who found them a better deal than bike riding gear.


its for sitting on a saddle too..

Looigi

Never wore Lycra shorts? It's a brand name of spandex, aka elastane, which is a polyurethane elastic thread.

.Cricket

I'm not sure what you are saying she wants. If she wants regular clothes, then why doesn't she just wear regular clothes? I'm kind of lost here.

I wear regular clothes. If we're going more than 30 miles or so, I might wear some padded bike shorts under my skirt. Otherwise, I wear regular pants, shorts, or a skirt. If it's really windy, I might wear boyshort type underwear to avoid flashing people. Or I might weight down my skirt with binder clips. Most likely, I'd just wear pants that day.

Machka 

No, I've never worn 100% lycra shorts ... I can't. The 19% in the shorts I've got is about all I can tolerate. And I wore cotton-poly blend cycling shorts up till 2003 (first 13 years of cycling), then I found these shorts and discovered that they were OK.

Jeff Wills

I'd +1 the recommendation for Team Estrogen, but I'm the wrong sex and besides, one of my friends works there.

Give them a call. They're very helpful and have good return/exchange policies.

Machka 

I'm a little confused too.

-- not padded shorts
-- not tight shorts
-- not baggy shorts
-- not stretchy non-cycling capris

No wonder she's having trouble finding what she wants.

Most of the time, I wear cycling shorts when I cycle. However, if I'm riding shorter distances, particularly on tours, I'll wear the stretchy capris or a pair of men's basketball shorts (I get them without the mesh liner).


Have her look through the Sierra Trading Post site. Maybe something like these might work ...
https://www.sierratradingpost.com/pac...colorFamily=01


"Pactimo's Telluride MTB shorts are perfect for hitting the trail whether you're on your mountain bike or in your hiking shoes, thanks to a removable mesh liner with a comfortable chamois."

Or one of the skorts?

goldfinch

How about what I am wearing in this picture. They are Zoic capris. They come with a padded liner you can choose to use or not. I find them very comfortable and very stretchy.



In this picture I was about 105 pounds and am 4'11". The capris are extra small. https://www.amazon.com/Zoic-Womens-Ca.../dp/B006FRO4DG

cyclist2000

Post a picture of the type of clothing that she would like to wear. that may help with suggestions.

martianone

My partner likes the J & G ladies touring short. They look a lot like regular running shorts, are comfortable on and off the bike. Easy to go into a store or diner, etc without looking "bikey". I like the men's version as well.