How to Buy Bike Shorts

"When we're looking for a traditional cycling short. Just like with baggy shorts, the first thing that we want to look for is a high quality Chamois that's comfortable and offers a myriad of features. Here we see that we've got multi-density padding. Really good stitching, that's flat locked stitching so that it doesn't chaff. We see that the number of panels of the short. The number of actual fabric panels that we have is pretty high. This is a twelve panel short. Small panels that you see over here across the front of the leg, make a really big difference in the fit of the short. The more comfortable a short is, the more comfortable you're going to be riding. This is what's called a Bib Short. It's my preferred style of short to wear while riding. It's a little bit warmer than a short that ends at your waistline. Having the bibs sort of like suspenders, keeps everything up without the constriction around your mid-section, which over the long run is more comfortable. We see with this particular model that we've got mesh for the bib area, which is really nice because it allows us to breathe a little bit better. For more specific competition use, you can get something which is called a Skin Suit, which is a one piece for the competition uniform that has a jersey and shorts built in. This isn't very practical for every day riding. It's a lot more aerodynamic and doesn't snag on things, which makes it good for all sorts of different competitions. As you can see we've got our chamois integrated right into the unit. Another thing to notice with the Skin Suit is that the upper is made out of a very similar material to the bottom. It's a less perforated material; it's not quite as cool. It's not as good for really hot events. Something like a downhill race or short intense cross country mountain bike race, this could be a really good piece of clothing to use and it's very minimal and would be excellent for doing movement and good aerodynamics efficiency."