# Looking for advise from women - re: Cycling Shorts



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Hello ladies, I need your expert advise on this area. 

I recently purchased a sports hybrid bike for my wife. This is her first time to have a bike of her own.

I am trying to get her cycling shorts (Bontrager Sol & Canari Gel Elites -size: M)., but had to return them. She has skinny legs, not much of a volume on her thigh. With those padded shorts, it doesn't fit well. Her regular clothes petite sizes are 6-8.

Please help.. I would appreciate your suggestions. Thanks in advance.


----------



## Alfonsina (Aug 26, 2012)

Does she need biking shorts for that kind of bike? Is her saddle OK? 
She should do her own research. Try team estrogen ( for their reviews vs their actual store, there is a forum there as well as the shopping pages. My fave shorts of the limited amount I have tried at the Pearl Izumi red pad shorts (this is their more or most expensive chamios) and Louis Garneau Neo power. Are you actually buying her women's stuff? I can only find mens in the canari. Anyway, womens stuff for womens sizing. At her size she wants to consider a small in PI and a medium in LG womens stuff. Shorts are not neccesarily gender neutral, but shorts for women who are shaped like women. At Nashbar, their own premium shorts Nashbar Women's Premium Shorts - Lycra Cycling Shorts are not bad for shorter rides on a budget. They run big though so I would adivse on a small. Tell her shorts need to be very snug. Women often don't realise that snug fit equals a better ride. 
If she doesn't like the lycra look on a hybrid (who can blame her) then there are other baggy type shorts, look at shebeast and Terry, but really, get her looking herself. If you have a store, get her in the store trying them on. 

Women's Cycling Clothing, Triathlon Apparel, Run and Swimwear - Team Estrogen
try the forum too, not just the store.


----------



## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

She's going to have to go the the bike shop and try on some shorts.


----------



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

I got her the bike as a surprised for our anniversary including the apparel.

*blush*..  it took me a lot of courage to shop around on women's section.

Ok, I will take your advise to bring her to LBS and let her do her own shopping. 
Curious, I dont know why women can shop better (clothing) for men but not the other way around. I thought I could do the same for her, but apparently not.

Yes, the "Canari" was for Women's as marked on the purple tag.
And yes, the saddle for women too.
She said: "why did you get these loose type of shorts for me?" lol 

Then she also asked: "Are there any other alternative padded shorts that will go nicely on her hybrid bike?" Then this is where I came for.. =)

:thumbsup:I like the idea of the baggy type Capri shorts for her. 
Thanks for your quick responses


----------



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Its the Trek Neko.. =)

View attachment 281993


----------



## Alfonsina (Aug 26, 2012)

Cute bike, and REI will be worth a look for cute rec riding options. She really shouldn't need padded shorts on a normal bike though?


----------



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Thanks... 

No padded shorts needed? 
oh, I am the one who has been telling her that she needed one.. oops... :blush2:

I checked REI.. I think she will love this one.. I will show this to her..

Novara Pilsen Bike Shorts - Women's - Free Shipping at REI.com

View attachment 281999


----------



## kris7047th (May 18, 2013)

cmtbiz said:


> Its the Trek Neko.. =)
> 
> View attachment 281993


On that seat .. don't be surprised that you end up with padded shorts. I did.
Knickers are really nice too.


----------



## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

Everyone is a bit different, and the saddle can make a difference, too. I personally prefer a minimally padded saddle and shorts that have just moderate padding. When I first started riding seriously I bought some of the expensive uber-padded shorts. They ended up bunching up and causing chafing.

They are getting harder to find, but I like Zoot's cycling shorts. And the sizing runs smallish.


----------



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

ok here's an update... 

since I went to grab something for myself at the LBS and I saw this padded Capri (that goes extended below the knee) and more like for MTB style (I think). So I purchased it again for her. 

Guess what? last night she laughed at me and don't like the looks of it.  

Oh, well, I am not buying her bike apparels anymore and that's it, I give up!! :cryin:

She told me to quit getting her clothings and she will go to the store and look what fits her taste.

So... lesson learned.. guys, you just can't go buy ladies clothing and its never going to work. LOL 

I just showed her your suggestions from these forum postings. Its up to her now. I should have listened to you ladies in the first place. =)


----------



## kris7047th (May 18, 2013)

No good deed goes unpunished. Dang .. wish I had somebody to buy/surprise me with bike clothes.

Take her on a loooong bike ride .. that might change her mind about padded bike pants as opposed to her more trendy wear. I'm a lady too and I now like the bike clothes. Have you had her check the different online cycle stores?


----------



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

kris, no, she never checked any online bike clothes. Many years ago, when we were younger, she used to steal my bike shorts (those with thinner pads) but not for bike use.. just for her daily run. I usually buy extra and stash them aside as reserve but they always gone missing and found out that she taking them. lol

Long bike rides.. yes, that's my plan... I will be taking her for a two (2) hour bike ride on our local park trails this weekend. Then we will see how she feels about non-padded shorts.  So she could stop laughing on what I am buying for her.. she just hurts my feelings. :cryin: :thumbsup:


----------



## tlg (May 11, 2011)

cmtbiz said:


> I am trying to get her cycling shorts (Bontrager Sol & Canari Gel Elites -size: M)., but had to return them. She has skinny legs, not much of a volume on her thigh. With those padded shorts, it doesn't fit well. Her regular clothes petite sizes are 6-8.


Rule #1, don't buy cycling shorts for yourself (or others) without trying them on. 

I sympathize with you. My GF is 5'1" and 90lbs. Finding shorts to fit is impossible. Even XS are still loose. It's so frustrating, they make them in XXL, XXXL, and XXXXL  but no XXS.
We've had to look at childrens sizes, which only has a small selection. 

If you wife doesn't like the normal cycling shorts, get her cycling underware. THen she can wear them under and shorts, pants, or skirt she wants to.
WOMEN MESH INNERSHORTS 3 :: Louis Garneau


----------



## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

cmtbiz said:


> So she could stop laughing on what I am buying for her.. she just hurts my feelings. :cryin: :thumbsup:


I have to give you credit for being brave enough to buy your wife clothes. 

BTW if you tell her she's hurting your feelings with a real sad face you may get some extra sympathy luvins' from her.


----------



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

update: just wanted to share the experience we had over the weekend ride.

First, she enjoyed riding and actually convinced her niece to join to the sports and she got her bike and that's another another.. 

Anyway, kris is right, my wife complained that her butt is sore. So she will be shopping padded shorts or padded linings. 

Second.. her rear tire got flat! Its a new bike with new set of tires and we were just riding on paved trails MUP.







And I dont have a spare inner tube.. now thats my fault I should have also keep one in handy. That afternoon we went out and bought the wrong size inner tube. The tire needs 700c x 38 and what I got for her is 700c x 32 from Walmart. What a bummer and just made her sad even more.  She has to wait till I can get one from LBS today.

Also.. this is a bad experience. When we got to the park, I have to head out to grab breakfast for us, then our friend helped to put on the front wheel for her and they went for riding. When I came back to join to them, I never checked her bike and we all went on pretty much for the rest of our 2 hour rides. Towards the end of the ride, a slight drop and she skidded and almost got hurt. I asked her why did that happened, she told me she couldn't get it to stop. Then I found out that the her front brake was detached. I wonder how could that happened. I went to check some of the group photos we took earlier front cable was never attached!!
And it could get worse because she is not wearing her helmet too! 

Most of these bloopers are to be blame at me.. I should have assured that she is well setup before she goes out for a ride as I was supposed to be more experienced than her. Sorry.. I failed but it wont happen again. 


Overall, all is well and we had a fun day riding together as a group. 




kris7047th said:


> No good deed goes unpunished. Dang .. wish I had somebody to buy/surprise me with bike clothes.
> 
> Take her on a loooong bike ride .. that might change her mind about padded bike pants as opposed to her more trendy wear. I'm a lady too and I now like the bike clothes. Have you had her check the different online cycle stores?


----------



## kris7047th (May 18, 2013)

cmtbiz said:


> update: just wanted to share the experience we had over the weekend ride.
> 
> First, she enjoyed riding and actually convinced her niece to join to the sports and she got her bike and that's another another..
> 
> ...


lol .. I KNEW IT .. as I am a *converter* too, but it didn't take much persuasion from my LBS as he explained why and it made sense to me. So I went home with my new road bike (didn't like the cage pedals, so they were swapped out for Shimanos clip pedals) a pair of Specialized shoes that are walkable and a pair of shorts. What I saved on the bike .. was spent on the other accessories. Now I find the bike clothes extremely comfortable and like to wear them (tops) around the house and out, not just for biking. My SIL has complimented me more than once how they flatter me and the style.

When you are new .. you make mistakes. Live and learn :0) what life is all about.

PS .. I wouldn't buy anything from Walmart. Get good tires and tubes from your LBS .. and I bet that will eliminate a lot of flat tire grief (especially when you KNOW there wasn't glass or something on the trail)


----------



## tlg (May 11, 2011)

cmtbiz said:


> That afternoon we went out and bought the wrong size inner tube. The tire needs 700c x 38 and what I got for her is 700c x 32 from Walmart. What a bummer and just made her sad even more.


You can use the 700c x 32 just fine. The tube with stretch when inflated.


----------



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

LOL... 

I got the bike from our LBS.. I just bought the inner tube from the Wally store and that was just the act of desperate to get her tire fixed, but that didnt do any good. LOL




kris7047th said:


> lol .. I KNEW IT .. as I am a *converter* too, but it didn't take much persuasion from my LBS as he explained why and it made sense to me.
> PS .. I wouldn't buy anything from Walmart. Get good tires and tubes from your LBS .. and I bet that will eliminate a lot of flat tire grief (especially when you KNOW there wasn't glass or something on the trail)


----------



## kris7047th (May 18, 2013)

'Bout the only thing I would buy from there is a tire repair kit. I experienced my first flat on a small group ride and was *educated* how to fix a flat. My LBS is on my way home, so I stopped in and bought an extra tube. The repaired tube didn't hold air through the next day, so I had it replaced. I now keep 2 spare tubes, a pump, repair kit along with rain gear.


----------



## aureliajulia (May 25, 2009)

cmtbiz said:


> ok here's an update...
> 
> since I went to grab something for myself at the LBS and I saw this padded Capri (that goes extended below the knee) and more like for MTB style (I think). So I purchased it again for her.
> 
> ...


Why don't you give her a gift certificate to Team Estrogen? It's an online women's cycling store, they have, by far, the best selection of women's cycling clothing I know of. Plus, many of the clothes are reviewed, so she can read the descriptions, TE takes returns as long as the tags are still on, if she calls the store for help, they will actually go and measure things, etc.

And last, the TE Cycling Forum may be of interest to her. I like RBR for the expertise found here. A cycling forum where the majority of posters are men is quite enlightening to me. There are some very good mechanics on TE, but TE forum frequenters emphasize different things. I love that place.

No, I am NOT affiliated, but it is a second home.


----------



## kris7047th (May 18, 2013)

Great idea! I am on that site and I have bought from their store. They do offer great discounts and the service is fantastic.


----------



## aureliajulia (May 25, 2009)

Alfonsina said:


> Cute bike, and REI will be worth a look for cute rec riding options. She really shouldn't need padded shorts on a normal bike though?


Can we say chafing in the bedroom? Shudder.

My favorite are the Louis Garneau Neo Power shorts. A thin chamois, compressive fabric. If she is curvy through the waist, so narrow waisted and rounder hips, she'll need to go up a size, this is because the fabric is so compressive that the hips don't stretch. If she is wider through the waist, but has more narrow hips, she may be fine with her regular size, assuming she knows what that is. The waist fabric cannot be as compressive as the rest, because that would cause digestive issues! They are available in standard length (read, very long), and short inseam. Most people like the long inseam, but for people with shorter legs, the new, short version is generally preferred. 

They are very high waisted, which makes them feel more comfortable around the waist. Unlike other brands, where the the waist does not stay in place. Pricey, but they are the only I like wearing, now that I've found them! (Going on two years, now).

She may not like the idea of spending so much, first time around, though. So...the Bellweather O2 shorts are a good price, and well rated. Plus, I love everything I've ever tried from that brand, so I recommend it.

Louis Garneau Neo Power Fit Women's Shorts for cycling

Louis Garneau Neo Power Shorter 7" Short women's cycling

Bellwether O2 Women's Biking Shorts

Zoic makes a lot of capris and longer, regular looking shorts if she doesn't want standard lycra.

Zoic Navaeh Women's Bike Short with removable liner

Caveat: you keep mentioning that you plan to take her out to such and such. Does she even want to go? Especially for that long of a time? Great way to make her hate the bike. She needs to be involved in the process. Preferably, she needs to initiate it. No one 'made' me get into cycling. I got my first drop-bar road bike when I was 9 or so, and the steel-framed Schwinn Le Tour that I rode on RAGBRAI's IX, X, and XI when I was almost 11 years old. Before RAGBRAI, I spent every possible moment on the bike. Usually alone. I think this year is RABBRAI 41. I'm 43 years old now.

JMTC


----------



## aureliajulia (May 25, 2009)

tlg said:


> Rule #1, don't buy cycling shorts for yourself (or others) without trying them on.
> 
> I sympathize with you. My GF is 5'1" and 90lbs. Finding shorts to fit is impossible. Even XS are still loose. It's so frustrating, they make them in XXL, XXXL, and XXXXL  but no XXS.
> We've had to look at childrens sizes, which only has a small selection.
> ...


Try the Terry Bella shorts.


----------



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

She finally ordered the Women Mesh Innershort!! :thumbsup:
I will get the Team Estrogen gift certificate for her on Christmas.  

Thanks for all the input... I really appreciate your help.


----------

