In December I was lucky enough to score a pair of these shorts through a contest on the Specialized Women’s Facebook page with a stunning drawing of my favourite ride.
After receiving the shorts in the mail, I was anticipating my first ride to put them to the test. Especially after I took a good look at the chamois, instead of it being the same thickness in the front and back, most of the padding is in the back. They also have “upper thigh friction protection”, which is extra padding where the shorts meet the thigh. At first I thought I had gotten the shorts a size too small but after putting them on, they were a perfect fit (the sizing chart on Specialized’s website is bang on). Here is the information Specialized has posted on their website
The first ride I did was a quick 45 minute ride to check out the condition of our local trails (we recently lost several trails to logging) and at first I wasn’t entirely sold on them. The padding isn’t as thick as my other shorts and I found that it was bunching in spots that made me a bit uncomfortable. I knew another test was in order so the next weekend I wore them on a good 2 hour ride on some technical cross country trails. I noticed that the padding wasn’t bunching as much this time and the legs didn’t ride up either (a common problem for me). By the third ride I was sold. These have become one of the most comfortable pairs of cycling shorts I own. Although the padding doesn’t seem very thick, the high density foam definitely provides more than enough cushioning. It just took a few washes and some really good rides before they had that perfect fit feeling. I also like how the padding varies in density throughout, it makes the shorts very comfortable to wear. You don’t feel as though you are wearing a diaper and you even forget that you are wearing cycling shorts.
I can’t comment on the “upper thigh friction protection” as that has never been an issue for me, nor can I comment on the wicking ability since it’s Winter here and sweating isn’t an issue… However I would definitely recommend these shorts to anyone looking for a good quality pair of cycling shorts. They are a great example of “you get what you pay for”.
And the drawing that landed me these awesome cycling shorts?
(I know you’re absolutely blown away by my artistic abilities )