Not everyone wants to wear lycra, and these baggies from Outeredge have a neutral style that's fine for the commute, the towpath or the MTB trails, The captive liner limits their appeal a bit but they're surprisingly comfy on the bike and nice and light for Summer riding.

Crafted from finest Polyester the shorts are classic length rather than a longer MTB cut. the outer is a fine-woven fabric that's thin but pretty sturdy, and it dries very quickly too which is a bonus in the 'barbecue Summer' we're currently experiencing. The liner is a swim-short-style net affair, with a pretty standard looking insert sewn on. There's a sizeable pocket on the bottom of each leg for your knicknacks, and a drawstring waist.

To be honest I wasn't expecting these shorts to be very comfortable, and pulling them on for the first time felt a bit weird. But once out riding they were fine: the mesh inner holds the pad in place pretty effectively and the cut is good for the bike. You wouldn't want to do a day in them but they're fine for commuting or leisure hops.

Because you can't remove the liner they're not quite as versatile as other options such as the Gore Balance short, but they're pretty cheap and performed better than I expected. Washing is straightforward and they dry very quickly, and they've worn well over testing with little sign of damage.

Verdict

So long as you want a baggy short that's just for the bike these are pretty good value and more comfortable than I expected them to be. A good basic option and a step up from tracky bottoms...