Urbanist Cycling Padded Brigitte

Can padded cycling undies look cute and work hard? Yes, if you're wearing Urbanist Cycling's Brigitte briefs.

The Brigitte briefs are one of two designs from Urbanist Cycling, a new Texan brand that was supported by successful Kickstarter funding. They are designed for city cycling, or indeed anything short of long distance or race rides.

Wearing the Brigitte means that any clothing can become cycle clothing, as the briefs provide both a chamois for commuting comfort and protection from the hems in non-cycle specific trousers or jeans.

The Brigitte has a snazzy black and white striped 'look at me' design. Although I prefer to keep my underwear to myself this is a design which I would be happy to be seen sporting in the changing rooms before spin class as it doesn't look like traditional underwear. The Brigitte briefs are definitely feminine, but in a fun, cute way. There is a thin pink stretch lace on the top of the waistband, sensibly not continued around the legs where it would chafe. This acts instead of a traditional waistband to avoid cutting in and producing the dreaded muffin top.

Find the Urbanist Cycling Padded Brigitte online here

The cut of the briefs is full without being grannyish. They are high at the back but not so high that they showed over the top of my trousers. This was useful as I generally wore non-cycle specific trousers or jeans with them and other cycling briefs I own can show significantly in use.

The chamois pad is of a good quality and really well attached to the briefs themselves with soft stitching which I couldn't feel in use. It is soft and flexible and didn't give a 'nappy' appearance in use. I've mostly been wearing these briefs under merino tights or jeans, and they've certainly got enough padding to wear for a medium to long commute. I didn't feel that I had to change out of them straight away afterwards either as they coped well with sweat and wicked moisture away fairly well.

The briefs stayed in place without riding up and were comfortable in use. My only gripe was that on the XL size the front of the crotch had been sized up too much, so there was excess material to wrinkle between my legs. This isn't an issue on the smaller sizes and didn't pose a comfort problem even in the XL.

The Brigitte briefs are available in four sizes, covering waists from 63 to 89cm between them. They are definitely on the generous side, so if in doubt (or buying as a present) go smaller.

I'm not surprised these briefs raised 250% of their Kickstarter target as they fill a real gap in the market.

Verdict

Turns normal clothing into cycling gear with more style than anything comparable on the market