Velocity Men's Climber Trousers

Velocity's Men's Climber Trousers are a well made, robust and good looking pair of cycling jeans that perform well on the bike and look good off it, although more sizing options would be good.

When you're cycling around town for more than just the joy of riding, it isn't always appropriate to wear Lycra. Sitting in the pub with your non-cycling friends in bib shorts is going to create an entirely different reaction to a coffee stop with your club mates.

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The thing that tends to set cycling-specific trousers apart from regular ones is the reinforced crotch. Here Velocity has used a diamond shaped piece of material that covers the seams at the top of the inside leg and through the crotch – typically the areas that wear out quickly when riding in normal jeans. In other designs I have tried, they have perhaps gone a little OTT with this area, which can make the trousers look a little strange when you're off the bike. Happily, here it's relatively subtle, so they look good off the bike too.

The trousers seem pretty robust, although given the relatively short review time it's impossible to say just how effective the reinforcing is long-term. Their sturdiness is helped by YKK zippers, which are well made and likely to last a long time too.

The belt loops are reinforced, too, and held smaller D-locks without any issue.

Another key element is the use of reflective areas to add some safety when riding in darker conditions. Here the trousers have a large reflective Velocity sign on the inside of the right leg, which shows when the trouser leg is rolled up for riding. The edges of the back pockets are also high vis, which again helps when riding in the gloom or at night.

Fit is generally good, similar in shape to something like Levi's 520s which I normally wear. They have a decent amount of room in the thigh – something many cycling trousers surprisingly don't provide – but are still slim enough around the ankle. Velocity has added 2% elastine to the cotton fabric in the trousers, which gives them a good amount of stretch, ideal when riding. This is helped by the slight pleats around the knees, which again helps when pedalling.

Velocity has also treated the fabric with Nanosphere, which helps resistance to water and stains. This seems to work relatively well; having used the trousers in the rain (albeit nothing too torrential), I could more or less wipe off anything that flicked up.

Sizing on the trousers is about right for the waist, the 32s coming up about the same as I would expect for my jeans. However, Velocity doesn't offer different leg lengths, instead you have to cut and hem them to fit (or go for turn-ups) if, like me, you're shorter in the leg – which for a pair of trousers that cost £85 could be a bit offputting. I found that with the amount I needed to remove I was close to cutting into the reflective area on the inside of the leg; somebody a little shorter than me would probably be forced to do so. (My legs are quite short, though, it has to be said.)

That RRP of £85 is about what you would pay for a pair of Levi's or similar, so when you take into account that these are designed and made in London, with cycling-specific details, it's really not bad value.

> Check out our guide to the best casual kit for commuting

All in all, I think these are a strong showing from a young British brand and are mostly well thought out. I particularly like the fit around the thighs, the reflective elements and the stretch in the fabric. It would be nice to have some different length options, but this might be less of an issue for the majority of you, and they're strong performers in other respects.

Verdict

Well made and well thought out cycling civvies, though leg length options would be nice