As I’ve recently discovered, bike shorts aren’t the most convenient things to wear out, especially when one is in the middle of a 30 mile XC ride. It is always sad when a favorite piece of gear wears out, but bike shorts’ failure can be catastrophic. Why? Come on, you all can figure this out. Was a tad awkward. I should have seen it coming from the fraying hems and weakening spandex. Ah well, at least I was with friends.
Anyway, the sad passing of my Sugoi Neo Pro shorts made me realize that I’d never reviewed them for the site. Strange, because these have been my favorites for the last year. Yep, I wore out a pair of bike shorts in one year. And the bike season up here is only really four months long! I’ve pretty much lived in these shorts, having worn these for 90% of my rides. I can see how much I’ve been wearing these from the intense tan lines on my legs. Perhaps it’s time to try a new length to even out the tan situation, but I do love this length. They are (were) just right, hitting just at the end of the hamstring muscle – a nice length because it doesn’t feel like a boa constrictor around the muscle. They have (er, had) great padding and a nice soft chamois. The waist (about the only thing that’s left) is cut on the bias, so it’s higher in back to allow for the road-biking-hunch thing, if that’s your bag.
I really loved these shorts. Now that I’m thinking about it, it’s pretty impressive that they lasted as long as they did, because I’m not too gentle on any of my bike gear. I ride every day, sometimes more than once a day. I crash a lot, get really dirty, and greatly enjoy thrashing through bushes and tree branches. Bike shorts do not have an easy life in this household. So I can attest to the lasting power of these shorts, even as I’m off to buy another pair.
