Gaping waistbands, stifling fabric, seams that hinder athletic butts and thighs if you’re a female mountain biker who has shopped for a pair of overshorts, you’re likely familiar with these problems. Riders need breathable yet protective bottoms that can fend off abrasive rocks and snaggy branches. Plus, baggies blend in better during après. But, like many women’s bottoms, they don’t always fit as well as we’d like.
So I recruited six women to put the current crop of overshorts through the wringer. Our testers ranged from straight-hipped to pear-shaped, 4’11” to 5’5”, and sizes 4 to 16. They tested shorts on loamy paths near Mt. Hood, sandstone ledges around Moab, and rooty trails in Colorado; on shuttle-assisted rides, rock-hammering downhills, and 4,000-foot climbs; and in conditions ranging from spring sleet to late-summer scorchers. These are the overshorts that delighted us all with their fit, comfort, and performance.
You can now embrace your denim desire on the trail.
Ripton & Co’s drift overalls are great for the workshop or on the bike.
They are designed to be entirely comfortable and usable as cycling kit.
Cyclists might obsess about grams and tiny aerodynamic details, but a lot of riding apparel is worn for the pure principle of fashion. Instead of function.
If it feels comfortable and looks great, there is usually strong rider approval. For some cyclists, the fringe fashion movement is their calling in terms of rider attire and that means active denim.
Ripton & Co is a Coloradoan outdoor brand that prides itself on scrappy rebelliousness and active denim.