Pearl Izumi Sugar Bike Knicker
June 20, 2009
Notice a lot of posts about bike gear lately? Yes, it’s bike season, and it’s a short season up here so for a few months it’s all about the biking. I have to admit I pretty much like most bike shorts I wear, because if they aren’t comfortable I sure won’t be wearing them. These knicker-length bike shorts are no exception – they’ve got good padding and are pretty comfortable thanks to a lower-than-usual waistband (cut higher in back for modesty). These are definitely not thermal, so they don’t do much to keep the cold at bay when it’s chilly, but they’re good for slightly cooler days and days in which bushwhacking is on the schedule. Here in Alaska we have something called cow parsnip. It’s a plant that is pretty innocuous unless you happen to come into contact with sap from broken stems or leaves, and then go out in the sun. Then it leaves horrible welts that last months. Thing is, most XC trails around here are chock full of cow parsnip, and in mid-season it grows up to completely cover the trails. If you want to ride the trails without cow parsnip issues, you have to wait for a rainy or very cloudy day, wait until the vegetation dies back in the fall, or wear long sleeves and long pants. If you don’t want to wait, then just get used to bushwhacking even though you’re on a well-traveled trail.
I’ve found that the knicker option is actually pretty effective, as I can at least bump the plants back with my knees which are protected by the knicker. My shins and calves don’t seem to contact the cow parsnip very much. So far, so good – so these knickers get a lot of action mid-season.
While these aren’t very warm, they’re still good for when weather is unpredictable. The downside is that it’s impossible to put on leg warmers with knickers – you have to put them over the knicker and then the grip doesn’t work and they slide down. You pretty much have to put pants over them or just deal with having cold shins. I like the waistband which is low-cut in front – my preference is for low-rise; it’s more comfortable – but is more than adequately cut to cover the bum in back. It has a regular string drawstring which I find I prefer to having an elastic waistband.
My other complaint about these pants is the seam that runs down the center of the legs. It’s not uncomfortable, but it does leave marks straight down the center of my legs that remain for several hours afterwards. I don’t notice it when I am actually wearing the pants, but it’s kind of annoying to have marks on my legs all day after riding. I’ve also noticed that the padding is not as long in the rear as I’m used to, and when I’m on and off my seat, it can catch on the front of my seat when I’m trying to remount the bike. When I try to get back on while going downhill, this can be a real hazard. Other than that, I find that the padding on these shorts is among the most comfortable of the shorts I own, and I have to say that’s probably the most important part of a pair of bike shorts, as far as I’m concerned.
Sugoi Neo Pro Bike Shorts
June 15, 2009
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.
