{"id":20401,"date":"2011-08-06T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2011-08-06T15:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.110pounds.com\/?p=20401"},"modified":"2011-08-04T22:05:18","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T05:05:18","slug":"a-tale-of-two-bike-shorts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.110pounds.com\/?p=20401","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Two Bike Shorts"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I first got into cycling (because Michael was so into it, it grew on me) I bought a pair of low-end cycling shorts from the Pearl Izumi outlet store. They worked great. They may have been low-end in price but the quality was decent.<\/p>\n

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Pearl Izumi Bike Shorts<\/p><\/div>\n

The chamois <\/a>(padding) was actually pretty good for being entry-level. These bike shorts are my favorite because the padding is good and it worked well for long rides. I biked Reach the Beach in these shorts (55 miles<\/a>) and when I do long rides in training for the Portland Century I use these shorts.<\/p>\n

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The problem with Shorts #1<\/strong><\/em><\/span>? They are a size medium and the waist is tight and uncomfortable. Depending on how much I weigh it can dig into my skin and irritate it. (When I did Reach the Beach I was 10 pounds heavier than I am now.)<\/p>\n

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Reach the Beach<\/p><\/div>\n

Bike Shorts #2 are a pair of Sugoi<\/em><\/span><\/strong>shorts that were sent to me from a company last year. They are higher quality than the Pearls but the chamois doesn’t have much padding. As a result I don’t wear these shorts for long rides. They are a size Large so they don’t dig into my waist.<\/p>\n

Recently I ordered a pair of women’s bib shorts<\/a>. \u00a0I was skeptical about getting bib shorts but Michael raved about them so much and he loved how comfortable his shorts were I decided to give it a try. In fact, if you missed it, he wrote a post on Why You Shouldn’t Buy Cycling Shorts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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First I have to say that the service I got from RealCylist.com<\/a> was amazing. I ordered the shorts on the Friday of 4th of July weekend and received them Tuesday! I was expecting it to take at least a week, especially with the holiday.<\/p>\n

I tried on the bib shorts and they were too small. I went off the sizing chart and it said I was a medium according to my measurements. Not so much. The return was super easy. I printed out the UPS form and dropped it off and my exchange came a few days later. So easy!<\/p>\n

I received the size Large and it turned out they were defective–one leg was tighter than the other. I called, spoke to a human being (what a change!) and they immediately shipped out a replacement. I called on Monday night and received the replacement Wednesday! That’s what I call service! And the new pair fit like a dream! They are perfect.<\/p>\n

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Details about the\u00a0Giordana Forma Red Carbon Custom Bib Shorts:<\/p>\n