F.A.Q.

WHY DO EXPERIENCED CYCLISTS CHOOSE BIBS?

Bib shorts are worn by pro roadies because they’re substantially more comfortable than shorts with an elastic waistband. Bibs relieve the following problems:

  • An elastic waistband can cut into your gut when you’re in a riding position; this is uncomfortable and makes it harder to breathe with your diaphragm.
  • Since a waistband only squeezes around your body, once it slides toward your hips it can’t keep your chamois in place – to prevent painful chaffing your chamois needs to be pulled gently upward to keep it in close contact with your crotch.

HOW DO DIRTBAGGIES BENEFIT MOUNTAIN BIKERS?

It’s ironic that the baggy outer shells of traditional MTB shorts are attached to inner liners at the waistband. Most mountain bike shell shorts have heavy construction and cargo pockets, the weight of which pulls down on the waistband of the liner. As a result either:

  • The waistband slips down and thus fails to keep the chamois in place; or
  • The waistband has to be made extra tight causing it to cut harder into your gut, creating increased resistance to diaphragm breathing.

To prevent these problems DirtBaggies use a bib type liner tethered to a lightweight shell to deliver unrivaled comfort for epic days. DirtBaggies have US and International Patents Pending.

 


WHAT MAKES THE DIRTBAGGIES BIB-LINER SPECIAL?

Traditional baggy MTB shorts come with liners that have thin, low-density chamois pads, because when the waistband fails to keep the chamois up in close contact with your skin, it will fall down between your legs and feel like a full-diaper when you’re walking. Those thin, low-density chamois pads may feel less 'full', but they also fail to provide good padding.

Because the DirtBaggies bib-liner keeps the chamois pad snug against your crotch we can use a thick, pro-roadie-quality, multi-density Cytech chamois pad, designed for long distance riding. The perineal groove promotes blood flow to vital organs and allows the thickest parts of the pad to move independently, which prevents it from feeling bulky when you’re walking.

Also:

  • To keep you cool the bib-liner is made mostly of wicking mesh.
  • The crotch and inner thigh panels are non-mesh, this slides easily over the saddle to reduce friction and chaffing.
  • To help with cooling, the inseam of the bib-liner is shorter than most cycling shorts.
  • So that you can pee easily, the DirtBaggies bib-liner has a fly that’s aligned with the fly in the shell short.
  • The bib-liner has pockets on the bib straps; these keep their contents snug against your body rather than flapping around in cargo pockets as is the way on traditional baggy MTB shorts.

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THE DIRTBAGGIES SHELL SHORT?

  • To allow unrestricted air flow the shell short has large strategically placed 4-way stretch mesh panels (the black fabric).
  • The stretch mesh panels have left and right slash pockets.
  • The larger shell panels (the ‘stone’ color fabric) are made of tough, airy, 4-way stretch rip-stop fabric.
  • The shell is treated with a DWR finish that works with the wicking bib-liner to provide effective moisture management and repell dirt and .
  • If you're late heading home from the trails retro-reflective graphics on each leg flash in the headlights of cars.
  • The shell short is ultra-light at around 160g.

 


    HOW ARE DIRTBAGGIES SUPERIOR TO USING A ROAD RACERS BIB WITH ANY OTHER MTB SHELL SHORT?

    • Even the best road bike bib shorts are made with slick fabrics, invariable when wearing an MTB shell short over a roadies bib, the shell shorts will slide down, catching on your saddle during technical riding; and uncomfortably slip around your body (strangely always to the left).
    • The DirtBaggies shell short and bib-liner are joined by removable tethers which prevent the outer short from sliding down over your torso and from twisting uncomfortably around your body.
    • Because the shell is kept in place by the tethers, the shell short does not need a tight waistband which would hinder diaphragm breathing.
    • The fabric in the body panels of the DirtBaggies bib-liner has a one-way-texture to help prevent your jersey from riding up your body. (Roadies don’t suffer this problem because their jerseys are elastic at the waist and they don’t wear hydration packs).
    • The fabric of the leg panels of the DirtBaggies bib-liner is smooth to minimize friction with the outer shell short.
    • Unlike most bike shorts, DirtBaggies bib-liners do not have rubberized leg grippers, which pull the hairs from your legs are can be constrictively tight. Instead we employ a wide elastane cuff which holds the shorts in place with only the gentlest pressure.
    • Unlike road bike bibs, the DirtBaggies bib-liner is made almost entirely of mesh, which provides improved cooling, something that is most necessary under a traditional MTB shell short.

    HOW DO I KNOW WHAT SIZE I SHOULD ORDER?

    It's simple, if you wear 34" dress pants, order 34" DirtBaggies. If you are particularly tall, go up one size on the bib-liner.
    We have a 60 day no quibble return policy, so in the event that they don't fit just right, we'll exchange them quickly.