Unfortunately shorts aren’t cutting it any more due to poor bridleway maintenance ie nettles brambles etc. Autumn and winter will be bringing poorer weather and I was thinking a softshell trouser might offer good breathability and water resistance.. thoughts?

Why not just wear longs under baggies?

Personally, I’d find soft shell trousers too warm.YMMV.

Worst of all worlds, I’d have thought. You’ll cook, it will wet out and get heavy in bad weather, plus snags are quite likely on that kind of fabric.

How about 3/4 shorts and longer socks or leg warmers?

I wear montane terra pants for biking (walking) the dogs

They have poppers at the bottom to close them up so they don’t get caught in the chain ring, are very light, windproof and dry quick

They’re not softshell, but work well. I’ve cycled in softshell haglofs trousers and they also work ok, but you need to be careful of the trouser/chain ring interface

I wear shorts round the house at home, so lob the terras on top for the ride, then take them off when I get home. Works fine, I was surprised how well they work

Bib tights (long) under baggies..but only in the coldest weather.
The only downside to this is if you need a pee when you nearly need to strip naked to gain access… 😆
I have tried waterproof trousers and just didn’t like them ..

Yeah, padded tights under baggies here too, but only once its approaching zero, or its just to hot for me.

No softshell I’ve comes across copes with heavy rain and there’s nothing worse than wet, flappy fabric against your bare skin. I have some Gore softshell 3/4 baggies, but they’re more suited to keeping you warm in really cold conditions than being suitable to the UK’s milder, wetter winters. Decent winter bike tights and lightweight Gore-Tex overshorts is a better combo

Bound to be too lose. Cycling kit needs to fit especially when wet.

Come winter it’s Endura tights under baggies for me.
If it’s really manky I sometimes (shock horror!) forgoe the baggies.

Knee pads make brambles and gorse much less unpleasant!

i’ve got a set of mammut base camps that work pretty well for cold/dry/snowy conditions but are too hot for the usual damp & mild conditions we get in the SW.

3/4 bib lycra with waterproof short over the top works for me.

I should point out that biking the dogs, ^^^ above, is a 3 mile pootle on the flat

Any proper riding is long tights (not bib, waist only), with baggies over the top

question – baggies over biblongs – do knee lads stay in place as well outside longs as they do on hairy legs when worn over bibshorts ? 🙂

tried it. far far too warm.
when your top half (core) is warm, so are your legs.

I’ve got a pair of Hagloffs shale trousers that I bought for hiking, and wear for sub 10degree commuting (5 miles max) They’re unlined, just thinish 4 way stretch material) comfortable, keep the wind off the knees, dry quickly and look “normal” off the bike, 3 years constant use through the winter and they’re wearing very well. Ideal.

I’ve used them off road a couple of times in the snow, you need to cinch up the driveside cuff with a clip or stick it in a sock – but if you stick it in a sock when it’s wet out, it’ll just funnel all the water into your shoes. I wouldn’t bother with them again for mountainbiking, except for pub/bridleway type ride in cold but dryish weather.

I commute in Humvee trousers, but it’s only two miles. I wouldn’t want to be wearing them for anything that required any excursion, they’d be far too hot

I was hoping the breathability of softshell might be a plus… obviously not.
Looks like it might be bib-leggings then. Do they come in XL sizes ( british xl not Italian xl ) and how do legging fare when wearing something like a five 10 flat pedal shoe. Does it just funnel water into the shoe?

When I go biking the dog in grim weather then Ron Hills with some old berghous waterproof cycling trousers over the top. Too hot for a proper ride but ideal for flat ride with hound.

when your top half (core) is warm, so are your legs.

Maybe if you’re built like a tank. I’ve got some thin Decathlon softshell trousers which I’ve often thought would work at this time of year but I’ve never tried them. Next time.

on the long trouser idea – I have a pair of MT500 trousers, which are great, very warm and properly waterproof without getting sweaty. Worn over bibs they are great in foul weather but on anything above sedentary pace they cook. I wear them when coaching in the rain, for which they are perfect !

Maybe if you’re built like a tank

oy pal, I resemble that remark………….. 😆

Longs under baggies here as well. 3/4s do for all but the coldest days though.

ION and Endura both do baggy longs but like riding in trousers in the city, flapping stuff around your lower legs isn’t really what you want.

I’ve found that provided I’m moving, my leg muscles generate plenty of heat and rarely feel cold. However, on the occasion I’ve started to feel cold in my legs, then it’s time to layer-up and head for shelter to warm-up. I’ve done a few multi-day arctic winter events and I’ve been able to get away with a thin bib-tight and some XC ski pants down to -27C – I had frost on the outside of my clothing, but still warm.

I wear these from Decathlon for my 10 mile commute. They’re comfortable, slightly stretchy and water runs off them nicely.

I have a brand new unworn pair of these that I was planning ot post up soon if of any interest. Mail in profile 🙂

My outdoorsy walking trousers have way too much material around the ankle to be good for riding, you could wear gaiters but then you’d look like a knob* so you might as well just wear bib tights and look like a cycling type knob.

* I have gaiters and do occasionally look like a knob when out walking.

Does it just funnel water into the shoe?

Yes tights worn tucked into the shoe do tend to funnel water into them, so even your best waterproof bike shoes can end up full of water, when i used to commute in all weathers I partially got around this by having tights/longs with a loop that I wore under my shoe so that the end of the material overlapped the top my shoe. It didn’t resolve it entirely but it lessened the problem.

Keela do some softshell trousers for police and paramedics to use when on the bike, look quite good

I think it really depends on how hard you’ll be working when riding

J won’t be working particularly hard and my legs don’t get cold. Bare legs are just going to funnel rain into my shoes so am looking for a solution.

If you are a large those tenn ones I have could work well, or the Keela ones are decent too.

What size are the tenns?

They are large, so waist 34/35 ish

I use nike soft shell running trousers/jogging bottoms when the weathers shitty. Something like this https://store.nike.com/gb/en_gb/pd/therma-sphere-max-training-trousers/pid-11527091/pgid-12179420

You can still fit pads under, they don’t get too hot and are shower proof

Iain..too small I’m afraid.. thanks though.

No worries 😀

I have some. They were ridiculed on here. But I like riding in them a lot. They don’t get clingy and flappy in the wet particularly and not being cotton they aren’t clammy. I doubt I’d wear them in pouring rain, but I don’t go MTBing in that all that often.

However you might need some means of stopping the fabric getting caught in the chainring. I tried poppers, didn’t like them, so am planning to take the ankles in. Might not be an issue for 1x though maybe.

Normal bib shorts + Altura Attack 3/4s + knee pads get me through most of the winter. When it’s really cold I add some cheap Aldi cycling tights.

Shimano MW81s (?) with merino socks sort my feet.

Anything thicker and I think I’d melt.

@ Molegrips – which ones do you have?

https://www.trespass.com/mens-tico-active-trousers

Only paid £35 though! They have a zip-out flared bit presumably to help you take them off. I plan to remove the same amount of fabric from the other side so they are tight when zipped up and unzipping makes them normal again.

The stretchy arse and knees makes them superbly comfortable to ride in.