Mountain bike shorts often fill us with dread, those aptly named baggy’s with their masculine boxy cut do nothing to accent our curves. With a longer length, can the Madison Flux 88 women’s mountain bike shorts buck the trend and offer us something to suit our contours?

Finishing just below the knee, the Madison Flux 88 women’s shorts are a great cut, generous enough but not overly baggy or boxy. I was able to fine-tune my fit with ease, thanks to the internal waist adjusters.

I really like the look of these shorts – they’re appealingly simple, a restrained design of grey and green tones with a subtle pattern on one panel.

The four-way stretch material is very lightweight and cool, perfect for this time of year and the shorts felt soft against the skin, with no rough seams that might chafe. The fabric is not particularly high tech, being neither water nor wind resistant, but I found that it dried very quickly.

The shorts feature two zippered hand pockets with plenty of room for your bits and pieces, and two smaller zippered vents on the front of the leg. All four are mesh lined to offer additional venting should you need it and it’s good to be able to adjust your temperature so easily on the go.

The shorts come with their own detachable inner shorts, complete with chamois. Unfortunately the loop that attaches the inners shorts to the outer ones broke the very first time I put them on though I didn’t find that it made much difference.

The fabric of the supplied inner shorts is very comfortable and lightweight, but the chamois felt slightly bulky when off the bike. It has bedded down a little after a few washes but it still feels like it comes up a little too high on the backside.

On the plus side, the padding works really well on the bike, providing ample cushioning and comfort and if the inner shorts still don’t float your boat, you can always remove them and wear your own pair instead.

Verdict

A lightweight, comfortable pair of shorts that look good both on and off the bike.

Pros

– Soft 4 way stretch material
– Quick drying
– Great cut and design

Cons

– Chamois feels a bit large
– No weatherproofing

Sizes: UK sizes 8 – 18
Colours: Black or Gargoyle Grey
Price: £59.99
More information: Madison
UK Supplier: Madison

What Madison says about the Flux 88 women’s mountain bike shorts

The Flux 88 short is relaxed fitting and packed with features to make it the best value short in its class.

• Constructed from the finest of 4-way stretch material, the Flux 88 short gives all day comfort and offers superb manoeuvrability on the bike
• The front facing pockets are mesh backed and double up perfectly as additional venting
• Internal waist adjustment allow you to dial the short in for a perfect fit
• Double and triple needle stitching in all the right areas ensure superior construction
• Comes complete with a detachable short liner with deluxe chamois
• 2 hand pockets and 2 front facing mesh backed pockets all featuring snap down zippers give plenty of storage options