Lightweight, stretchy, comfortable and a good fit; there’s lots to like about the dhb Ladies Dyno Baggy MTB Short.

Retailing exclusively through online retailer Wiggle, dhb (yup, the lowercase letters are intentional!) are a Hampshire-based brand known for their value-for-money cycling and running kit. As an added bonus, the 2013 model is also now reduced!

These shorts are lightweight and stretchy so allow plenty of movement; the lime green stitching breaks up the appearance of the black fabric too. They’re nice and baggy, so are comfortable to wear for long rides.

Unlike a lot of baggy MTB shorts, they do come with a padded liner short, which has mesh sides to reduce body heat. I found it to be really comfortable; I normally wear Endura road shorts under my MTB shorts as I find most liners aren’t thick enough for a long MTB ride, but I was pleasantly surprised by the dhb liner.

I’m fairly tall and slim (5’9’’ and size 10) and one of my gripes about mountain bike clothing is that the sizing for women’s kit is generally pretty abysmal and not at all similar to standard women’s sizes. As such I normally have to buy large MTB shorts to get them long and baggy enough to fit comfortably.

I was surprised and pleased therefore to find that the dhb shorts in a size 12 fit comfortably, and if anything were actually a bit on the loose side around my waist – handily though the Velcro tabs on each side meant that I could easily adjust the fit.

The Dyno shorts also have a raised panel at the rear that sits a bit higher than the rest of the waistband; this kept my lower back covered if my jersey rode up whilst I was riding. I really liked this feature as I find that most women’s baggy MTB shorts are too big at the waist for me, and as a result the back tends to gape out when I’m riding.

The shorts don’t have zipped vents, which I thought might make the them a bit warm, but they do have a section down the inside of each leg with small laser cut ventilation holes that seemed to do the job.

Whilst out riding, I did get caught in a couple of rain showers and the water beaded off the fabric – it also seemed to repel the dirt quite well – although I don’t think the fabric would hold up to prolonged or heavy rain.

So far so good; comfy shorts and a pretty good fit…a rarity for me!

The shorts had a tendency to ride up my legs as I rode, which isn’t a big issue, but as I’m on the tall side they ended up mid-thigh, leaving a gap between my kneepads and the bottom of the shorts. My thighs then got quite chilly and I spent my time trying to pull the leg of the shorts down, rather than concentrating on my riding!

The 2 front pockets on the dhb shorts are positioned on the waist of the shorts and are nice and deep, but have no zip or popper closure so I’m not sure how functional they would be whilst riding. There is another zip close pocket on the back of the shorts but again, given its position, it would be uncomfortable to put anything in this pocket while riding.

I missed having a thigh pocket on the shorts as this is where I normally stash my Jelly Babies so that I can re-fuel on the go.

VERDICT

Overall, the dhb Dyno shorts ticked a lot of boxes for me. A great MTB trail short, if they were a bit longer in the leg (although I’m tall so other people might not have the same problem) and had that all important thigh pocket they would be pretty much perfect.

PROS

– 
More realistic sizing for women
– 
Lightweight and comfortable
– Higher section on the back of the shorts



CONS

– 
Legs rode up while riding
– 
Positioning of pockets

Price: £55.99 (RRP £69.99)
Size: 8, 10, 12, 14, 16
Colour: Black
More info/available from: Wiggle 

Interested in more dhb MTB kit? Check out our reviews of their ladies Sync Waterproof Jacket, and their Dare Longsleeve Thermal Jersey.

What dhb say about the 2013 Ladies Dyno Baggy Short:

– Technical 4-way stretch fabric with DWR coating
– Flat waist with waistband adjustment system
– 2 mesh lined front pockets & 1 x secure zipped back pocket with stiff zip garage
– Detachable optics wipe in front left pocket
– Key loop in front right pocket
– YKK Zipped fly and double popper closure
– Laser cut ventilation holes on inside leg and back of short
– Removable liner short fitted with a high end, dual purpose CyTech pad
– Liner short has mesh side panels to help reduce body heat