Trousers

Over the last few years, riding pants have become an increasingly popular alternative to shorts, with many different options on the market. Apart from the cool DH-inspired aesthetic, a full trouser has some practical benefits – it will keep you warm and relatively dry. And if or when you do get covered in slop, you can peel the whole thing off at the end of a ride and take all the mud with it. A long trouser also won’t ride up, snag on the top of kneepads and it also offers a bit of scratch/nettle protection, which is why you can easily wear these all year round. Obviously, the downside is that they will run a little hotter in summer conditions, and there’s no chance of getting a tan.

Although long trousers have their roots in motocross and downhill, a lot of the modern pants are lighter in weight, much more comfortable to pedal in for long periods, and also come in men’s and women’s cuts. Hence we’ve rounded up five of the latest men’s pants and five of the latest women’s versions for this test.

ENDURA MT500 BURNER

£89.99

SPECIFICATION Weight: 466g • Sizes: S-XXXL • Colours: Red or black • Contact: endurasport.com

To improve fit, the 500 Burner Pant II is built from a four-way stretch fabric, but gets an extra reinforced seat and perforated panels behind the knees and in the crotch. The cut is really generous at the top, but the trouser is pre-shaped round the knees and tapers loads in the lower legs, which keeps any flapping material away from the chain. On the inside of the waist there are a couple of silicone strips, which hold the trouser stable, especially if you’re wearing Lycra underneath. There are also two sizable Velcro straps to fine-tune the fit and a couple of Click-Fast press-studs, so if you want to attach one of Endura’s