Kit Moan: Altura Ascent baggies vs lycra

Last week I ordered my first pair of baggy cycling shorts for commuting off Wiggle, Altura Ascents.

This is not a renunciation of lycra, it's comfortable, does its job well and it would be fair to say I'm a fan. However, let's be honest, it leaves little to the imagination and off the bike and out of the company of cyclists it's easy to be left feeling a bit self-conscious. No such problems with baggies.

The Altura Ascents seem a pretty steady-seller over at Wiggle, if 22 pages of reviews are anything to go by. And after three days of commuting through a gloriously sunny start to September, my first impression is that they were a pretty good buy, particularly at the price.

Lightweight material gives the Ascents the feel of board shorts, in fact they could easily double up as beach wear. I like the big pockets on the legs and the removable padded inner is a bonus, although the pad is really too thin to be effective cushioning on longer rides, and I've been wearing them over regular bibs.

Crucially for me, the looser fit means that washing after every ride, an essential with lycra, is no longer mandatory.

Not for stick insects (credit: Wiggle)

Where they do fall down (almost literally, I'm afraid) is on the sizing. This is sort of what I feared would happen, and it's the one flaw in an otherwise excellent product.

I've always tended to steer clear of American-made cycling kit as I have found that as a smaller cyclist, the sizing at the small end of the lines is always just a little too generous for me and the Italians make a much better fit.

Unfortunately the same seems to be true for Altura. Even pulled up to my natural waistline there is simply too much give in them, and the Velcro straps at the back, designed to bring in the waist, are quite simply not up to the job.

It's a minor quibble though, and although to me these are medium-sized, not small I'm sure they comes up just fine on average sized people.

As to the question of baggies versus lycra, certainly I feel more comfortable moving around London on my commute, and walking into the office first thing, and I think some of my colleagues appreciate that as well. Would I wear Ascents on a weekend ride? No, I'll be sticking to what I know. But I might wear them to the beach.