The Finest Girls’s Mountain Bike Shorts of 2023

There’s nothing more annoying than a pair of ill-fitting bike shorts. You want to be able to focus on the ride, not fight with your shorts. Lady shredders used to have to make do with a pair of shrunken men’s shorts, but those days are long gone.

We’re happy to report that there is now a wide variety of cycling shorts made specifically for women. We’ve been riding trails across the U.S., including lots of miles in Oregon and Colorado with test notes from skilled riders, newbies, and professional mountain bikers.

And while there isn’t a single pair of shorts that works for every body and riding style, we’ve included a variety of options. Below, you’ll find the best shorts and chamois that will make hitting the trails that much more fun. Get ready to suit up and ride out.

For more information about women’s mountain bike shorts and the various design features to consider, check out our buyer’s guide and FAQ. Also, have a look at our comparison chart to steer your decision-making. Otherwise, we divided this list into useful categories so you can easily find the best women’s mountain bike shorts for your needs.

Editor’s Note: We updated our Women’s Mountain Bike Shorts guide on November 22, 2023, to confirm each review has the most up-to-date information.

The Best Women’s Mountain Bike Shorts of 2023

Women’s Bike Shorts Comparison Chart

Scroll right to view all of the columns: Price, Inseam, Pockets, Liner, Material.

 How We Tested Women’s Mountain Bike Shorts

The GearJunkie testing team is made up of amateur to expert road cyclists, bikepackers, mountain bikers, and racers. We’ve ridden cross-country and steep alpine trails all over the West, including in competitions, while bikepacking across the Rockies and on self-supported trips like the 142-mile Kokopelli Trail.

Women’s mountain bike shorts are essential for staying comfortable while in motion and loading the bikes, hanging out with friends, or setting up camp after covering miles. Over the years, we’ve tested many different mountain bike shorts, and this list comprises the best of the best.

To point, Senior Editor Morgan Tilton has tested mountain bike shorts for close to 320 miles of rides with 47,000 feet of ascent/descent in 2023 alone. Aside from testing bike gear, she helps manage the gear testing flock.

While testing women’s mountain bike shorts in the field, we assessed durability, overall fit, ease of movement, protection, fabric feel, breathability, and functionality. We’ve tested shorts while pedaling in blustery wind, intense sun, rain, and hail storms from close-to-town singletrack to distant backcountry tundra.

Beyond our team’s experience, we also considered the most popular, highly rated, acclaimed, and bestselling shorts on the market as well as a broad range of price points, features, and styles to meet the needs of various types of bikers.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose Women’s Mountain Bike Shorts

Chamois

One of the first pieces of advice we give first-time riders is to go out and purchase a pair of shorts with a good chamois. It’s the single most important (and often overlooked) piece of gear that will make or break your ride.

After all, we are talking about your butt here! If you’ve ever experienced a saddle sore, you know what we’re talking about. And if you haven’t, let’s try to keep it that way with some of our favorite shorts.

Pronounced SHAM-mee, the chamois is the pad that is sewn into a cycling short to protect the groin area against the saddle. The chamois is constructed with a pad that has cushioned foam with a range of densities — some designs offer more cushion than others. Typically, the materials also wick moisture and are soft.

In mountain bike shorts, the chamois can be integrated into the short, but often the chamois is integrated into a short, tight-fitting liner worn beneath the exterior bike shorts. Even if a short doesn’t have a chamois, it most likely is gusseted at the crotch to allow for comfort and stretch in the saddle.

Wearing a chamois instead of regular underwear also eliminates seams, which can rub and cause chafing.

Material

As the price goes up on mountain bike shorts, part of that tag is covering the upgrade of more premium materials.

To point, the Norrøna Fjora Flex and Norrøna Fjora Heavy Duty have a tough, stretchy fabric made from a synthetic blend that offers wind and water resistance, plus it features 50% recycled fibers and a PFC-free DWR. The Shredly MTB Short feels softer and lighter — it’s made with a recycled polyester-spandex blend and costs less.

The Wild Rye Freel is constructed with a WR Duraflex Nylon (88% nylon, 12% spandex), which is tough against reachy trailside branches. Comparatively, the Wild Rye Kaweah is made with the WR Bomber Stretch Poly (90% polyester, 10% spandex), a blend that is still durable but not as tough and at a lower price point ($99 versus $124).

Waistband

A range of waistband designs exist, and they are unique for each short. What’s most important is that the waistband doesn’t fold over or pop open or pinch your lower stomach while you lean forward on your bike.

It’s also nice to have a waistband with adjustability so you can forgo a belt but tighten your shorts up as needed, especially if the ride is particularly long, sweat-ridden, or rainy.

Among the most minimalist waistband design is the Pearl Izumi Prospect 2/1 Short, which has a wide, stretchy elastic band that slides easily up and down — no fuss at all. The Velocio Trail Short also has a narrower waistband that’s sleek, but with a zipper and slide-in button plus an integrated slender belt to help tighten up the waist.

With a moderate waistband, the Wild Rye shorts have a double-snap, zip closure, and wide width that’s stretchy plus belt loops if you decide to go that route.

For the most adjustability, you can reach for the Norrøna Fjora Flex or Liv Passo Baggy Shorts, both of which have double-snap closures with a zipper. The Passo features belt loops plus an integrated Velcro belt, so you can switch it up.

The Fjora does not have belt loops, but the integrated Velcro belt is wide compared to the other designs we’ve selected, and the backside of the band is higher-waisted. Consider reaching for a higher or wide waistband if you wear a hip pack or backpack while on a ride, too.

Pockets

Pockets can be helpful for a spot to quickly stuff your ride gloves on a snack break or to warm up your hands while tailgating. Other pockets secured with a zipper can be a good spot to hold a phone or credit card, while pockets with a snap closure can be a nice place for a snack bar.

Some mountain bike short designs come with minimal pockets like the Pearl Izumi Prospect 2/1 Short, which doesn’t have a pocket in the exterior shell (there’s only a slide-in pocket with no zipper in the removable interior liner). Other shorts offer tons of pocket options like the Liv Passo Baggy Shorts, which have two back pockets, two side pockets, and an additional pocket with a zip closure.

Most shorts offer something in-between with an average of three pockets like the Wild Rye Kaweah, which has two hand pockets and one low-down zippered pocket.

In a well-constructed upgrade, the Shredly MTB Short now features a zippered pocket and the placement is higher on the thigh to help remove the jostle of a phone while you pedal. In contrast, many zippered pockets on other shorts are down lower on the leg and inevitably swing around while you ride.

Inseam Length 

The best inseam length comes down to personal preference, the type of ride you want to do, and the elements you’ll be in. If you’re going on a long ride in sunny, exposed (as in, no tree coverage or shade) terrain, consider wearing longer shorts to protect the tops of your legs from getting sunburned.

Longer shorts can also protect the side of the legs from thick brush or tree branches or insects if you’re riding in a buggy area or on a wild, unkempt trail.

If you’re bikepacking or alpine riding on steep slopes and getting on and off your bike, the longer fabric can also help protect your legs from getting scraped up.

The inseam lengths of the women’s mountain bike shorts in our guide range from 6 inches to 15 inches with 9 to 12 inches being the sweet spot for most trail rides.

Then, with finely tailored inseams to various female body shapes, Shredly offers an adjusted inseam length for each design and each size within that design. For instance, the Curvy 7-inch short has a 7-inch inseam across all sizes, whereas the MTB Short, featured among our top picks, has a different inseam length across the sizes:

• XS (00): 9.75″
• XS (0): 10″
• S (2): 10.25″
• S (4): 10.5″
• M (6): 10.75″
• M (8): 11″
• L (10): 11.25″
• XL-3XL (12-24): 11.5″

Fit and Size Range

Most brands offer a size run from at least size 0 to size 18.

Velocio offers an even broader size range (XXS-3XL). More specifically, the Velocio XXS fits a 22- to 24-inch waist and 31.5- to 33.5-inch hip size. In contrast, Wild Rye, for instance, starts at a size 0, which fits a 25.5-inch waist and 36.5-inch hip.

Shredly also offers a greater variety of sizes with a 00 to 24 size run (XS-3XL), which starts at a 24-inch waist and 33-inch hips and goes up to a 43-inch waist and 52-inch hips. Kitsbow’s shorts also offer a much broader size range with waist sizes from 26-37 inches. 

Be sure to double-check the size chart for each pair of shorts you consider buying, and to measure yourself before making an order or stop by a retailer to try on a pair first. Mountain bike short sizes and the precise measurements for each size are not universal and differ across brands.

Price

Most women’s mountain bike shorts hover around $100. That includes Kaweah ($99), Passo ($100), Club Ride Eden Shorts ($100), and Shredly MTB Short ($108) in our guide.

Mountain bike shorts with a more premium construction that’s even tougher against the elements and a beatdown include the Wild Rye Freel Shorts ($124), Norrøna Fjora Flex ($139), Velocio Trail Short ($169), and Kitsbow Madrone Short ($169).

It can be challenging to find great-fitting, well-made mountain bike shorts below $100, but a couple of our top choices include the Prospect ($75) and Dirt Roamer ($59-99).

FAQ