FIT/STYLE
The Club Ride Joy Ride shorts run true to size. They are made in the style of an urban cycling knicker but with the ability to accommodate more aggressive cross-country riding. 

They are made with a lightweight stretchy Nylon-blend fabric that is neither baggy nor bunchy and allows for a good range of mobility. The inseam of our tester’s size small is sixteen inches in length and hits at the base of the knee. The tapered legs are not kneepad compatible. 

FEATURES
Constructed with PowerWeave™, a lightweight, 2-way stretch nylon blend fabric, the Club Ride Joy Ride shorts have a very flattering and tailored fit while still delivering unrestricted range of motion. 

Pocket number and placement are good but lack true functionality. The Club Ride Joy Ride shorts come with one small zippered mesh-lined pocket on the lower thigh that is ideal for carrying a house or car key only. Additionally, there are two mesh-lined front hip pockets and two secured zippered pockets on the rear. However, because the Club Ride Joy Ride shorts are so fitted, carrying items in the rear pockets that are larger than an MP3 player becomes very obvious. 

The zipper pulls on the two rear pockets are glove-friendly and did hold our tester’s smartphone and MP3 player. A small loop of elastic above the left rear pocket serves as a keep for a headphone cord to guide it out of the way when riding. 

The Club Ride Joy Ride shorts have a wide and comfortable waistband with an internal elastic band for adjustability. The high rise in the back provided good back coverage. Two snap buttons and a zipper fly allow the shorts to sit perfectly flat at the abdomen without any bulges or fabric bunching. 

Although the Club Ride Joy Ride shorts do not come with an integrated chamois, our tester found that they accommodated all chamois worn during testing. 

For night riding in an urban setting, RideLight™ reflective accents will help the cyclist’s visibility.

DURABILITY 
The Club Ride Joy Ride shorts PowerWeave™ fabric, is not the most abrasion-resistance. The double stitching is straight with midweight thread. 

PROTECTION 
The lightweight, stretchy fabric and the sixteen-inch inseam of the Club Ride Joy Ride shorts lends itself to good protection during low-impact crashes. However the tapered legs have a narrower opening, even with the scalloping, that they make kneepads very challenging to wear. 

COMFORT 
The Club Ride Joy Ride shorts worked very well in all disciplines of cycling from urban commuting, long road and gravel rides and cross country riding. Though the fit is very precise and tailored and has zero bulk, they still allow for full range of pedaling motion and did not prohibit or restrict movement in any way.

Comfort is enhanced by the low-rise waistband in the front to accommodate the natural position of the cyclist’s abdomen in aggressive riding positions and is cut higher in the back to provide decent lower back coverage. Additionally, the back is reinforced with a heavier fabric to provide just enough structure to keep it in place.  

However a lack of thigh vents prevented optimal breathability during long rides on hot and humid days. 

Our testing team tested the shorts in and around Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota; Sedona and Tucson, Arizona and Moab, Utah over a period of two months on asphalt, gravel, singletrack in temperatures ranging from the low 40’s to the mid-90’s and on distances that ranged from six miles to 56. Our testing team did not intentionally set out to test the durability of each pair of shorts in a crash. Instead, to judge the shorts’ ability to withstand impact, they scrutinized their construction materials, the weight of the fabric and the stitching. Though, there may have been some crashes anyway.