Swrve Trousers

Since I started seriously using my bike as a means of transportation, one area that I have had a lot of issues with is clothing, especially, long pants.  Over the last few years, I have used hiking/climbing pants, workout clothing, or normal civvies, and while some of these pants did a decent job of pulling double duty as cycling pants, they were all far from ideal.  I wanted pants that I could wear while riding, and walk around in without looking like I was on break from the peloton, or making a Jimmie Johns delivery. I also wanted something that would be comfortable, and functional on tours. After a good deal of digging through recommendations on cycling websites and blogs I discovered Swrve, whose clothing fits all my requirements

Swrve is a small company out of Los Angeles specializing in "stylish urban cycling apparel." One huge draw, for me, was their sizing.  I wear a 30x34 pant, and have a lot of trouble finding pants that fit both in the waist and inseam.  This has become especially difficult over the last decade, as American waist sizes have increased dramatically and clothing manufacturers have seemed to start gearing their sizing towards weightier people.   Swerve has waist sizes down to 28" and standard inseam lengths up to 34", and will give custom inseams up to 36", so I can finally get pants that actually fit, and work on my bike.  So far, I have gotten two pair of their pants, and love them both.

The first pair of pants I got from them was a pair of their Casual Slim Trousers.  These pants are made from a stretch cotton denim-like material that has the look and feel of thin blue jeans.    These pants are nice for cool weather (50's) rides, but, for me, quite warm once temps hit around 60 degrees.

As mentioned before, I'm a rather thin guy (5'9" 150 lbs), so I got what Swrve calls their "slim" fit, but they also have a regular fit, and skinny fit in different styles of pants.  The slim fit, actually fits like I thought a slim fit should.  It's tight enough to be flattering and not baggy, but not so tight that it gives too much "detail" to what lies underneath.  They fit me slightly tighter than Levis 505 jeans, but aren't skin tight like skinny jeans or tights. 

After trying out the Slim Trousers for a while, and loving them, I decided to try out a pair of their Lightweight Slim Trousers.  These pants are made of a nylon material similar to Prana's Stretch Zion pant (which also make decent cycling pants) which is quite stretchy, as well as wind and water resistant.  Like the other trousers, the design and comfort of these pants has been spot on. 

I have used them in temps as low as the mid 40's and up to the mid 60's quite comfortably.  Above 65 degrees or so they start getting a bit warm, but they breathe ok, so it's not too bad.  Once temperatures hit the high 60's they become a bit much for me.  At those temps I wear shorts anyway, so it's not a big deal.  As for their water resistance, I haven't used them n a full on rain yet, so can't really speak to just how water resistant they are, but in a light misty rain, they work quite well.

One problem I had with the lightweight slims was fit.  I originally ordered the same size as I had with the casual trousers.  When I tried them on they were a bit tight in the waist, and considerably tighter in the crotch which was, initially, quite disappointing since temps were starting to warm up, and the weather was becoming quite wet, which were the conditions I had ordered them for. (I ordered them in early Spring)  I emailed customer service about it, and they told me that this issue does come up with these trousers, and suggested stepping up a size in the waist.  I did so, and am quite happy that I did.  Overall, the experience I had with customer service was great.  They understood what was going on, made a helpful suggestion, and the return process was quite quick and quite painless.

While I haven't tried any of swrve's other clothing offerings, I plan to order one of their Milwaukee soft-shell jackets, and a pair of their soft-shell trousers for the colder weather to come.  If these work as well as the pants I have gotten so far, I'm sure they will get some praise of their own in future posts.

World Bicycle Relief

For me, switching to using a bicycle as my primary source of transportation was a matter of choice, and a way to deal with what could be called "first world problems."  But, for many people throughout the World, a bicycle can mean the difference between walking and having another form of transportation.

After reading a short article at Bicycling Magazine's website, I've discovered World Bicycle Relief; an incredible program which supplies bicycles to people in rural Africa who can really use them to improve their lives.  The program has struck a cord in me, so I'd like to share it.






I have also set up a donation page that I intend to use during any trips I make in the future.

To me, this is a very good cause that should be supported.  I hope you will feel the same way.

Still Here

Just a quick post to show that I'm still alive and still posting.

I've been really busy lately with the general mundane day to day tasks of life, and living, and have just been quite lazy with keeping up with this blog.

I'm still car free, and still loving it. And, I'm still, slowly building up my new ride.  I'm really excited about my new steed, and hope to start a series of posts soon about the new build.

I will try to be a bit more attentive to the blog from now on, and have come up with some subjects and posts that will inform and entertain, so don't give up on me just yet.