attercoppe

I am a commuter with a very short commute, and a utility cyclist...I figure fellow commuters will be the best source for this. (Mods move if necessary)
Fall has suddenly hit here in central Colorado, so it's almost time for me to stop wearing shorts for morning and evening rides. I'd prefer not to change two times each day, so I'm looking for pants - but something not too heavy, yet still at least somewhat windproof, and some stretch would be nice.
If you commute in your casual office pants, what do you wear?

rumrunn6

you sound like a candidate for that new breed of pants. meaning not solely for cycling. I've seen them mentioned here often. lots of brands, models & fabrics. for example search for "commuter jeans"

fietsbob

Polyester track-suit warm up trousers.. slick outside , fuzzy inside ..

Gresp15C

After many years in jeans, I now wear synthetic "hiking" pants at work, and ride to work in them as well. I choose styles that have fewer outrageous pockets. They're lighter, last a lot longer, dry quicker, and don't stain as easily. I've even gotten black chain goo out of them.

stringsonbikes

clengman

I like Eddie Bauer Guide Pro pants. Anything in their "first ascent" or "travex" series have a little bit of weather proofing and a little bit of stretch.

martianone

Darth Lefty 

Archwhorides 

+1 for the First Ascent softshell pants.. In general well-engineered softshell pants and fabrics provide flexible non-chafing comfort and resistance to abrasion, and they hold their shape as well.

KraneXL

You need to post the distance. Is it under 1 mile, 5 miles, etc.? Short and long could mean different things to different people.

salcedo

Most days, I wear regular pants with a reflective ankle strap to protect them from the chain.

When its raining and throughout winter I use really expensive waterproof overpants from showers pass.

noglider 

I like Levi's corduroys. They have room in the hips for me.

Flip Flop Rider

Propper ripstop military style pants

no motor?

I have an old pair of Land's End wool dress pants that have a nylon liner in the thighs. Really comfortable and wind resistant.

Kedosto

Technical fabric hiking or "outdoor" pants typically found at places like REI, etc. As mentioned by someone already, I tend to prefer styles without a ton of useless pockets. Zero cotton (or as close to zero as possible) blended fabrics can withstand the rigors of regular cycling. Cycling liner shorts underneath, or poly/spandex boxer briefs as the circumstances warrant. At the point of purchase, examine seam locations and construction, as it will be important for comfort and durability. Technical fabrics dry faster, and wear better than cotton. Wool is the original technical fabric. Quality wool clothing can be fairly expensive, but there's nothing like it. The fussy washing requirements required with much of wool clothing keeps me away -- I prefer the forgiving nature of simple poly or nylon stuff.


-Kedosto

CrewFan

I use UB Tech travel pants that I get at Costco. The are inexpensive and wear well.

zze86

+1 on hiking pants. The convertible (to long shorts) or roll up (with buttons) are nice for those cool morning/hot evening rides. I like Prana when I can catch them on sale though I believe they are a Yoga focused brand.

wesmamyke

These Old navy pants are good while not looking like stretchy pants. Very similar construction to outlier with mesh pocket bags, they dry out pretty fast.

https://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/produ...&pid=435081072

acidfast7

My commute is somewhat short (a couple of miles round trip).

I ride a single speed bike and wear:

Trousers: https://www.tedbaker.com/uk/Mens/Clo...thing_trousers
Shirts: https://www.shirtfactory.se/en/shirt...extra-slim-fit
Blazer: https://www.tigerofsweden.com/gb/men/clothing/blazers/
undergarments: https://uk.intimissimi.com/category/.../4804/4810.uts
socks: https://www.happysocks.com/uk/men/
shoes: https://www.melvin-hamilton.com/shoe...lies/jeff.html
jackets: https://www.rain-couture.nl/us/rain-...nch-green.html

acidfast7

I also have a pair of outdoor trousers but they're kind of wide and would get grease on them during usage:

https://www.fjallraven.co.uk/shop/fj...=7323450441562

Part of the cost was getting them hemmed to length.

chicag_o

lululemon ABC pants. Awesome, mega comfortable and do a solid job at work for anything that isn't on the higher end of business/business casual attire.
On a side note, if anyone is looking for a similar thing for button downs - mizzen+main is the way to go. Never shows sweat stains and is as comfortable as a gym shirt while looking like brooks brothers. If anyone wants a discount you can message me

Bikewolf

Nice that you mention convertible as I’m putting one on my list :-)
A convertible has its use, yes. Anyhow, it is always important that you find something that works for you. Something nice, comfortable and affordable.

AusTexMurf

+1 !
​​​​​​​
I have 3 pairs of these in Khaki, one in gray, one in black. Flexible, athletic pants that are durable, stain resistant, and wear well.
Can't beat the price. I bought all pairs at $14-$19 price point.

I also have 2 older pairs of blue denim Levis 511 commuter jeans, two other pairs of Levi colored (green, khaki) commuter jeans, and 3 pairs of Levis commuter slim cargo pants (navy, chocolate, khaki).
I accumulated them all on sale/discounted over the past 5 years. They have become much harder to find, now.
Also, the UB travel tech pants are actually better in the cool and wet or hot hot temperature extremes. They have room and give to wear a pair of high tech tights underneath. The only thing about them is I need to roll the bottom or use pants band on the lower right leg. No need to do this with the Levis commuters as they are made for the bike.

harshbarj

Honestly I have never seen the need for anything other than normal jeans. My daily commute is 8.1km each way. When I used to wear khakis I had issues with them wearing a hole in the inner thigh region after 6 months. I have been a daily bicycle commuter for 11 years now and have found normal daily clothes to be just fine for virtually every situation.

KraneXL

Denim is probably the worst material you can wear on a bike. Check the calendar ladies and gentleman. This is 2018, not the 1950s. On the other hand, some folks swim in denim so go figure.