Review on 🚴 CATENA Women's Bike Shorts with 3D Padded Cushioning for MTB Road Bicycle - Multicolor Cycling Short Pants by Jeff Jordan

I've spent months reading reviews in search of a quality pair of cycling shorts that fit really well. I'm 5'4" tall and athletic so I bought the XL Catena shorts (my hips are 25.5" at their widest and my waist is 40" at their widest, about 1" below my belly button ).If your legs and waist are a bit wider I would choose a size smaller than 2XL as I feel I'm on the limit of what would fit in XL.Thighs look like sausages when I put them on After trying 5 different brands I found two that look good. My dear Louis Garneau is fantastic but colors are limited. So I tried the purple polka dot catena shorts for comparison. I would rate the catena Cycling shorts rated 4.5 stars out of 5. They fit well (and don't turn my legs into sausage limbs.) They have an elastic waistband with a comfortable elastic band that is about 3/4.inch wide and doesn't dig into your stomach when riding .a 2-3/4" wide edge that won't dig into your skin itch or itch, and the length is great (sit to the bottom of a short leg or inseam about 8", which for me is about 3" above the knee). The stretchy grip material is very comfortable and keeps the shorts in place. The material is NOT see through or see through (I asked my friend to confirm this while riding) which is very important to me as some cheaper shorts can be see through and too revealing. Catena was good in this area. The suede has a thick pad in the back where your cheeks make contact with the seat, which is great for riders who sit very upright. But that cushioning gets a lot thinner in the front, which I think is the Catena's only downside. If the thickness of the suede had been continued a little further forward I think they would have perfected the suede found in much more expensive brands and I would rate these shorts a 5 instead of a 4.5 but at a price which is 4 times cheaper than well-known brand shorts, I gave these shorts 5 points in my rating. They have been very comfortable on my 15-25 mile rides. I don't know if they will hold up over time or if the material will degrade but for the price I will just buy a few more pairs if that happens. I wanted to share this information because I've been looking for quite some time and realized there are others who are probably doing the same thing.