If you’ve never owned a pair of jeans designed for cycling or movement, you’re missing out. Cycling jeans like Club Ride’s Cog Jean look and wear like typical denim, but weave in lycra content to provide a bit of stretch that amplifies the comfort and mobility factor. Since making the switch to bike jeans a few years ago, I’ve rarely pulled on anything else.
Many of the jeans intended for cycling have a skinny or slim fit, which works well for minimizing interaction with drive trains, and fit in seamlessly at the local hipster hangouts. Trying to put knee pads on underneath them is nigh impossible though, so when an opportunity came to add the Club Ride Cog Jean to my wardrobe, I was looking forward to riding with them.
Features
- Performance two-way stretch 12 oz denim with 1% lycra
- Pre-shrunk, garment-washed
- Seamless crotch gusset
- RideLight™ reflective accents on side pocket, belt loop, inside drive-side pant leg
- NoCrackBack™
- Zippered side smartphone pocket
- Straight fit
- Inseam: 33″
On the Bike
On the bike, the jeans move well with your legs thanks to the lycra content providing a bit of stretch. The regular fit provides ample room to run knee pads while retaining mobility, making the Cog a go-to for the bike park, shuttle runs or pump track when you want to wear pads without being obvious about it.
I haven’t taken any major hits in the Cog jeans yet, but having ahem, “crash-tested” quite a few weights of denim with lycra content added, I’m confident the Cog jeans will hold up. Holes in the knees are easily patched; blown out crotches in pants not so much. The well executed crotch gusset on the Cog should minimize anything but the most disastrous of seat snags.
The on-seam placement of the zippered cell phone pocket is well placed, and moves the weight of your phone from the top of the thigh to underneath, where it isn’t noticed.
Fit
Fit is a personal preference; I typically prefer the aesthetic of jeans on the fitted/ tapered side of the spectrum but when it comes to riding in dirt, I wear knee pads, and my slim fitting hipster jeans don’t cut it. The regular fit of the Cog jean plays well with knee pads, and while it’s a bit more relaxed/ loose fitting than what I wear to work, when wearing pads they perform better on anything with knobby tires, whether you’re dropping shuttles or at the local pump track.
The Club Ride Cog Jean lists for $95, which is admittedly more than bombproof work/utility jeans like Carhartts, but you’re getting a lighter weight jean that is far more comfortable and easy to move in, and I’ll chose comfort any day.
Check out the Cog Jean at ClubRide.com