Daniel Czajkowski wearing cycling shorts

Cycling shorts (also known as bike shorts or bicycling shorts) are short, skin-tight legwear designed to improve comfort and efficiency while cycling. Cycling is the use of Bicycles or - less commonly - Unicycles Tricycles Quadricycles and other similar wheeled Human powered vehicles They:

• Reduce wind resistance. In Fluid dynamics, drag (sometimes called fluid resistance) is the force that resists the movement of a Solid object through a Fluid (a
• Protect the skin against the repetitive friction of the legs against the bicycle seat or frame. Friction is the Force resisting the relative motion of two Surfaces in contact or a surface in contact with a fluid (e
• Draw sweat away from the skin to prevent chafing and rashes, and to cool the rider down through the process of evaporation
• Compress the legs, which can help combat muscular fatigue.

Historically, cycling shorts were made of knit black wool, which hides oil and grease stains, with a chamois leather patch inside the shorts in the crotch area, which reduces chafing from the bicycle saddle. Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles of animals in the Caprinae family principally sheep, but the hair of certain species Great Britain The British Standard BS 6715 1991 is widely considered to offer the correct definition of chamois leather Most modern cycling shorts are often made of spandex (Lycra) with a synthetic chamois lining and are produced in a variety of shapes and styles to suit the needs of different riders. Spandex or elastane is a Synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. For example, the patterns used for the chamois on women's cycling shorts tend to be quite different from those used for men's. [1] The hem of each leg is usually lined with a ring of material that clings to the skin, keeping it in a fixed position and are often equipped with strips of Velcro to attach matching leg-warmers. To hem a piece of cloth (in Sewing) a garment workerfolds up a cut edge folds it up again and then sews it down Velcro is a brand name of fabric hook-and-loop fasteners. It consists of two layers a "hook" side which is a piece of Fabric covered with tiny hooks

Cycling shorts are designed to be worn alone with no undergarments or as an undergarment. Shorts made from more panels (or cuts of fabric) fit better, but cost more.

Short-legged elastic tights commonly worn as street wear, under school uniform skirts or for gymnastics and ballet practice are sometimes also referred to as bike shorts, but they are typically simpler and lighter garments than those worn by cyclists and generally lack the chamois or faux-chamois lining.

Bib shorts

Bib shorts are cycling shorts that are held up by a bib (integral suspenders/braces) instead of an elastic waistband. Pro and serious riders tend to prefer bibbed shorts over non-bibbed shorts, due to the discomfort that often occurs with an elastic waistband, such as tightness (digging into skin) and chafing. The bib part of the short is made of spandex and polyester with large sections of netting to help cool down the rider.

The idea of modern bib shorts was a development from the braces (UK) or suspenders (US) that cyclists used to use to hold up old-fashioned wool shorts, which had a tendency to become loose and heavy from riders' sweat (the use of braces/suspenders meant the shorts could be held up without an uncomfortably tight waistband). Bib shorts are more suited to tall riders or riders with protruding stomachs, because regular shorts can tend to fall down in the back while riding.

Baggy shorts

Baggy shorts are cycling shorts that look like regular shorts on the outside but have a lining on the inside. This lining is usually ranges from polyester fabric to full eight-panel cycling shorts. However, all baggy shorts include a chamois. They are usually more expensive than lycra shorts, but they provide more "social acceptance" when riding around town and off the dedicated bike paths.