Dirtbaggies are the freshest approach to mountain biking shorts since, well, mountain biking shorts were invented. It is a two-piece system consisting of the $70 Dirtbaggies baggy outer shorts and $180 Dirtbaggies bib liner.
Tech features: The ultra-thin bib liner is constructed from a wicking mesh of 80 percent polyamide and 20 percent elastane. The bib has an inter- nal pocket for an energy bar or cell phone. It has a horizontal fly that matches the fly in the outer shell, and the bib uses a Cytech chamois. Our size-34 bib weighed 6.5 ounces. The thin, 5.4-ounce, vented, baggy outer shorts are 87 percent polyamide and 13 percent elastane. It has four-way-stretch mesh panels matched with four-way-stretch rip-stop nylon panels. The baggies attach with two small, snapped straps to one of five loops on each hip of the bib. This allows you to pick the height you want the baggies to ride at, and it also keeps them from twisting. The bibs and baggies are available in even sizes from 28 to 42. The bibs are black, and the baggies can be had in either stone or black. They come with a washer bag so they won’t get tangled in the washing machine with other items. The Dirtbaggies are a made-in-the-USA product.
Field test results: The Dirtbaggies are crazy light. A recently tested “light-weight” baggy/inner shorts combo weighed 15.5 ounces; that may have been the lightest baggy/inner shorts combo we have tested to date. The Dirtbaggies, with a far more supportive and comfortable bib liner, blew this away at a combined weight of 11.9 ounces. And the Dirtbaggies actually feel even lighter because so much of the material on both the bib and shorts is vented.
The bib and shorts material feels silky smooth. There are three reasons: Dirtbaggies did their homework on the pattern for both components. These things fit like they were custom-tailored for your body. Next, the material has a soft, thin, vented feel. Finally, the material stretches in all the right places to move when you need it to and offer support the rest of the time.
Dirtbaggies kept both items so thin and ventilated that you have to wear them as a pair. The bib or shorts alone would be too thin, and that is their beauty. They were made to work together, so compromise in material choice and fit were eliminated.
It breaks our hearts not to bestow the Dirtbaggies a five-star rating, because this is a truly revolutionary product. Where we had issues—and we tried different sizes with the same results—was the tendency for the shorts to slip down over the rear of the bib. The shorts are so comfortable that we assume Dirtbaggies didn’t want to add a drawstring to the waist, but a drawstring, or something that will work like a drawstring, is needed to keep the shorts in place. Instead, we found ourselves pulling up on the shorts during breaks in our ride.
If the Dirtbaggies guys could cure this problem, we would give them five stars, even with the high, combined price of $250. They are so close to being the shorts we have always wished for, and the fact that they are made in the USA is icing on the cake.
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