[Review] The Zella Bike Shorts by Dakine

The Zella Bike Shorts by Dakine offer all day comfort, water repellant capabilities, and will keep you looking good lap after lap. When it comes to riding gear, comfort is the most important factor for me and these definitely surpass that test. They’re also long enough to cover the gap from your shorts to your pads and stretchy enough to ensure they won’t hold you back no matter what.

I’m 5’10 and 150 pounds and usually wear a size 8 in pants. I ordered the large and while they are maybe just a smidge big, I like the fit. I think a medium would feel too tight. With the 14” inseam these are definitely longer shorts but are perfect if you’re going to be wearing pads. There is no awkward gap even when in an aggressive riding stance.

Aside from feeling pretty dang durable, the fabric is soft against the skin and once again the stretch is impeccable. You won’t feel constricted at all when you ride which is a huge bonus. The DWR (durable water repellent) coating is an awesome feature. While these won’t keep you dry in a downpour, they will definitely help keep you dry if you catch the tail end of a storm or ride through standing water. It’s a nice touch to help keep out the elements.

The downfall of these pants comes to me in terms of pockets. There are two hand pockets and one thigh pocket. The thigh pocket is zippered (yay!) but it is so small (nay!) you could really only fit a few bucks or maybe a credit card in it. The two hand pockets are not zippered and so that really renders them useless for me on a cycling short. Not only are they not zippered, they are also pretty small. My iphone hardly fits and I know it’d fall out easily while loading a lift, riding, etc. I really wish there was a bigger zippered thigh pocket and I wish the hand pockets had zippers. Could be personal preference, but sometimes you don’t need to run with a backpack so having the pocket space would be key!

Overall, the fit and feel of the Dakine Zella Shorts are prime for lapping your local bike park, long days of cross country routes, or quick rides after work. They’ll be just as comfortable on hour 8 as they were on hour 1 and will keep your pad gap concealed. Where they lack with pockets, they make up for with comfort and style. If you’re looking for a jersey to go with your Zella shorts, be sure to check out my review of the Xena S/S Jersey.

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