Best Indoor Cycling Shorts for Women in Canada – Top Picks
Experience longer and more comfortable spinning sessions with these top indoor cycling shorts!
Women cyclists have different needs when it comes to comfortable shorts for indoor cycling. The areas that need padded and the shape of the spinning shorts are not the same as what men need. It’s important to find the right fit in order to get the most benefit from your shorts. Otherwise, you might as well wear a pair of generic athletic shorts. If they don’t fit well, you’ll end up with a waist that slips down, legs that slide up, and padding that doesn’t cover those sensitive areas. Clothing for women, even for casual wear, is notoriously difficult to pin down. You may fit in a size medium in one brand, but find you need a large in another. One style may hug your hips and thighs perfectly, but another will leave you constructed or with loose material. It can be incredibly frustrating trying to find the top shorts for spin bike workout for your body.
Luckily, we’ve put together a list of the best indoor cycling shorts for women in Canada with descriptions on each one to help you find the pair of shorts that will work best for your needs and body. If you are a man and like to cycle, we have also listed the best spinning shorts that you can find in Canada for men. Most cycling shorts are form-fitting, which can make it even harder, but with our reviews, you will be able to know what to expect from each pair.
Best Spinning Shorts For Women In Canada – Top Picks + Reviews
Pearl Izumi Elite Pursuit Women’s Cycling Shorts
Pearl Izumi is a common name in the athletic world. They make quality products all designed with performance and comfort in mind. Their Elite Pursuit Cycling Shorts come in three color options that are solid black, black with coral colored accents down the sides, and black with gray accents down the sides. They’re made from a blend of nylon and Lycra for a 4-way stretch to fit and move with you as you workout.
They have a wide waistband and leg bands to keep them flat and in place. We found that the paneling design curved with our legs to make sure they fit like a glove. High-density padding wasn’t uncomfortably thick, and was barely noticeable in appearance, but was adequate enough to make our workout more comfortable. They did fit small, so make sure you get a larger size for these.
Ultimately, the Pearl Izumi Elite Pursuit Women’s Cycling Shorts are our top pick. They are comfortable and do a great job. We found them comfortable and we found that they were shaped well. We feel these shorts will work the best on most women who like longer spin bike workouts.
Pros:
- The wide waistband was comfortable and lay flat against our skin.
- These had a comfortable shape.
Cons:
- These shorts do fit smaller.
Baleaf Indoor Cycling Shorts For Women
If you need to keep your phone or keys with your when you spin, you may want the convenience of a side pocket. Many don’t like the feeling of something against their leg like this while cycling, but for others, this is the better alternative than to lie their personal items down somewhere. Many also use their phones for music during their workout, and having their device on their person makes it possible to use headphones.
These all black shorts have a smooth and straight stitching design. The waist is very flat and there’s no uncomfortable tightness around your middle. This straightness means that women with wider hips and curvier figures may find the Baleaf Shorts to be tight in the thighs, but their spin bike shorts with padding made with a woman’s shape in mind. The mostly nylon material with a blend of spandex makes sure these stretch well to stay in place. We found they did run smaller, so plan accordingly.
The Baleaf Women’s Cycling Shorts, despite fitting snug in the thighs, were great. They felt like quality material and the flat stitching style was perfect for those who want to avoid elastic bands that dig in. We feel these will fit slimmer women wonderfully.
Pros:
- These have a side pocket to keep items safe and close.
- The padding is shaped perfectly for women.
Cons:
- These shorts fit tighter in the thighs.
BEROY Women’s Indoor Cycling Shorts
If you’re the type who likes to get different colors of the same article of clothing, or you like to have a lot of options, you may want to check these shorts out. They have so many color and pattern options anyone will be able to find one they like. There are more options than can be reasonably listed here. Some of these options even have mesh panels around the thighs to help keep you cool during those intense workouts.
The padding on these have three layers of varying density to keep you covered, but not to the point that it becomes bulky. In fact, we found they were a bit thinner than we wanted on the front portion, which is where we wanted it the most. While this was a bit of a disappointment for us, we feel it will work for others. The material is mostly polyester with a blend of spandex. The elastic around the waist wasn’t as wide as our previous two entries and we felt it a bit more than we would’ve liked. They fit true to size, though if you’re the type who likes your shorts to be a little looser, you may want to go up a size.
These are great shorts, and we think a lot of women will love these. They were comfortable and fit well. We did wish they had more padding, but this will work to the benefit of those who sit straight while they cycle or who don’t need a lot of padding, to begin with.
Pros:
- These fit true to size and are a good shape.
- These shorts have the most color and style options on our list.
Cons:
- The BEROY Women’s Cycling Shorts lacked padding in the front.
NICEWIN Women’s Bike Shorts For Spinning
The NICEWIN is another pair of shorts for exercise spin bike with a pocket, though these place the pocket on the back just under the waistband to keep your items even more out of the way. The pocket, since it’s smaller because of placement, has a zipper to keep everything where it should be. There are six color options with these shorts with are black with some gray accents on the sides, another with the same fabric coloring but with gray seams as well, black with a blue patterned fabric on the sides, navy with blue patterned sides, navy with purple patterned sides, and black with green patterned sides.
These run small so you will want to get the next size up. We also noticed that these shorts were a bit unforgiving for those with curvy figures. While cycling shorts should fit snug, these were too snug in the hips. The fabric is a 4-way stretch material and if you have narrower hips and these shorts work for you, they will be comfortable and functional.
Even though these may not work the best for curvier women, we think women with narrower hips will find them comfortable and convenient with their back pocket and nice material. The six color options with some style variation was also a nice option.
Pros:
- These have a zippered pocket on the back to keep items close and unobtrusive.
- The fabric used is comfortable and stretches nicely.
Cons:
- These shorts are tighter in the hip area.
Santic Padded Spinning Shorts For Women
The Santic Cycling Shorts are a simpler design with all their options being a solid color with the accent color on the leg band. There are three choices, black with gray leg bands, black with blue leg bands, and a deep red color similar to merlot with a slightly lighter shade on the leg bands. The material is a blend of polyamide and elastane, with a higher percentage of polyamide. These were shorter on the legs than what we normally expect from cycling shorts. This will bother some and make it easier for the legs to slide up during intense workouts.
These fit true to size, though they didn’t have the same level of compression we would expect from cycling shorts. With also noticed that these had a curvier design and may be looser on women with narrower hips. The waistband was thicker over the abdomen, which is nice for those who may want extra support there. We found the padding to cover a wider area than on other shorts. While this wasn’t uncomfortable for us, we know some women will notice that width and find it agitating.
We liked these shorts and found them comfortable. They were a little shorter than what we prefer and are used to, and women with more slender frames may find these too loose-fitting in the hip area, but they have a nice wide waistband and good padding coverage.
Pros:
- The Santic Women’s Cycling Shorts are made from a soft material.
- The padding covers a wider area than some other shorts.
Cons:
- These shorts are shorter on the legs and may ride up as a result.
Souke Sports Women’s Cycling Shorts For Spinning
The Souke Sports Cycling Shorts come in four color options. You can choose from a solid black, black with blue sides, black with purple sides, or black with pink sides. These have a back pocket like the NICEWIN Cycling Shorts, but don’t have the zipper that some may find agitating. Instead, these use overlapping fabric to keep your items secure.
Souke offers a 100% money back guarantee with these, which is usually a great sign of quality, but in this case, we didn’t entirely agree with this. While these shorts are great and fit well, their seams were not as strong as we would’ve liked. Usually, when you’re considering compression or tight-fitted clothing, especially for athletic purposes, the seams are always doubled or reinforced. Much of the stitching on the Souke shorts seemed like what you would find on regular clothing and we feel that they won’t hold up after some more strenuous workouts.
These were comfortable shorts, and they have a back pocket, but we were not happy with the stitching quality and material quality. If they had taken the time to improve those things, these shorts may have made it higher on our list.
Pros:
- The company offers a money-back guarantee with these shorts.
- These have a back pocket that uses overlapping fabric instead of a zipper.
Cons:
- These lack the same level of quality as the other entries on our list.
Santic Women’s Padded Shorts For Indoor Cycling
The Santic Cycling Shorts have seven options of different styles you can choose. There are two with a leafy pattern around the leg bands and a strip down the thighs, one black with the pattern and strip in blue and the other black with the pattern and strip in pink. There are also two options with a design of a line of ‘V’ shapes on the outer thigh, both are black with one pattern in pink and one with the pattern in purple. The last style option you can pick is black shorts with curving lines over and around the legs. The three colors the lines come in are blue, pink, and purple.
The waistband on these shorts is thicker over the abdomen for more control and comfort, and the material is mostly nylon mixed with spandex. These fit fairly true to size, making it easier to know what to get. We found the padding over the rear was great, but we felt it was too thin in the front. It would be nice to have that covered so all styles of riding are comfortable.
We really like the Santic Women’s Cycling Shorts. They had a great fit and were really comfortable, except in the front portion of the padding. It just wasn’t enough for us, but those who don’t need cushion there should have no issue with these shorts.
Pros:
- Santic offers seven different options to choose from with these shorts.
- They have a wider waistband over the abdomen.
Cons:
- The padding toward the front is lacking.
CYCWEAR Women’s Bike Shorts For Spinning
The CYWEAR Cycling Shorts are a nicely shaped pair of shorts that fit well and came in three color options, namely a solid black, another solid black with different seam placement, and a pair that was mostly black with blue accents around the leg bands. These have a very wide waistband and won’t curl or fold even during harder workouts. They’re a basic and sleek design overall, and we were happy with their performance.
One issue we had with these is they felt loose in the waist. We often felt as though we needed to pull them up. This has a lot to do with body shape, and these will no doubt work fine for other women who may have more of a pear or apple-shaped figure. Other than the waist, these fit true to size. We found them comfortable overall.
The CYCWEAR Women’s Cycling Shorts were great shorts, but they just didn’t fit us quite right. They seemed to be designed with someone wider in the waist in mind. While this is not a bad thing, we felt they were either too loose at the waist or too tight at the leg bands. It would have been better if they were just shaped slightly differently.
Pros:
- These shorts have a very wide waistband that will stay where it’s supposed to.
- The CYCWEAR Women’s Cycling Shorts fit fairly true to size.
Cons:
- These shorts were wider in the waist and narrower at the leg band.
Baleaf Women’s Indoor Cycling Pants With Padding
We changed things up a bit with our last entry. Instead of shorts, we chose a pair of capris. The Baleaf Cycling Pants come in eight color options, six of which are mostly black with a simple colored line down the side and the other two have colored panels down the side. Of the line options, you can choose between blue, gray, black that will blend in with the pants, orange, pink, or purple. For the colored panels, you have blue or pink to pick from.
These capris have a back pocket with a zipper just like the NICEWIN Women’s Cycling Shorts previously mentioned on our list. They fit well and use gel cushioning for the padding. One thing we didn’t like was how thin and small the padding felt. It didn’t seem to cover enough area for us and we started feeling the bike seat earlier than we felt we should. Despite this, these capris pants were comfortable and we were pleased with the mostly nylon and spandex blended material.
These are great pants for cycling. While we understand that most women prefer shorts so their knees don’t feel restricted at all, there are still many who would rather have a longer option. Maybe it’s a modesty preference or maybe it’s just always freezing cold in your gym. Whatever the reason, these are a wonderful option. Our only concern with these was how small of an area the padding covered. It seemed we had to keep adjusting it to be in the right place.
Pros:
- These are capris style pants, so they are better for those who prefer the longer legs.
- The Baleaf Women’s Cycling Pants have a zippered pocket at the back.
Cons:
- The padding is small and wasn’t wider enough for our comfort.
Buying Guide
There are several things to consider when searching for the right pair of cycling shorts. One of those is the padding. You want to know if it’s thicker or thinner. Thicker padding will feel bulky and create that sensation of wearing a diaper, but it will usually offer the best cushion and won’t flatten out as quickly. You also want to know how large the padding is. Depending on your form while you cycle, you may not care about padding in the front, but if you lean forward sometimes and put weight towards the front of your bike seat, you’ll want that padding there too, which you can add also by using a spin bike seat cover. If you typically only sit straight this may not be as much of a concern and you may prefer to avoid that added bulk between your legs.
Another thing to consider is the fit. Many brands run smaller when it comes to their sizing, and you need to get the next size up in order to accommodate that. You also need to pay attention to your own body shape and the shape of the shorts. When you have clothing that’s compression or tightly fitted style, like cycling shorts, you want to be aware of whether those shorts match your shape or not. If they’re too wide in the hips, you may end up with cycling shorts that slip down or loose fabric that doesn’t look or feel good. If you’re curvier and the shorts are a straighter style, you’ll end up feeling squeezed or having trouble with the fit.
Final Verdict
We loved the Pearl Izumi Elite Pursuit Women’s Cycling Shorts. They were comfortable and we felt they were a nice middle ground with the shape. While they fit small, it was easy enough to get the right size, and we felt the padding was comfortable and very helpful in keeping us on our bikes longer. They stretched and moved well and we were pleased with the length of the legs and the height of the waist. The wider waistband was comfortable and stayed in place well.
The Baleaf Women’s Cycling Shorts weren’t far behind. The zippered pocket was a huge convenience, and the flat design was smooth feeling and moved well. Their padding was excellent and you can tell they focused on a woman’s specific physical needs when designing these shorts. If they weren’t tighter in the thighs, they may have made it to the top of our list, but that tightness pushed them into second place.
As you can see, just like most women’s clothing, finding the best spinning shorts for women in Canada for your body type, style, and comfort is not the easiest thing. Our list and reviews will allow you to make a better and more informed decision so that you can get back to cycling as soon as possible.