Shredly Women's Ridewear Review

SHREDLY WOMENS RIDEWEAR REVIEW

A RIDING KIT MADE FOR WOMEN

Words by Emma Wooldridge  |  Photos by Cole Gregg

When I first started mountain biking, I combed the Internet for stylish women’s kits. I came across SHREDLY quickly, but I wrote them off as too “loud.” Instead, I settled with cookie-cutter brands that weren’t on the same mission as SHREDLY, which is to “offer women of all shapes and sizes the best selection of technical apparel.” I started to feel like Goldilocks while testing out pants – “they’re too tight” or “they don’t fit quite right!” I wandered the Internet aisles and sulked until SHREDLY flashed back on my radar. SHREDLY dropped a new collection just in time for you to add a little spring in your…pedal? And though I still wasn’t interested in wearing their bold prints, I was eager to test out their innovative, sustainable fabrics and pull on a pair of their high-waisted, stretchy joggers. After a month of relentless testing, I’ve compiled my thoughts on my first SHREDLY outfit (check back later for the summer fit!).

THE LAB

SHREDLY has been on the eco-friendly fabric bandwagon for a while now, having committed to only sourcing 100% recycled or eco-friendly fabrics for all of their new products back in 2019. They started off with ecoFab, which is the material used for all of their performance tops. EcoFab is a USA-made fabric blend that consists of recycled and natural fibers, including recycled polyester, tencel, and lycra. Recycled polyester and spandex are combined to create the ecoMove fabric, used in most of SHREDLY’s “Bottoms” lineup.

The Limitless pants (formerly known as SHREDLY’s Cascade Pant) were designed for versatility. Born out of SHREDLY’s popular Limitless shorts, the Limitless pants have a stretch waistband – no zipper, no buttons, no weird gaps. A drawcord, located at the front of the high-rise waistband, allows you to adjust the fit. The pants have two hand pockets on the frontside, one zippered pocket on the left hip and another zippered on the side of the right leg, large enough to fit a standard mobile. The Limitless pants are jogger-style pant that have a tailored fit with an elasticized ankle cuff. SHREDLY didn’t skip any details when it came to designing the pants specifically for women’s bodies – the connected paneling in the back, hips, and knees creates shape and a better fit, as well as room for knee pads. These pants are made with SHREDLY’s 4-way stretch ecoMove fabric, allowing for more freedom and durability. The Limitless Pants are available in a wide range of sizes (00-24) and three colorways for the Spring/Summer 2023 collection: Noir, Rainbow Ombre and Graphite Tie Dye, and retail for $138.

If you’re like me and suffer from weirdly sweaty palms, SHREDLY’s gloves have silicone-printed graphics to help with grip and quickly pressing the record button on your phone’s Strava app (i.e. touch-screen friendly). The palm is also ventilated to maximize breathability. The gloves feature cloth thumbs to wipe your runny nose, with a stretchy mesh backing material helping them to be lightweight. Sizes range from XXS to XL with the smaller sizes regularly fitting 6-16 year-old riders, as well. The SHREDLY Glove is available in a wide variety of patterns, with a retail price of $29.

The long sleeve is made with SHREDLY’s ecoFab material: a blend of Tencel, Recycled Polyester and Lycra that results in a top that wicks away moisture, dries quickly, and is antimicrobial. Hidden in the back left side of the top is a small, zippered pocket that can be used to tuck away lightweight items, like an ID or a key. Thumbholes were incorporated in case you don’t like to have your sleeves move around and ride up. The back of the top has a mesh panel to increase breathability, keeping you cool on hot summer pedals. The paneling also helps to create a more delicate look to the top. SHREDLY rightfully boasts that this top is beyond soft and is as smooth as butter. This top wasn’t designed just for riding – it was intended to be your everyday adventure top. You can order the long sleeve top in size XS to 3X and in multiple colors (Black, Midnight Turq, Terracotta, and Flamingo Tie Dye), which retail for $88.

Shredly Womens Ridewear Review

THE DIRT

I measured and compared myself to SHREDLY’s size chart to make sure I didn’t waste time returning these sweet pieces and I found myself in my most typical size – size 4 for bottoms, size small for tops, and extra-small for the gloves.

I was honestly dubious about the durability of these products. I want to laugh now, because I have put them ALL through the ringer and they are truly my favorite pieces of clothing currently. I wore the Limitless pants, long sleeve, and gloves for my first enduro of the year. Practicing the day before, I took a hard hit unexpectedly. I tore off my full-face to take a closer look at my pants, thinking that there was no way I hadn’t just ripped them to shreds on the rocks that I fell on. Incredibly, there wasn’t a single scratch, rip, or tear on them. I did retain some gnarly bruises on my legs, though. And rest assured, I proceeded to continue my testing on them throughout the enduro race. These pants were entirely unphased as I bounced off of rocks and even found myself underneath my bike, pinned. My performance was certainly laughable, but the Limitless pants are not.

Part of the surprise that these pants are so hardy is likely because they don’t even look like mountain biking pants. I wear these EVERYWHERE. They are stretchy, comfortable, and more stylish than the typical bike pants. Sliding on these pants for the first time was a dream come true. I grew up in the millennial era of yoga pants and I’m pretty sure I teared up – I had finally found THE pants. The fit was perfect. Pants usually fit me tighter in the legs and looser in the waist, but these pants were slightly more fitted in the waist due to its high-rise, yoga-style stretch waistband. The Limitless pants stay in place and I wasn’t finding myself constantly yanking them up. I was able to fit my regular knee pads underneath and didn’t have any problems with them being too tight or too loose in any area. These pants allow for easy movement whether it be on the bike, outside rock climbing, or doing some stretching (you do remember to do that, right?).

Shredly Womens Ridewear Review

The Limitless pants don’t have a shortage of pockets. I most frequently use the zippered pocket on the side of my right leg. I put my phone facing into the mesh of the pocket. Normally, my only concern with pockets is if they’re zippered and big enough to fit important things. But with the SHREDLY pants, I noticed that this pocket placement seemed a little unusual. And until I took my big fall in them, I had no guesses as to why. I have taken a fall on my right quad more than once, but with the pocket being placed around and almost to the back of my leg, my phone was completely protected in the fall. I’d like to think that was part of a very thoughtful design.

The only downsides to these pants are that they aren’t waterproof and they aren’t warm enough alone for riding in the cold. I have been out for at least one long afternoon in the rain in these pants and they held up well, but I could see the fabric absorbing some of the water. I wore these on a windy and super chilly day and I was slightly frozen by the end of the ride, but we’re talking about a 35-40 degree day with wind. Many people still have their sanity and choose not to ride in that weather. Ultimately, I think SHREDLY nailed what they set out to do.  They produced these pants to be a versatile option for women who ride bikes.

Shredly Womens Ridewear Review

The long sleeve top’s ecoFab material is creamy and thin. This top isn’t meant for the winter, but could be an option for layering and is perfect for spring days and summer mornings. The fit was ideal and flattering for my style with the sizing and measurements matching up in my case. Nothing about it screams “hard core” or “performance style” and as such, I’ve worn it grocery shopping and at yoga. As advertised, it’s extremely smooth and comfortable. Nothing itches, snags, or rubs while wearing. I’m a fan of thumb holes and I often use them when riding, especially when my hands are feeling cold. When I wasn’t using them, I didn’t feel like I had too much fabric bunched at my wrists since the top is so thin. The stitching of the back panels gives the top a refined, delicate look. And while the Limitless pants have a large SHREDLY logo tag, the long sleeve has a simple, subdued gold logo on the side. The mesh back panel added some necessary ventilation and the antimicrobial fabric has been working its magic, as it hasn’t held onto any funky smells. I didn’t care for the zippered pocket in the top. I use my hip pack and pants pockets for anything I need to store and the top’s pocket can’t hold too much without weighing the top down. If you somehow find yourself without pockets on the bottom, then it could be a useful spot for tucking away a car key or tissues.

Another point to be made about these products’ durability is that I’ve put them through the wash several times and the material hasn’t been affected. There hasn’t been any pilling or roughening of the fabric and they’re wrinkle-free. I figured the pants would hold up well, but was not expecting the long sleeve to retain its softness. This makes their price worth it to me since it means I’m buying quality clothes that will last a long time. And if you’ve been on the environmentally-friendly journey for a while now or if you’re just starting to consider some more thoughtful choices, SHREDLY’s collection may be a good option for you. The recycled fabrics are tough and build up a versatile product, which means you’re buying and using less. Good for your bank account and the planet.

Shredly Womens Ridewear Review

As someone who has a whole closet filled with neutral colors, I don’t gravitate towards bold prints but I genuinely enjoyed wearing the watercolor print gloves. With so many options, I think anyone can find a SHREDLY glove to like, even if it’s the only non-print one! The watercolor was a soft and pretty print and wasn’t too bold of a pattern that prevented me from pairing them with all of my riding clothes. Perforations in the palm’s fabric gave some breathability. While riding, I kept noticing that my right palm would catch on the grip after slightly moving it so my thumb could reach to shift (which is a whole other problem since Cole keeps moving all my levers around without proper notification). Although I did my best to measure and size the gloves, there didn’t seem to be enough fabric for my palm. Which meant that when my palm stretched, the fabric stretched taut with it and didn’t lay flat against my palm. This caused the fabric to get hung up on my grip more and was mildly frustrating. I’d consider sizing up, but the gloves fit my fingers perfectly. The gloves featured small, white SHREDLY logos on the pointer finger and thumb. I didn’t notice any extra grip from them but I did discover that the gloves don’t work well in the cold with touch screens. I had to take them off to start my Strava ride, which isn’t anything to get too disgruntled about, but I was a little annoyed when I was trying to quickly make a call to see why my boyfriend hadn’t made it to the bottom of the trail. After about an hour of riding, the gloves finally warmed up and I was able to use them with my phone. If you’re in the market for a pair of gloves that work well with touch screens, these wouldn’t be my pick, but they’re certainly cute.

The Wolf’s Last Word

SHREDLY is a unique and inclusive women’s apparel company that has designed an inspired way for many women riders to be their most authentic selves in the outdoors. The Limitless pants are sleek and thoughtfully engineered by women, for women. The long sleeve top is luxuriously soft, breathable, and ideal for a cloudy spring day. Although the gloves aren’t my pick for shoulder seasons and reliable touch screen use, they do pack an extra color punch. Buying new and expensive mountain bike clothes can be hard to justify when they typically only serve one purpose, but SHREDLY has solved that problem for us by designing durable and fashionable apparel that can be worn in all the different parts of our lives. If you’re an unapologetic lover of all things colorful, eco-friendly, and “girly” then SHREDLY probably has a kit for you to rock on and off the trail.

Price:
Long Sleeve Top $88
Limitless Pant $138
Gloves: $29

Website: Shredly.com

We Dig

Flattering fit
Stretch waistband
Quality fabric

We Don’t

Lack of neutral designs and colors
Gloves touch screen feature is hit and miss

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