Best Mountain Bike Shorts of 2026

The liner comes out. That one design choice is why these are the shorts we tell friends to buy: leave the chamois in for the climb and the descent, then pull it out and the shell becomes an ordinary stretch short for the drive home and the post-ride meal. A sewn-in pad can't do that, and it's the difference between a short that covers a whole day and one that only works while you're on the bike.

The waist tabs turned out to matter more than we expected. A loose shell worn over a liner shifts around far more than a fitted short, and being able to cinch each side a notch without stopping kept everything where it belongs on long descents. The leg ends just below the knee and runs slim rather than billowing, so there's nothing flapping against the saddle. Six pockets, all zippered, including a thigh pocket that swallows a phone and keeps it there.

Build quality is where these earn their place at the top. Ours have been through muddy washes and a couple of clumsy low-speed tumbles, and the fabric has held its shape and color where cheaper pairs go shiny at the seat. They also don't look like cycling kit, which means one pair covers the ride and the coffee stop afterward.

The liner itself is on the light side. For an hour or two of trail riding it's plenty; for a six-hour day, pull it out and put in the chamois you already trust, which is precisely what the removable design is for. That flexibility keeps them at the top of this list even though the pad alone wouldn't put them there.

Every roundup has a pair that quietly does the job for less, and this is it. Sportneer's shorts give you a padded liner inside a loose shell that looks like something you'd wear on a hike, at a price that sits at the bottom of this group. Nothing about them says Lycra, which is the first thing most trail riders ask for and the first thing budget shorts get wrong.

Two hours of rolling singletrack and we stopped thinking about them, which is the highest compliment a saddle-adjacent garment gets. The chamois is dense enough to take the sting out of roots without making you walk like you're mid-squat, and it doesn't wander under you on repeated climbs. The drawstring waist held through a full lap of up-and-down pedaling, and the fabric never got clammy.

The size chart is the one thing to ignore. It runs small, and the shorts are cut roomy enough that most riders land in the right pair by going up a size from their jeans rather than trusting the table on the listing. Ours have washed and dried without drama, the UPF 50+ fabric hasn't faded, and the pockets still shut.

Water resistance is the reason these are in the roundup. The fabric shrugs off splatter from a wet root section and dries fast enough that a muddy morning doesn't follow you into the car, and it does it without the crinkly feel of a proper rain shell. On trails that stay damp half the year, that's worth more than another zippered pocket.

The material is more substantial than most of the loose shells here, closer to a stretch hiking short than a paper-thin outer layer, and the double snap at the waist keeps things fastened when you're throwing a leg over repeatedly. The slanted side pockets are the thoughtful bit: they sit at an angle your hand finds while you're pedaling, which is exactly where you want a gel on a long climb.

These aren't the pair we hand to someone who wants one do-everything item — the Ally covers more ground for a bit more money. What they are is the wet-weather specialist, and in that role the extra heft and the splash-shedding finish are the whole point. When the forecast is wrong and the trail is a stream, this is the pair that comes off the hook.

This is the women's pick, and it's a different animal from the baggy shells: a fitted, high-waisted bike short rather than a loose over-short. The high band is the part that matters most — it doesn't roll down or slip into a belt of its own halfway through a climb, which is the thing that ruins most high-rise bike shorts.

Padding placement is where the 4D chamois earns its keep. It's shaped for a forward-leaning riding position and sits without bulk, so you're not walking into a coffee shop looking like you're wearing a cushion. The fabric is thick and soft, completely opaque even in a squat, and it has held up to spin sessions as well as trail miles.

Storage is the compromise. There's a useful little Velcro key pocket at the back, but the leg pocket is shallow — a regular phone will fit, a larger one won't sit securely, and you'll feel it moving. As a ride short with a jersey pocket behind it that's fine; as your only place for a phone it isn't. The waistband is cut snug, so take the next size up if you're between.

Most padded shorts give themselves away the moment you step off the bike — a bulge, a rustle, a waddle to the trailhead sign. This Bikewa pair mostly avoids all three: the chamois sits flat enough that these pass as an ordinary loose short at the trailhead, and the liner band grips the thigh instead of bunching up under the shell.

That flat pad is why these are our pick for a long day in the saddle. It's soft rather than thick, which suits trail riding where you're in and out of the seat constantly, and it doesn't shift when you stand to climb. The liner's leg band does the quiet work here: it keeps the pad anchored, which is the part most loose shorts get wrong.

Pockets are where these beat pricier options on this page. Several are zippered, all sit where you can reach them with one hand while rolling, and the deep ones hold a phone without it sliding out at the first rock garden. The fabric is light and dries fast, and ours have come through repeated washes without pilling at the seat.

The pad in the VAYAGER is sewn into the shell, so what you buy is what you ride — there's no pulling the liner out on the drive home. That suits riders who want one piece and no fuss, and it makes these a strong choice if you'd rather not keep track of a separate liner at the trailhead.

Pockets are the highlight. Zippered and Velcro compartments keep keys and a phone where you put them, and the cut passes as a pair of hiking shorts, which means they do double duty at the campsite and on the drive to dinner. The fabric dries fast and doesn't cling when you're sweaty.

The pad is where the compromise sits. It's thick enough to soften a long fire-road climb, and thick enough that you feel it when you're walking around; on a fast descent it can shift under you rather than staying glued in place. Riders who spend more time pedaling than standing around won't mind much, and the roomy cut hides the bulk better than a fitted short would.

For a one-pair rider — trail on Saturday, campsite on Sunday — these are the shorts we point to. Layer a liner underneath if a long day needs more cushion, and accept the pad's bulk as the price of not fiddling with a removable liner at the trailhead. Just check the size chart twice; the cut runs large.