It's no surprise that one of the retailers offering the most in the way of deals this weekend is Amazon. Naturally, we've happily been helping Jeff Bezos save up for new spaceships by highlighting some of the best cycling offers Amazon have on the go on our Cyber Monday bike deals page.
This means we've had to look at a lot of pages on Amazon which in turn means we've been exposed to some - to my mind at least - curious, if not downright disturbing, imagery.
I'm talking about the habit that a surprising number of Amazon's retailers have of photographing Lycra cycling shorts on a model (real or a mannequin) inside out. Maybe it's just me, but seeing the chamois on the outside feels like all kinds of wrong.
I'm not sure what these pictures are triggering in me. I don't think I've ever had a dream in which I'm giving a presentation in a just a pair of reversed shorts. And I've never left the hotel, jumped on the bike and got a couple of minutes into my ride before realising that I have, indeed, put my bibs on inside out. Which is what tech writer Tom Wieckowski from our sister site Cyclingnews did this morning.
I don't know why but I don't like this and you can't make me.
(Image credit: Amazon)
I don't think I've ever seen brands like Rapha, Castelli or Assos putting the innards of their best cycling shorts on display in this way. Perhaps that's because these brands feel that the likely audience for their products know what a chamois looks like.
One plausible explanation for this questionable displaying of foam is that newer cyclists wondering if you should wear underwear when you ride might want to see what padding is on offer. Or what a chamois pad even is. In which case fair play -even though I don't like, I'll have to go along with it.
And just because I don't like how the products have been shot, it doesn't mean I should dismiss them. Earlier this summer Cycling Weekly's tech features editor Stefan bought nine cheap cycling products from Amazon and put then put them through their paces to see if they were great deals or a false economy. He was pleasantly surprised.
So, while I'm looking at something like the Sportneer padded cycling shorts and thinking baboon's backside. I might really be hovering over a proper cycling bargain.
So, in the interest of fairness, I've included a selection of said shorts for you to peruse...
Finally, says the blurb for Sportneers, a pair of cycling shorts you can actually feel comfortable in. I mean, I'm pretty sure this has been done before but comfortable shorts for less than $11/£11 seems like a good deal.
Got to admit, I'm getting REALLY mixed messages from the title for the Ohohu cycling shorts. Breathable, yes. 4D padding - sure. Christmas decorations clearance. I'm sorry?
Flat stitch seams, moisture transfer function, a Coolmax pad and 4.5 stars from over a hundred reviews for the Baleaf shorts.
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Rob has been Content Director of Cycling Weekly - and stablemates Bikeperfect, Cyclingnews.com and MBR - since May 2021. Before that he spent two years in similar role at Bikeradar, which followed 12-years as Editor-in-chief of Cycling Plus magazine and eight years at Runner's World. In his time as a cycling journalist he's ridden from London to Paris at least twice, London to Bristol once, completed the Fred Whitton Challenge, L'Etape du Tour and Maratona dles Dolomites. He's also jumped into the broom-wagon at La Marmotte and Oetzaler Radmarathon.
