8 Best Mtb Shorts of 2026

Most shorts that come with a liner sew it in, which means the day the foam packs out you are shopping for a whole new pair. Ally’s liner is a separate piece, and that is the detail that sold us: wear it under the shell, wash it on its own, replace it when it is done. It is a small design decision with a long life attached to it.

The shell itself is light and stretchy and reads as an ordinary pair of shorts rather than race kit, which matters if your ride ends at a cafe. Six pockets give you somewhere to put everything, including zippered ones, and the side leg pocket takes a phone without bulging. The outer layer has also held its shape through scrapes, which is more than we expected at this price.

Where it gives ground is the padding. The 4D liner is comfortable for a couple of hours of trail riding, but it is on the light side for a long day, and anyone used to a dense chamois will feel the difference by the end of a big ride. If your rides are short and you want one purchase that covers everything, that trade is easy to make.

A budget MTB short has one job above all others: keep the pad under you instead of halfway up your back. Sportneer’s 3D padding does that, and the liner stays in place rather than bunching when you stand out of the saddle. For the money, that alone is the argument.

What surprised us is how ordinary they look. No Lycra sheen, no panels, nothing that announces you have ridden there — the fabric is light, the cut is roomy, and UPF 50+ is a real bonus on exposed fire-road climbs. Four pockets, with the leg pair zipped, cover a phone, keys and a gel, and the whole thing dries fast enough to wear again the next morning.

Hiauspor does not market these as bike kit, and the details give it away: cargo pockets, belt loops, a cut that sits closer to a hiking short than to race clothing. That is not a criticism. Plenty of riders want one pair that works on a two-hour trail loop and then looks normal in a pub, and these are the cleanest answer to that in this group.

On the bike, the stretch is the part that matters. The fabric gives enough to pedal without tugging across the thigh, it dries fast, which is what you want after a sweaty climb or a sink wash overnight, and at this weight you barely notice them. The pockets zip, they are deep enough for a phone and a snack, and the belt loops let you keep the waist where you set it.

This is the pair we pack when a trip mixes riding with everything else — a morning on singletrack, an afternoon walking into town. It is not the most technical short here: no chamois, no water-repellent finish, nothing built specifically around the saddle. What it is, is the most versatile, and the price makes a second pair an easy call.

The fit is the one thing to sort out before ordering. Sizing is not consistent across the range — these run large in some sizes and snug in others — so go by your measured waist and let the belt loops handle the rest. That caveat aside, this is the easiest recommendation here for anyone who does not want a drawer full of single-purpose shorts.

Twelve inches of inseam is the number that defines these. It is a long short, and it changes what they are for: proper leg coverage on descents, a little protection where your knee meets the top tube, and no creeping up into your liner when you are out of the saddle. Riders coming from shorter shells notice it immediately, mostly in a good way.

The nine-inch Essential Liner is a separate piece, so the shell still works over your own chamois if the included pad does not suit your saddle. The shell is 95 percent recycled polyester with 5 percent spandex, rated UPF 50+, built around a fusion gusset, and finished with an elastic waistband, adjusters and locking zip pockets.

Where the money goes is the fabric and the finish. It holds its colour and its shape, the cut is clean enough that it does not announce itself as bike gear, and the whole thing feels built for more seasons than the budget picks here. It is the pair in this group that looks most like clothing and least like kit.

Two things to weigh before spending premium money. The care label says hand wash only, which is a real commitment for something that comes back covered in mud. And some listings for this short ship without the liner, so confirm it is included before you order, because the pad is half of what you are paying for. Get both of those right and these are the best long-ride shorts in the group.

Water resistance is why these are here. Splashes bead and run rather than soaking in, mud brushes off instead of staining, and a damp ride does not leave you sitting in wet fabric for the last hour. It is the only short in this group sold that way, and on a wet, rooty trail that is a real difference rather than a marketing line.

The rest is conventional in a good way. They are loose enough to go over a padded liner without looking like a parachute, the fabric is light and stretchy, and belt loops plus a double snap at the front keep the waist where you set it. The zippered pockets take a phone and a set of keys, and the cut does not ride up your legs when you are pedalling hard.

These read as hiking shorts, which is exactly the point. Nothing about the cut or the colour says bike, they are light enough for a hot afternoon, and the fabric dries fast, so a wet morning does not ruin the rest of the day.

The pockets are the practical part: zippered and Velcro’d in the right places, deep enough for the gear most of us actually carry, and placed so a phone sits off your thigh rather than under it. The waist adjusts, the fabric stretches, and the cut is roomy without turning into a tent.

The attached 3D pad is the compromise. It is firmer and bulkier than the padding on the other picks here, comfortable on the saddle and obvious when you are walking around, and it can shift a little as you ride. Riders who only wear a chamois on the bike will notice the difference; riders who wear the shorts all afternoon will notice it more.

So where does this land? For a casual rider who wants one short for a trail loop and the rest of the day, it is a solid, good-value choice. Riders chasing a technical fit should look at the Ally or the ZOIC instead, and anyone between sizes is better served by the smaller one.

The fit is the pleasant part. These are roomy through the thigh without becoming a tent, the elastic waist with side tabs snugs up easily, and the fabric is soft enough to wear all day. They have also survived a couple of months of regular riding without obvious wear, though that is not long enough to call longevity.

Six pockets means you can split the load: phone on one side, keys and a tool on the other, so nothing bulky sits against your thigh. The fabric is flexible enough that a liner underneath does not feel like two garments fighting each other, which is more than we can say for some of the tighter shells in this set.

For riders who want a loose, normal-looking short and do not need a chamois, this is a sensible buy at the low end of the group. The Ally gives you a liner and better hardware for more money; BERGRISAR gives you six pockets and a relaxed cut without the premium.