Review by Alice Burwell

>>> Best women’s mountain bike saddles

Khyber is Race Face shorthand for women’s downhill, and this baggy short sits in the gravity category. To be honest, when I got this short I had no idea it was for downhill, and most people wouldn’t either because Khyber doesn’t really say downhill – unless you’ve ridden the trail in Whistler that it’s named after.

So what makes it a gravity short and can it work for trail riding?

The Race Face Khyber uses a thick material on the outside and soft fleecy inner layer with a three-way stretch. It’s definitely thicker than a regular baggy and also has a DWR waterproof coating, which does stop water soaking into the fabric. And just in case you do get soaked, these shorts have a hanging loop on the back for easy drying. In fact, with this coating, and the extra weight, I actually think this would be a really good winter short.

The Khyber has a fly with two buttons and a Velcro patch to stop it popping open. When you do need to open it there’s a little flap to help, but as a woman I don’t really need the fly.

I do need pockets for my stuff though, and there are three on the Khyber short. The one on the waist is mesh lined, which does stop your phone getting scratched. The others are a decent size and have handy pull tags.

I have a small waist, so even with the small size (tested) I had to pull the Velcro tensioners pretty tight. The problem is they bunch up and dig into my hips when riding. I also didn’t get on with the length – they just felt a little too long. There are a couple of things I like though, and one of them is black and white pattern on the inside of the waist – most of us have a few black shorts and I can spot these easily in my washing pile.

For summer trail riding the Khyber just feels a little too bulky, but Race Face does make a Traverse baggy, which has a softer waist band, is slightly shorter in the leg and does away with the fly. If you want a lightweight and comfortable baggy for trail riding the Traverse is the one I’d recommend.