SPANX Look at Me Now Bike Short Review
If you follow me on Instagram, you know my recent goal is to find THE BEST bike/compressive shorts for working out. Summers around here can get hot, and I don’t always want to be wearing leggings. I also seem to have a body shape that EVERY. SINGLE. pair of shorts rides up on me. I read reviews of items when I’m shopping, if 10 reviews say “these don’t ride up” and 1 review says “these ride up on me” I follow that one person’s advice, because they WILL ride up on me too. I’m in my mid 30’s now, I’m not willing to be uncomfortable anymore, so began my search. My recent criteria for shorts:
- Don’t ride up (this is my number one criteria)!
- Compressive but not suffocating
- Soft/comfortable fabric
- High waisted
- Pockets are a major plus
I’ll be honest. I’ve never owned anything from SPANX. These days they have way more options beyond their original shapeware. Their options range from jeans to activewear. I’ve heard good things about their leggings, but I was in the market for some shorts. I signed up for their emails and received a 10% off coupon and the offered free shipping and free returns, so I decided to buy a pair of shorts.
So how do the SPANX Look at Me Now Bike Shorts measure up?
When I first opened the package, I literally thought there was no way I could fit the shorts onto my body. They looked miniature. Here’s a picture of me holding them up in an Instagram story that I posted.
I was able to get them on, and they seemed to fit fine. They are a seamless and they fit like other seamless leggings I’ve tried. What do I mean by that? I feel like seamless items don’t leave room for your butt, so the waistband in the back kind of drops down more than it does in the front. It didn’t bother me at all, but it’s something I noticed and I feel like companies could do a better job with.
I wore them for an indoor cycling class, so it was a pretty good test of how they would wear on me. They rode up a tiny bit, but not terribly. They don’t have a front seam, which is a major help. However, I was surprised that some of the interior seams aren’t flatlock seams. (If you’re not sure what that means, a flatlock seam is the kind that you would typically see on the bottom inside of a shirt. The seam doesn’t stick up at all, it’s sewn down so that it is more comfortable to wear). If I had any suggestions, I’d recommend all the interior seams on these shorts be sewn flatlock. They didn’t bother me too much, but they definitely left imprints on my skin.
To me the fabric is….weird. I’m not sure how else to describe it. They are 94% Nylon and 6% Elastane, but the feel of them is unlike any other leggings/activewear I’ve tried. It almost had a waffle-like feel to it. It’s definitely not a sleek shiny material, or a super soft brushed material. It’s hard for me to explain it. It doesn’t feel super soft on your hands, but it also didn’t bother my skin or feel itchy or irritating on. Verdict = I don’t love it, I don’t hate it, but I also can’t figure it out. I will say that the fabric is really great at hiding and wicking sweat. No one will be able to see that you’re sweating and they dry very quickly.
The shorts are high waisted, and the waist band covered my belly button. Their website says that the “Double-layer waistband tones the tummy.” I can’t say I really noticed this, but it was compressive without being too compressive. The waistband did roll down a little while I was spinning, but I find it almost impossible to have anything that high waisted not roll down when you’re bent over like that.
The shorts don’t have pockets, which is a little downside for me. Overall though, for the price I think they are a great short. I’d give them an overall 8/10.
A tip for sizing, I purchased my size based off of the size chart, and they fit, although they appear miniature. If you’re in between sizes I would recommend sizing up in these shorts.
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