Louis Garneau

Equipe Women's Shorts

Distance is your game, so passing the punishing miles in comfort needs to be your objective. Lucky for your, the Louis Garneau Equipe Women's Shorts feature an anatomic design with highest caliber of compressive Lycra on the market. Comfort and support, what more do you need?

Garneau designed the Equipe shorts around two key principles -- muscle support and comfort. In fact, you'll find that these are the underlying threads connecting the cut, chamois, and fabric selection. And on the latter note, Garneau selected two fabrics in order to achieve the perfect balance of support and comfort. Starting at the bulk of the construction, the Equipe uses the venerable Lycra Power fabric at the hamstrings, quads, inner thighs, and seat panel. This material is an Invista-certified Power Lycra with a blended composition of microtactel nylon and Lycra Power. Together, the material sees a controlled stretch and a fabric weight of 255g/m2 -- very nearly approaching recovery compression fiber weight. However, where these shorts differ from a dedicated compression piece is in the construction. Whereas compression pieces feature a graduated design, where the fabric weight thins in its approach to the heart, the Equipe maintains its 255g/m2 throughout the shorts. This way, the focus of the design is to support the muscle groups from the fatigue-inducing effects of road vibration, instead of simply concentrating on blood flow.

Another advantage of Lycra Power is that it uses a far more open and breathable knit than traditional compression pieces. This means that you'll remain cooler during and after hard aerobic exertions, while moisture is transported away from the skin to the quick-drying surface of the shorts. Additionally, the interior is soft on the skin, nearly eliminating the ailment of abrasion.

Furthering this concept is the fit itself. Garneau designed the shorts to be perfectly adaptable to the position and movements of cycling. In fact, Garneau cut the Equipe on an anatomic contour in order to ensure this. This works in coordination with the shorts' 11-panel design, ensuring that every body movement is predicted and supported. You'll also find that the lighter weight Lycra Pro material was incorporated at points of the leg that require more flexibility, like the outer thigh and above the knee. And securing this fit are Garneau's compressive Power Band leg grippers and yoga-like HuggFit waist. Going even further, the shorts also feature a seamless inner leg and flatlock seams throughout the construction.

For the chamois, Garneau included its venerable AirGel insert. This chamois, uses a pre-shaped wing design that moves in unison with your body. After all, a non-conforming insert is a leading cause of abrasion. So, to guarantee an obedient flexibility, the AirGel chamois uses a variable-density, perforated gel that's been shaped objectively towards every direction of movement and pressure. And unlike other forms of variable-density padding, the AirGel shape ensures that height transitions flow smoothly from region to region. This means that pinching and chafing are nearly eliminated. Garneau also included a center channel, much like your favorite saddles, that relieves pressure on the genitals. And rounding off the design, the outer fabric layer uses the antibacterial, wound healing Crabyon fabric.

The Louis Garneau Equipe Women's Shorts are available in fixe sizes from Small to XX-Large and in the colors Black, Black/ginger/white, White/candy purple/black.