stylish pants/denim to cycle in?

I had a tough time buying Outlier pants the first time, but I have had the same pair for three years and they have held up better than any pant for cycling. They also have like a 6 month no questions asked return policy, so not being able to try them on before buying them isn't much of an issue.

pretty much anything that's not a nut-hugger and has a measure of stretch; i can wholeheartedly recommend velour chinos...easily the best i've worn (including the likes of mabitex, unis and w+h)

Swerv out of NYC makes some nice biking jeans....

you should definitely try to see the outlier in person or be willing to return them. the schoeller fabric is stretchy and tech-y, and doesn't drape as nicely natural fabrics, esp. denim. i rarely wear my pair b/c it always feels like i'm putting on a star trek uniform. i got the grey color thinking they would be cooler in summer, but would definitely choose black next time since the texture would be less noticeable and "pass" more as a normal fabric. mine have only seen light use over 2 years, and the fabric is already starting to pull in a few places at the thigh. they are, however, freaking awesome in the rain--really repel water in light to med showers. far, far superior to rain shell pants, which get hot and sweaty and clammy. i paid $140 (160?) for mine when they first came out, not sure i would drop $200 on them now, considering i just use them as rain pants. i thought swrve was west coast, maybe based in LA--anyway, they also do schoeller/nylon riding pants at slightly cheaper prices. i also have a pair of swrve cotton knickers which have a great cut & fit really well, but the thickish cotton is far from ideal, esp. during hot & sticky summer NYC weather. rapha has great style, and also does schoeller/nylon riding pants, but at outlier prices or higher. they've also got some poly-cotton riding pants/knickers i'm curious about. probably a little better than denim for warm weather, but i'm not sure how much better. thoughts? i don't see much reason to pay extra for special cycling jeans. denim is denim. hard wearing but when it's warm/hot or it rains or you ride for more than a half hour and sweat, it takes too long for your soggy butt to dry. for cool AND hot weather riding, wool is really the ideal fabric but i have yet to find either: 1) an affordable, slim, stylish set of wool knickers. there are a number of biking-specific ones, but they are either ugly or baggy or very expensive (i may have to bite the bullet on rapha). or 2) slim, stylish wool pants that are cut like jeans. so many wool pants are cut like dress pants with a big drop in the ass. i have yet to see any slim wool cycling pants: anyone? i'm at the point where i'm about to take an old pair of wool dress pants to the tailor to see what he can do. from my archives (prices may be outdated): trousers: outlier schoeller fabric (80% nylon, 10% poly, 10% spandex), slim cut, $180 swrve nylon winter weight schoeller fabric (80% nylon, 10% poly, 10% spandex), slim cut, $175 swrve wind/water resistant trousers (90% nylon, 10% spandex), small sizes, $125 rapha cotton-poly trousers, $140 dickies skinny fit (20% poly, 80% cotton), $30 dura-kap work pants (65% poly, 35% cotton; slimmer than dickies reg fit), $14 knickers: b spoke tailor wool knickers (oakland, CA; custom, by appt), $175 bicycle fixation classic wool knickers, $130 rapha fixed shorts, schoeller plus 4s, $190 rapha polyamide (94% nylon, 6% spandex) shorts, $110 swrve lightweight wind/water repellant knickers (92% nylon, 8% spandex), $100 chrome ltwt nylon w/cargo pocket, $160 swrve (92% nylon, 8% spandex, 11” inseam) shorts, $85 oregon cycle wear rayon/nylon w/chamois, $50 zoic speakeasy poly, $65 smartwool ranch shorts (knee-length, baggy), $50 nylon rock climbing shorts nylon/cotton blend trail shorts poly/cotton blend shorts (prAna, dickies 13”, etc.) happy trails.

Jeans that I normally wear for cycling are fine and are actually the main cause of wear on my raw denim. If you are biking for distances where it would be really uncomfortable to wear jeans, then just wear dedicated biking shorts.

I like Diesel jeans for biking. Get em cheap at Nordstrom Rack. Don't get the weird washes, find a decent "fit", and they're gtg. I can't count the number of wrecks, slides, tumbles, etc I took in those pants and they still look great. I also recommend ballistic nylon bags for the same reason (timbuk2 commuter, 10 years old, still going strong). Fourteen mile commute (daily) in the wonderful Portland, OR winter, btw.