The Floe women’s mountain bike short from Alpkit is a durable, comfortable and well-made option in a crowded market, with water-resistant coating and trail-ready styling. They're a bit too short to play well with kneepads, though, which seems quite an oversight.
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The Floe short is aimed specifically at trail riding, so uses noticeably stiffer material (with an even more durable feel) than the same company's adventure-focused Strada. As it's 12% spandex, it gives a really stretch fit and all-day comfort on and off the bike.
The fabric also gets a durable water resistant (DWR) coating to protect against trail splash and rain... to a point. It beads water in the hope it'll run off instead of letting it sink and soak in, and while it's not waterproof by any means, it’s a nice feature to have and one that's still working well many washes later.
The shorts get two pockets at the hip – a nice casual feature – but they obviously aren’t secure. There's a zippered pocket for stashing a key, a card or some money on the right leg, but it's not huge.
The zips that run from the bottom of the hem to about mid-thigh are actually mesh-backed vents / expansion joints, which Alpkit says give more room for knee pads. Neither is really necessary in my opinion, as the Floes are a little too short for knee pads without leaving an irritating thigh gap, and I’ve never felt the benefit from opening a zip on my leg in terms of heat.
The waistband is improved over the Strada shorts, with Velcro adjusters to tailor the fit. They stay up with two poppers and a zip, and a sturdy gripper tab helps you grab the zip in gloves.
Alpkit claims these are seam free in 'high wear' areas, but there's still a seam running front to back under the crotch... arguably the most wear-prone spot of all. It caused no comfort issues (not with a chamois, at least), but given Alpkit's claim it’s something that could be improved upon.
Nevertheless, the Alpkit Floe is a hard wearing and durable short with bright contrasting zips that make the already sharp styling really pop. At £60 they aren’t bad value either, although they would best suit a rider that doesn’t ride with kneepads – which may restrict their appeal somewhat.
