Q36.5 Adventure Liner Shorts

The Q36.5 Adventure Liner Shorts are padded boxer-style cycling shorts designed to be worn under trail shorts or everyday clothes. Q36.5 describes them as supremely comfortable and built to give low-profile support, which makes them a base layer for gravel, mountain bike and commuting rides rather than a standalone pair of cycling shorts. If you ride in baggy shorts and want a chamois without the look or bulk of a bib, this is the piece that fills that role.

The fabric is 76% polyamide 6.6 and 24% elastane, and Q36.5 lists the weight at 132 grams in a medium. That blend is a stretch knit meant to follow the shape of your legs rather than sit loose under an outer layer. The pad is what Q36.5 calls a slimmed-down SM chamois. The shorts are tailored without a central under seam, so the face that meets the saddle is smooth, which matters on a long day when a seam can turn into a hot spot. The legs use laser-cut finishing in place of a sewn hem, and the waistband is soft and silicone-free, so there is no gripper material pressing into your skin. Q36.5 also lists a Body Temperature Stability rating of +64°F for the shorts.

These work best as part of a layered system. Pair them with Q36.5's Adventure Baggy Shorts or any pair of trail shorts, and you get a pad that moves with you under a looser outer short that has pockets for a phone, keys or a multi-tool. They also suit commuters and riders on mixed-terrain routes who want to arrive at the destination in normal clothes, since the outer layer can be anything you like. The shorts come in black, in sizes XS to XXXL, with the size chart on the product page. Because the liner is meant to fit close to the body, check your measurements before ordering rather than guessing between sizes.