I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have an aversion to wearing Lycra on its own. This is probably because I know I’m going to end up looking like Max Wall !! I’ve even tried leggings under my baggy shorts and believe me that looks even worse.

In my search for a solution to keeping warm in winter I considered buying downhill pants but decided that they were a bit over the top for my “mainly xc with a bit of looning around” requirements and most of them are pretty lurid at the best of times. Pace & Kona seemed to offer alternatives for me, but in both cases you have to spend nearly £100.

I finally decided to go for a pair of Deviate pro pants, as worn by the Spooky & Pashley Teams so I took a trip up to Singletrack Bikes in Gloucester. Now I may be getting old, but I tried them on and frankly, I looked ridiculous. Personally I don’t see how anyone can ride in a pair of trousers that are so immensely baggy, if you’re 14 years old they may “look wicked”, but when you’re pushing 30 ?!?

The guys at Singletrack suggested I try the Roach Indy pants on, they were £60 and at the time were only available in one size, mine – lucky huh ?! I bought a pair in black & grey, or more accurately my wife bought me a pair for Christmas.

The things that persuaded me to get these were:

· Price – they are cheaper than most equivalent products.

· Fit – They are a sensible(sorry!) cut for cycling, with ankle zips and straps.

· Colour – no Fluorescent options available.

· The Guarantee – If you rip them or wear them out, Roach will repair or replace them, for life!

Having looked at them fairly closely, well I have had them for over a year, they seem to be almost identical to Kona’s freeride trouser and both products have the same, unusual crotch area!!

Well they can be a bit on the warm side, but then I did buy them for winter use and they were a little stiff when they were new, but now I honestly cannot fault them.

You can wear them in the pub without fear of ridicule, and they are comfortable, warm and waterproof enough for a full day of winter riding, but you do need to wear padded shorts or underwear underneath them as they have no internal padding. The thing that has really prompted me to tell everyone else about them was falling on Sunday at the BMX track (I was on a mountain bike!). My pads underneath the trousers took the shock of the fall but it was the trousers that landed in the dirt without a mark on them. It seems that the Roach guarantee is not going to be called on very often…

The Bottom Line – A comfortable, stylish, very hard wearing and relatively cheap alternative to Lycra…and now they make them in different sizes !!

See the Indys in their natural habitat at www.roachclothing.com.