Why best selling Betties are putting the sexy back into cycling pants.

(This post originally appeared on Total Women’s Cycling but is now updated here).

What’s a girl to wear ‘down there’ cycling? Lets face it, ordinary pants soon wipe the smile off your face, especially as it’s impossible to adjust wayward elastic at a red light when surrounded by commuters. And no one wants to ride with bulky cycling shorts beneath their J-Brands or Whistles work skirt.

Delve deeper into this dilemma and imagine you have secured yourself a cycling date with the man of your dreams.  A couple of circuits of the park and a few beers later, then its back to yours and the realisation that it’s impossible to remove a pair of cycling shorts in a seductive fashion (this applies to both genders, by the way), especially when they leave a non-too fetching imprint of a gripper band on your thighs.

And then there’s your birthday: your other half secretly wants to surprise you with something a little bit ‘va-va voom’ – but needs the comfort man-blanket of knowing that he’s also getting you something practical for the bike. Surely there is an alternative to receiving a fluffy red g-string and a bottle of Muc Off?

Or what if you just like wearing nice pants and riding your bike? Or want something discreet but effective to wear beneath workout gear for your spin class?

Hurrah! Here comes Bettie to solve every one of these pressing women’s cycling issues!

Created in Texas, Bettie is, basically, a really nice pair of pants with a slim (think panty liner) cycling chamois inside. The pad is flexible, breathable, quick drying and moisture wicking. It’s also invisible beneath clothes. And, while I wouldn’t recommend these pants for a day on your road bike, they are brilliant for any other type of riding: I’ve worn mine for mountain biking many times. Hey, I’ve even got QOMs in them (though frankly my legs are taking ALL the credit for those). The pants also feature extra stretch round the leg openings to avoid chaffing. They are easy to wash and quick to dry (much quicker than conventional cycling shorts!)

They are also quite beautifully to behold: silky fabric with mesh side panels and a ruched detail mid-back gives them a lingerie look and feel. There are ‘sister pants’ too: The Brigitte is a hooped black and white design with a bit more of a vintage look.

At £42 Bettie is, price wise, a world away from an M&S pack of five. However wear them as an alternative to cycling shorts and they start to look like a bit more of a bargain: so much so that I’m reliably informed that they are now a best seller at Velovixen.

In short, if you’re a lingerie lover and a cyclist, then they’re a bit of a must have. Buy them here:

* Further update, prompted by a friend who failed to realise that you need to wear shorts over the top of your Betties …. You need to wear shorts over the top, you really do.