Skip to main content

Fox Demo DH shorts


For shorts that bill themselves as downhill fare, the Fox Demo DHs feel surprisingly light and airy, but make no mistake – the 600-denier shell is tougher than it looks. Fox makes a big deal about the Demo’s ‘freedom of movement’ and there’s truth in advertising here–the shell has a light feel and a nice degree of stretch to it. Sure, you can wear these things at the bike park, but they’re just as ideal for allday pedals in the backcountry. The Demos sport a fairly long inseam (14 inches), so they completely cover kneepads and prevent the dreaded gorby gap.

When it comes to tweaking the fit, the Demo relies primarily on a front ratcheting closure, which, while very secure, doesn’t offer quite as much adjustment as some of the Velcro waist adjusters on other shorts. There are also no belt loops to take up extra slack. Consequently, you need to be a bit more precise with your choice of short size when shopping for these. Lastly, at this price it’s a bit odd that the Demos don’t come with a chamois.

Price 110$

Popular posts from this blog

KONA SHRED

With a reputation for no-nonsense ruggedness and a background in the always progressive and punishing riding of Canada, Kona have been building hardcore hardtails for longer than almost anyone else. The Shred is the most expensive bike on test but it’s a proper trail tank.

CANYON NERVE AL 8.0

  S ince their entry into the UK market a few years ago, Canyon have made a name for themselves as purveyors of well-made bikes that exhibit often extraordinary value. The secret (or catch, depending on your point of view) is that the brand don’t have dealers – they ship bikes directly to your door.

COMMENCAL EL CAMINO 3

Commencal are going from strength to strength at the moment and they’ve taken their tough trail hardtail bang up to date with 650b wheels. With its skinny rims, crankset and fork, the El Camino certainly isn’t perfect and it’s the least hardcore bike here. The handling, smoothness, speed and all-round agility of the basic bike still make it a real blast for technical trail riding though, and it’s a great base for upgrading over time.

ENVE M50 29" Wheels

Utah based company ENVE have been making drool-worthy carbon components for some years now. Despite the fact that carbon rims are becoming more and more common on mountain bikes these days, you can guarantee that ENVE wheels will be a talking point when someone is eyeing off a steed. Instantly, the big bold logos on each rim scream "fast", "light" and to some extent, "expensive" The kids call this 'bling'.

Merida Big Nine 100

Wit the bikes swapped over, we head out on the same loop again, this time on the 29in Big Nine 100. Whereas the Big Seven was snappy off the line, the 29er takes a couple more pedal strokes to get up to speed. That said, once it's up there, it's easy to keep the big wheels rolling, allowing us to cover ground with ease. The fire road is at times a little rough, and the bigger wheels roll over the imperfections so we barely notice them.