The Venturis feel substantial – from the riding we’ve done in them, we’re sure they'll stand up to the wettest muck and filth winter can throw at them. We’d keep these for colder days because we found ourselves getting a tad too warm on late summer/autumn days.
However, while the Venturis are practical enough in the keeping-you-dry stakes, we were less overwhelmed by the fit. The waist construction is a mix of elastic and fixed webbing belt, but pulling the belt in far enough to make it feel like it was working felt fine before we got on our bike, but as soon as we did, was too tight and actually pretty uncomfortable.
Loosening the buckle until we felt no pain meant that the elasticated waist tended to pull down through the course of a ride. The articulated knees work in principle, but the adjustment is messy and they look plain odd pulled in, but like flares if you don’t. If indestructible is what you’re after above all else then these might be the three-quarters for you, but to our mind they would benefit from more refinement to the fit.
This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine.
