Renen Downhill MTB pants review

Renen has taken a rather simplistic approach to its Downhill MTB pants design, swerving an abundance of extras and features in a bid to create trousers that perform perfectly on the bike.

To achieve this, Renen offers a whopping 11 sizes (28-38in waists, stepping up in 1in increments).

This means there’s no real need to add bulky, costly waist-adjuster tabs (or something similar) as you’ll likely find on rival mountain bike trousers.

There is, however, a ratchet buckle, which will enable you to cinch the waist up a little tighter if you need to, along with the rear of the waistband being elasticated to provide a figure-hugging fit. A zippered fly adds extra security.

The fabric offers a decent amount of stretch and is lined with Renen’s DRYCYCLE liner (made from 95 per cent polyester and five per cent elastane). It covers the bulk of the inside of the pants and is designed to wick sweat away from your skin.

This lining is interrupted with stretchy mesh panels that run down the inside and outside of the thighs, and inside the lower legs, to help manage heat build-up.

There’s a single pocket located on the left hip. This uses a discreet zip and is big enough to fit a phone.

While a lot of brands will add more pockets elsewhere, this pared-back approach offers only what’s necessary and nothing more. The pants are priced at £146 / $178.

Renen Downhill MTB pants performance

My 30in pants fitted impressively well, although I appreciated being able to ratchet the waist buckle up a bit to ensure things were suitably snug.

The shape and leg length felt perfect for me. My legs are short (I’m 172cm) and the 29in inseam worked well, with the cuffs of the pants sitting nicely around my ankles, but not so long that excess material was left to bunch up.

The fit is certainly on the tailored side of things, but there’s enough room and stretch to ensure the trousers never feel restrictive or uncomfortable. You’ll easily get a set of bulky knee pads underneath.

On the bike, they articulate and move in perfect sync with you, staying in place and never needing any readjustment.

When pedalling, I noticed the occasional bit of noise as the inner seams brushed back and forth over my knee pads, but they never interfered with them, or snagged them while riding.

I’m a big fan of the single-pocket design. It’s simple and works well enough, although some folk may prefer to have more than one.

I would like a chunkier zip pull, though, because the one Renen specs is spindly and fiddly to find with mountain bike gloves on.

In general, I’d say these pants are best suited to colder days or shoulder seasons, where you’re likely to get caught out as temperatures fluctuate.

They’re not the lightest or airiest trousers, so you can get pretty sweaty if you’re pedalling long laps on mild days.

That said, they do an admirable job of wicking the sweat away.

I’m happy to take that heat build-up and deal with it, simply because of the impressive fit and comfort on offer.

While the Renen trousers may be lacking in the features department, they do the basics extremely well. If you’re after some well-cut, comfortable pants, they are certainly worth a look.

Renen Downhill MTB pants bottom line

The Downhill MTB pants from Renen offer a pared-back take on riding trousers that focuses on comfort, fit and performance. Renen has done a great job of delivering on those aims.

They’re not the cheapest or lightest and the zip pull could be improved, but those are small niggles and easy to live with considering the comfort, cut and fit on offer here.