My main way of working out through most of my adult life has been biking. And just like runners get their own clothes and run-specific gear, bikers have bike apparel.

Enter Wild Rye: a biking and outdoors apparel company just for women. The company is female-oriented and the products are all specific to women: for our athletic needs, bodies, style preferences and performance features.

I tried out a few products from Wild Rye to see what it was all about, and in this review, I’ll provide you with a baseline summary of what to know before you buy, more about the brand and how the products tend to fit. Read on, to learn about this cool brand that’s taking the bike industry for women by storm.

What to know: a rundown

  • Wild Rye is a female-forward women’s outdoor apparel brand making adventure, biking and “lifestyle” clothes. Their clothes are geared toward, “women, femme, and non-binary-identifying folks.”
  • The signature styles come in funky patterns, darks, bolds and pastels, with best-sellers including biking jersey, biking pants, bike shorts and accessories like women’s biking gloves and socks.
  • Their prices are what you’d expect for technical apparel, but they frequently have sales, ways to shop pre-owned products and a “bundle & save” option for discounts.
  • Wild Rye has a big focus on sustainability, reuse of their products, promoting their “redux” marketplace for reselling secondhand Wild Rye clothes and lastly, environmental impact (see more below).

Pros and cons of the brand

Objectively speaking, here are my highlights and lowlights of the Wild Rye brand.

Pros

  • Wild Rye caters directly to women’s bodies in activewear, which is refreshing if you’ve been shopping unisex bike and adventure apparel for a while.
  • The funky prints only available from Wild Rye feel like signature themes I can’t get anywhere else, like my “Sicilian Summer” chammies.
  • Sustainability: Wild Rye is a part of 1% for the Planet, is B-Corp Certified and is Climate Neutral Certified, all of which are impressive to me as a eco-conscious consumer. I read about their practices at their Impact page.
  • Inclusive: Wild Rye makes a maternity chammy! (You might know I biked 200 miles in my last pregnancy, so I love this.)

Cons

  • The majority of Wild Rye’s styles are not suitable for, nor made to tailor, petite bodies. As you’ll see in the rest of this review, I had issues fitting into half of what I tried from Wild Rye (as expected) and they don’t make petite sizing for products.
  • Some items (for example, the Eleanor Chammy) only come in two prints, and other chammies come in only one solid color. It feels a little limiting if you’re trying to color-coordinate with a team, or for race-wear.
  • The product pages on the website don’t specifically “call out” the great features (like non-slip backing) that their products have. I think this could really elevate the browsing experience, as I think more text could really help explain the benefits of the apparel.

What I tried

To get a feel for Wild Rye, I picked up a top, a bottom, an outer layer and a sports bra.

Wild Rye Discount Offer

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The fit

Wild Rye has an entire page dedicated to explaining the Wild Rye fit. They acknowledge that all women are built differently, and explain that the brand does its best in designing sizing and styles that fit “most” body types. (Of course, some women are built more athletically than others, and some run narrow (like me).)

Wild Rye provides a “fit chart,” with directions on how to measure different parts of your body so that you can find your best fit with Wild Rye clothing. I used it based on my measurements, with the assumption that my being short (5’2”) would also play a factor in the sizes fitting me. (The size charts do not mention height)

Using the size chart

I recommend using the Wild Rye size chart. I’m a 32 bust and 25-26 waist, so this puts me at XS and 0 sizes. As you’ll see in my reviews below, I had great luck with the chammies and sports bra, but found that the Mackay tee and the Anorak ran big, in my correct sizes (0/XS).

For petites

I am 5’2” and between 108-110 lbs. Being petite, I had to pick what I wanted strategically: no long inseams, no long shirts and understanding that things like jackets may run too lengthy. I was right, but I did have some luck.

The two items that fit me best are the Lucille sports bra and the Eleanor chammy. While I’m not sure on the length of the inseam on these, I could tell right away that the Alyssa chammy was much longer, and those would not suit my short legs.

In shirts, I found that the styles run long (or regular, rather), and that’s no surprise: just like I mention in my Quince for petites review. They’re not petite-specific. And I’d comment that the anorak ran big on me, which was not my best luck, even ordering the smallest size in XS.

The styles

For woman bikers, Wild Rye’s styles are catchy. They’re made for looking good (and feeling great) while biking. The shirts are made from technical material that stretches and dries fast, and the bottoms have world-class seat padding, performance measures to avoid chafing and riding up, and more.

Wild Rye also makes bike “bibs” (a full-body padded bike short with suspenders that go over the shoulders), bike leggings, base layers and fleece pullovers that I have not yet tested and tried. I would hope to see these products in the future to round out my collection.

Bike bottoms, shorts & pants

Wild Rye’s collection of bike bottoms includes bike shorts (more of a traditional pocket style), bike chammy shorts with seat padding, bike pants and biking bibs (those with the full-body style and suspenders at the shoulders).

In the “Shorts & Pants” section, you’ll find an even greater range of styles, including joggers and overalls! (Also, my note: Wild Rye always includes sale items in the regular categories, so look out for red markdowns to get a great discount on retail price.)

Read on to see my review of the best-selling bike chammy shorts that I tried.

Eleanor Chammy

This was where I had the best luck! The Eleanor Chammy fits true to size in a 0, and I felt great in them as soon as I put them on.

My favorite aspects:

  • Function: Phone pocket along the leg, and world-class seat padding.
  • Not too long: These look good in me, even with my short legs.
  • Non-slip feature: there’s textured technology at the ends on the thighs, for less riding up.

What could be improved:

  • I’d like more firmness and support at the waist, personally (just an opinion), but they’re very stretchy and light-feeling which is good.

Bike tops, shirts & tanks

Wild Rye makes “bike tops” that range from jerseys and graphic tees to cropped tanks, muscle tanks and cropped tees. To find them, choose the “Bike tops” category, as well as the “Shirts & Tanks” category.

“Bike Tops” is also where you’ll find Wild Rye’s jackets, like the Anorak I tried and review below.

Mackay Crop Tee

The Mackay Crop Tee is exactly what I want to be biking in: a hyper lightweight breezy shirt with room for movement. It pairs perfectly with high-waisted shorts, whether the Wild Rye chammies or from another brand, like my Nike bike shorts, one of my favorite Nike styles for petites.

Aside from being a bike or workout piece, it’s an athleisure tee made for lifestyle and hanging out.

What I like:

  • It has more of a technical feel than other active tops I own. It’s made from polyester, lyocell and spandex.
  • The yellow matches with my Sicilian Summer Eleanor chammies, so I’m not mad about that!

What I don’t like:

  • It run wide, and big, despite being designed as a relaxed and baggy cropped style. I have it in a size 0, and would’ve expected it to be more proportionate. It’s too baggy on me, with a bit too much space, so I recommend sizing down if you’re in between sizes or want more of a snug fit.

Lucille Sports Bra

I’m wearing the Lucille Sports Bra as I write this review. I put it on, and haven’t taken it off. Here are the main points:

What I like:

  • It 100% runs true to size, judging as how snug it is on my rib cage.
  • It’s lightly padded, as it’s made for low to medium-impact activities (note: probably not for INTENSE mountain biking, like over gravel roads for hours! Make note!)
  • Comes in prints that go with the chammies, for a cute put-together bike outfit!

What I don’t like:

  • Just as with other Wild Rye products, it runs a little long in the torso. If I took up the straps a quarter inch, it might work out better for me, as someone with a short middle.

Alden Anorak Windbreaker

I just want to be clear about this product before I break it down: it’s a high-quality outer layer that I’d be very excited to wear (if it fit correctly). Here’s what I think.

What I like:

  • It is highly packable, compressible and “stash-able,” made from recycled polyester, spandex and “Durable Water Repellent” (DWR). It can be crumpled up fast and put into a tiny daypack or biking backpack.
  • It doesn’t really wrinkle, even after being folded, twisted or squashed into your pack!
  • I could feel the stretchiness in the moments I first tried it on.
  • It’s wind and water resistant, which is good for biking through bad weather and then unexpected.
  • I was on the phone with a friend when I reached into the front hands pocket, and said, “Ooh, it even has a keyring hook!” (Why isn’t the Wild Rye website spelling this out in features? I’m not sure.)

What I don’t like:

  • It runs big—and it looks like a loose fit on the model on the website, but on me it was spacious past that point. I ordered the smallest size and the arms are too long, it’s too wide and it’s too lengthy on me. I wish it ran a little smaller and snugger, but I understand that it comes in the five sizes XS-S-M-L-XL, so the sizing is liberal.

Accessories

Every biking fanatic knows you need good accessories to round out the biking comfort. For those needs, Wild Rye makes water bottles, biking gloves, camp towels, biker bandanas, balaclavas, scrunchies and hats! It would be really fun to start building a Wild Rye collection of biking accessories all with the fun patterns that are signature to the brand.

Here is my short list of accessories that I have my eye on:

  • Gnarnia gloves: Wild Rye’s first cold-weather glove (I start using gloves for biking as soon as it’s below 60 degrees)
  • Alpine neckwarmer: For protecting my neck when the wind picks up and a jacket doesn’t cut it.
  • Wild Rye water bottle: I’m skipping water bottles that don’t fit in my bike’s water bottle holder and going for this one. (It comes in Wild Rye’s cool colorful prints)

Impact and sustainability

Wild Rye is a B-Corp brand, and uses Bluesign fabrics in their products whenever possible. (For anyone unfamiliar, Bluesign refers to textiles that adhere to the strictest standards of safe production and less environmental impact.)

I read into Wild Rye’s environmental impact practices on the website at their Impact page, which was cool to see. A few things that stood out to me are:

  • Use of recycled fabrics, and focus on quality so high that it’s meant to be worn for years, passed on when the original consumer is done with it, rather than winding up in landfills.
  • Packaging sustainability: WR’s mailers are made of recycled materials and are recyclable. Also, you can choose to “Make my order carbon-neutral” when checking out, with this carbon neutrality mission.
  • Labor practices: They ensure fair practices in labor and wages, both in the US and abroad.
  • Wild Rye Redux: The company’s very own second-hand and pre-loved merchandise platform helps give a second chance to products that have a lot of life left!

Is trying Wild Rye worth it?

I’m glad to have found Wild Rye products. I think it’s refreshing to find a women-first brand that’s catering to how women want to look and feel when doing outdoorsy things like road biking, mountain biking, gravel biking or just chilling around on a trip out of town.

Given what I wrote about the sizing and fits, I hope you can make the sizing work for you. It should be very doable, unless you’re my height and build (and then of course, I’d suggest taking my recommendations of the products that did fit me with no issues).

Wild Rye’s products are priced much like those of other technical outdoor brands that make performance gear. If you’re into snagging the products for a fraction of the price, I recommend checking out my next section, how to get them at a discount.

How to get Wild Rye at a discount

There are a few ways to do this, and you can try any of them!

Shop the sale

Check out the Wild Rye sale page. It just means that the products are from past seasons, so maybe discontinued styles or colors, or both. It doesn’t mean that the sale products have anything wrong with them.

Shop Wild Rye Redux (pre-owned and pre-loved)

Check out Wild Rye’s pre-owned section for discount gear. They call it “Redux.”

This is where real customers can sell their second-hand Wild Rye apparel in great condition.

You’ll find prices up to 70% off, or so. Make sure you read the “Seller Notes” where the seller may list how many times the item was worn, and why they’re choosing to re-sell.

Try Bundle & Save and build a “kit” at a discount

Try out the “Bundle & Save” option. I’ve seen this from other online retailers, but Wild Rye does it a step better. You get to “Build your kit” by picking out a top, then a pair of bottoms. At the bottom of your screen, you’ll see a “SUBTOTAL” that shows the retail price slashed through, and with your discounted price for your kit.

I added a top, a bottom and an optional chammy, and then my discount was more than $60.

Spend $100 and get free shipping

Get free shipping on any order at $100 of merchandise, or more. It’s a great way to avoid shipping costs when shopping.