Very late in 2011, I bought a pair of Levi’s commuter jeans in the 511 skinny cut. I included them in a post about the various pants that I have tried for biking. I finally got around to wearing them in 2012 once the weather warmed up, and although they fit pretty tight to begin with, the stretch in the fabric made it bearable. When it came time to wash them for the first time, I was leery about putting them in the dryer, but I knew that the Nanosphere coating is refreshed by heat, so I hung them out to dry and then put them into the dryer. BIG MISTAKE. They shrank so much that they now fit like the jeggings that are sold at stores where my tween daughter and her peers shop. So, unfortunately, I’ve stuck them in the bottom of a drawer since then.
Levi’s has expanded their “commuter” collection since then, and I saw that they redid the jean in a 505 cut that would be a better fit for me, so I picked up a pair. For some reason, the US Levi’s site only has the 505 commuter in a cropped version, and for a while they also had it in spruce. In Canada, you can get them in indigo.
Here is are the new jeans inside out. Just like the 511’s, there is a weird green fabric on one of the pockets.
What I found really amusing about these jeans is that there were many labels giving somewhat contradictory washing instructions:
The instructions say (paraphrasing):
- don’t wash these jeans if you can avoid it
- wash cold, line dry
- wash and dry inside out
- wash cold, medium dry
- home washing may cause shrinkage
- do not dry clean
- for best water repellency, iron every five washings
Very confusing. There was also a warning about colour transfer to upholstery. This last bit was certainly true as you can see from the indigo accents on my pink leather saddle after five days of commuting with the jeans. I’m not too upset. Just a bit of beausage after all.
Here is a comparison of the 505’s as bought and the shrunken 511’s. I’ve put a red line on the edge of the 511’s so that you can see the difference in width.
Here is another view of both jeans. You can see that the newer pair has a bit more reflective material on it.
I was happy commuting in the new jeans all last week. They are regular jeans off the bike so I wore them around work. My Outlier pants aren’t quite as appropriate for day to day wear at work.
The cuffs are just a little wider than my outlier slim dungarees: for 30-32 jeans, the cuffs are 7.5″ wide, 7″ for the dungarees, and just a bit narrower for the outlier climbers. I don’t like turning up my cuffs unless I have to, so the jeans are just narrow enough not to get caught in the chain (with a round chainguard)
The good news is that they survived their first washing this past weekend. Cold water wash by themselves (they bled a bit), then hang to dry. They seem to have shrunken just a bit, but it’s hard to tell. Water still beads up on them.
If they hold up, then I will potentially like them has much as my Outlier slim dungarees. They were fine in -8°C weather last week, and they might even be a bit more windproof than the Outliers. The one downside is that they are sewn offshore. If you want a nice pair of pants sewn domestically (i.e. in the US), then consider the Nyco Slims. I have a pair, and although they are not stretchy like the more expensive Outliers, I hope that they will wear in. They also have a nice gusseted crotch. The waterproofing is not as good as the Schoeller Outliers, but they are half the price. Another alternative would be Diamond Gusset Jeans, although I have no experience with these.
Update: I have some notes about additional shrinkage here.
Update: after probably six washings or so, the jeans have lost most of their water repellence, so they are just like any other jean, except for the stretch from the lycra.
I was checking out the Levis biking jeans at Urbane when I was in TO. I didn’t know they made cycle specific models. I’ll be interested to see what you think longterm.
I’ve been wearing the 505’s for about six months now. They are great for the bike and have become my favorite jeans. At the advice of the Levi’s store clerk I have only washed them in cold and hung them to dry and they are holding up just fine. They are definitely the most comfortable pair of jeans I’ve ever had. I have tried to wear regular 501’s and ride my bike and found them intolerable. These are great!
I agree. Way better on the bike than regular jeans, and I’ve ditched all my 501’s. The 511’s were also too skinny for me. BTW I like your blog: xtracycle, tikit, randonneuring….
Accidentally machine dried my new 511 and they went from a decent fitting skinny jeans to jeggings :(. Gonna have to get a new pair and only hang to dry.
same thing happened to me
Im really very impressed ; perfectly guides us to recognise fakes from genuines.Thanx brother.
I always wonder am I the only one who had experience this and you’ve just cleared all my questions. I bought mine sometime in 2013, the color faded and it turns into like leggings. Well nevertheless 6 years after that I bought myself another pair today. It think the problem is inevitable but it’s still a good pair of jeans though. Cheers for the great review!