Lululemon shorts are a staple in my closet. I wear them nonstop all summer. Their speed shorts are a long-time favorite, but lululemon phased them out in favor of the new speed up shorts. During this transition, they made some big changes in their flagship shorts. Although I wear both styles, they’re not the same shorts at all.
If you shop secondhand on sites like eBay or Poshmark, oftentimes you’ll find items are mislabeled. Since lulu’s transition from speed shorts to the new speed up shorts, I constantly see speeds for sale labeled as speed ups, and vice versa. The problem is, the fit is totally different! So if you like one but not the other, or if you need a different size in the two styles, how can you be confident you’re purchasing the style you want?
Fortunately, there are a couple of simple checks that will steer you in the right direction every time, and they’re really easy to look for.
The differences highlighted in this post are only what you can see from the outside. The inside of the shorts reveal a couple other differences as well. Plus, there’s a whole host of differences in how the two styles fit. If you’re looking for info on those fit and design differences, you’ll find it in this post.
In all the photos below, the pink is the classic speed short. The purple is the newer speed up short. See if you can spot the difference in the photos.
Note: there are several other styles of lululemon shorts out there that are sometimes confused with speed/speed up shorts, such as the turbo run shorts, groovy run shorts, and run times shorts. Since this source of confusion is not as common, this post doesn’t highlight those style differences.
Clue #1: front seam
Looking at the front of the shorts, where are the seams? Speed up shorts have a vertical seam that runs to the hem of the front of the shorts. Speed shorts have a curved seam that ends at the back panel, “connecting” the front and back of the shorts. Notice that the seam on speed ups is much more prominent since it’s closer to the center of the short.
Clue #2: back zipper
If you see the dangly zipper style, they’re speeds. Sometimes the looped zipper accent is missing on older speed shorts, but the style of the zipper base and pull is still different. The speed up zipper pull is a plastic stick that lays flush against the zip pocket. The zipper pull on classic speeds looks similar to a soda can opener and dangles more freely as the photo above shows.
Clue #3: back seam
Take a look at the back of the speed short: the rear seams run past the vent, terminating at the waistband and hem. On the speed up short, the seam terminates at the vent. Above the vent, speed ups do not have seams.
Clue #4: trim style
This difference is subtle, but noticeable if you look at the shorts up close. On classic speed shorts, the trim is a separate piece from the shorts. This makes the trim slightly raised, and you can see a slight edge where the fabric ends. This makes the trim more prominent at both the vent and the hem. On speed up shorts, the trim is totally flush with the rest of the shorts and is made of the same fabric. In that sense, the trim isn’t really trim at all, it’s just an area marked by a very tiny seam. Because of this difference, it’s extremely rare to see speed up shorts with contrasting trim, but it’s a very common styling element for speed shorts.
P.S. You might also like: how to tell the difference between 2-way and 4-way stretch speed shorts.
I love this post. Excellent idea! Any way you can add side by side try ons of both pairs and what sizes you take in them?
Yup, I actually took side by side fit picks in this post from when the speed ups first came out: http://www.agentathletica.com/lululemon-speed-up-shorts-review-versus-speed-shorts/
I forgot about that! Ty:)
hello! this was SO helpful to me, thank you so much <3
i was wondering if you could do a comparison post of lululemon speed up (updated 4" inseam) and the run times short (4" inseam). that would be so helpful to me:)
I was glad to see this post pointing out the differences between the two. I would like to know, however, which one you prefer? I wear Run Times but only the original fit as I really don’t like the new version. The new Run Times fit is all wrong for me and the fabric is thinner as well which I don’t like. I will never buy the new version. Lululemon also made a fit change to their DSP by tightening the waistband and shortening the length of the crotch so I stopped buying those well, sigh…
Having worn the speed ups for a while now, I gotta say I prefer classic speeds. Although I like that the speed ups have less flaring at the leg opening vs speeds, I wish they were just 0.5-1″ longer.
Like you, I can’t think of any major design changes in the last couple years that I thought truly outstripped the originals. Some new products have been great, but changes to existing products have not been as much of a slam dunk.
How bout: speeds are shorts and speed ups are undies (ie, short AF). To me that’s the most noticeable difference 🤷🏼♀️
Hahaha you’re not wrong!! ;) I didn’t mention length in this post since I was mostly focused on differences obvious in photos when you don’t have the item in hand.
The more I’ve worn my speed ups, the more I wish they were just SLIGHTLY longer. D:
Hi there! They actually released some speed up shorts with contrasting trim during the holidays last year. Here is a link to one color: https://www.lulufanatics.com/item/43412/lululemon-speed-up-short-binding-2-5-cyber-ray
I was surprised too because I hadn’t seen any but I do love that they are introducing that again.
Thank you for noting this!! I was racking my brain but had forgotten about this release til you mentioned it. I updated the post to say that it’s rare rather than non-existent. :)
Yeah, I HATE the Speed Ups. They’re just too short. Even though I’m pretty short, 5’3″, they barely cover my butt. Speeds were already pushing my comfort zone a bit, so these are a no-go.
Hope they go back to the originals soon; I can’t imagine many people outside of super petites like the update.
Thanks for this review & as always your blog!
Yeah after a year or so of wearing mine, I’d honestly prefer if they just went back to speeds. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon, so speed ups are workable in the time being. Oh well.
thanks for this, so helpful!!
would you do one for the lululemon run times vs speed up shorts?
thanks,
Romy:)
Unfortunately I’ve never bought a pair of run times shorts, and they’re no longer made! Run times are just a bit longer: they have a 4″ inseam instead of 2.5″. Run times are similar to the long version of speed up shorts lulu offers now.
How can I find out what the is the inseam on my speed shorts ?
The original speed shorts were only made in a 2.5″ inseam. If they’re not 2.5″, they’re a different kind of shorts, most likely run times shorts. With speed up shorts, the only ways to tell apart the inseam lengths are by eye, measuring, or looking at the rip tag (which says “long” for 4″ shorts).
super post. I have had my speeds for coming up 10 years, and 2 pairs finally died. Such a shame they do not have speeds anymore. Do not like the speed ups at all.
brilliant post – thxu – after my most loved ‘speed’ shorts finally coming to a death (like 3 pairs within a month)… 8 years is a great wear for any shorts… I received the rude shock that they do not exist. I purchased the new speed-up version. omg what a fail. They were the best shorts ever to ugly shorts. They use to really accentuate the good and sorta hida the not so good. Now they are just boring normal, no difference to any other short. such a fail. Thank goodness for this post as Lululemon ‘educators’ are seemlingly clueless to the difference, and worse rude when you call them on the fact they seem to have no idea.