Bib shorts? suggestions?

[ausvegguykk]

Did my first 100k ride a few days ago in normal shorts... needless to say my ass took a pounding (lol)
i have also been doing 20-40k rides every day, and i think i need to get some more comfortable shorts to wear on the bike.

i have been looking on wiggle, c r c, and ebay, but from what i can tell from looking up threads on here and elsewhere, quality doesnt always relate to the price, and there are some big variances in even more expensive shorts

anyway, i'm looking to spend 60-80 on some bib shorts (size medium), good for decent length rides, cheaper the better, and a little colour is a bonus

sny suggestions? (preferrably from wiggle or crs, as i'm making orders from them anyway) maybe there are some stores i'm not fully aware of...

cheers

[mitzikatzi]

I have some interesting looking (colour) bib shorts. I just buy what ever is on sale with the biggest discount. The end of the UK summer is best time to buy.

Not sure they do much for comfort more they stop chaffing when spending a long time on your bike.

I have $200 bibs ( paid under $100) and $35 Torpedo 7 ones. Comfort wise about the same. Expensive ones much better Lycra and design of bib.

[MattyK]

dhb from wiggle.

[ausvegguykk]

dhb from wiggle.

Not sure how i fit on their sizing charts... waist is x small size, hips are x large size.... 79 and 96 respectively.. far from overweight... IRL i usually wear size S or M shorts

what do u guy suggest for DHB?

[mitzikatzi]

That is the risk of buying cheap online. Sometime you buy the wrong size and have to take a loss. I am still a long way ahead saving money.

They need to fit the biggest part of you. I would choose more for my hips than my waist.

[nickobec]

Not sure how i fit on their sizing charts... waist is x small size, hips are x large size.... 79 and 96 respectively.. far from overweight... IRL i usually wear size S or M shorts

what do u guy suggest for DHB?

normally would suggest DHB from Wiggle

size wise I am 184cm tall 82kg, 82cm waist 100cm hips 42cm leg were I like my shorts to sit. I have both M & L DHB bib shorts. I use to prefer M, but put a couple of cm on my thighs over last couple of years and now prefer L.

I would suggest the M, unless you like tight fit and have skinny thighs

I had 5 pairs for commuting, but after a few years of abuse they need replacing, would be very happy with new DHB except PlanetX are having a stupid sale at the moment, so I bought 2 pairs of these http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLPXRLBS/o ... bib-shorts for about $30 each including postage (flat 8GBP or $16 for up to 6 items so got cheap tech socks). Only problem is they have not arrived yet and the sale end tomorrow, still might have to gamble and buy another couple of pairs as I check what I thought was my good DHBs this morning and they are getting see through.

[AndrewCowley]

If you buy online then by all means use the sizing chart as a starting point but I suggest going up one size or even two. In my experience they are generally bollocks.

[Ross]

Maybe seeing how it's your first pair of bib shorts and you aren't sure of sizing it might be better to buy them from a bike shop where you can try them on before you buy. In-store may seem more expensive at first but if you buy online and get the wrong size and then have to pay postage to send it back it could work out more expensive than buying in-store.

[softy]

I wear shorts and then bibs over, so you get double padding. Laugh all you like but it works! I had real problem with my down stairs and this fixed it.

Worth a try....

Also i have found if you do the rounds about the local bike shops you can sometimes find old stock, like unpopular colours, etc, very cheap.

This way you can try on to see if it is a proper fit.

Good luck with easing the under carriage.

[rusty842]

Those dhb ones around the $60 are probably the buy.

Quick look at wiggle they are quite expensive across the range now. Found the cheap under 40 aren't that good 40-100 are good and the sweet spot. I picked up a few Castelli at at around the 75 mark which were great.

Entry level wiggle or dhb and there top of the line aren't that good value. Especially if your doing 100km ride.

Perhaps buy one good pair for your 100km ride and cheaper ones for your everyday ride.

[ausvegguykk]

Those dhb ones around the $60 are probably the buy.

Quick look at wiggle they are quite expensive across the range now. Found the cheap under 40 aren't that good 40-100 are good and the sweet spot. I picked up a few Castelli at at around the 75 mark which were great.

Entry level wiggle or dhb and there top of the line aren't that good value. Especially if your doing 100km ride.

Perhaps buy one good pair for your 100km ride and cheaper ones for your everyday ride.

yeah i was looking at the 60 dollar ones http://www.this link is broken.au/dhb-blok-chris ... bib-short/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... they sold out within the last hour or two, but i was pretty reluctant anyway because of how hideous they were... thought they did have some nice features... 30% markdown being one, mesh straps another.. either way though they are sold out

as for trying in store... not a big option for me, every store near me is sort of the unspecialised... mountain bike/kids bike/ odd road bike sort of store, no clipless pedals, no cycling clothing etc... i don't go to sydney too often, but the good stores that i know of aren't really convinient for train lines, and can take up to 3:30 to get there, and then another 3:30 back..

i'm kinda looking at these shorts ATM http://www.this link is broken.au/dhb-bib-shorts/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , unfortunately it looks like they dont really have any mid range shorts on a decent special ATM though

[rusty842]

Keep your eye out on Australian online sites. Spend some time you will find some bargains.

[DJIntegr8]

I have the DHB camo shorts, they look great! I've mostly used Sugoi Evo shorts previously, the DHB fits well and the padding is a bit more pliable but I'm not sure on durability yet. I've got another DHB winter bib that started pilling after the second ride but these new ones are better.

Brendan

[caneye]

if you're not in a hurry, wait for special deals from online sites.

i picked up a pair of Castelli Evoluzione bib shorts for under $60 (over 50% discount). it's 1 of their entry-level bib shorts but it's by far, the most comfortable pair i have!

if you are going for an italian brand, always remember to go a size bigger.

[m@]

For longer rides, I'd suggest checking out RedWhite.

[foo on patrol]

I wouldn't recommend DHB to anyone. I didn't even get six months out of mine, before they crapped themselves. Plus they weren't the cheapest ones in their line.

I love my Pearl Izumi and also don't mind the ASSOS that I have.

Foo

[jemima]

For longer rides, I'd suggest checking out RedWhite.

Same here.
Only they're three times the price.

Took a punt. Wonderful for all day rides. Zero butt pain.

[minhyy]

I started off on the Cell Bikes' entry level bib shorts which were had for $15 posted on special, they are very reasonable in fit and pad quality given their price. Maybe keep an eye out for these?

I then went straight to Rapha Pro Team. It is night and day comparing them to the Cell.

I think an important factor is the placement of the pad in the shorts depending on what sort of position you ride in. I found the pad in the Cell shorts to be towards the backside more, which caters for a more upright position - not ideal when I was hitting the track. The Rapha had the pad rotated slightly forward to accommodate how the sit bones and surrounding anatomy behave when in a more aero position

[nickobec]

A few years ago, I was riding entry level shorts (various brands). Tried the mid range DHB shorts, that was a revelation.

Ended up buying 5 pairs, were using them for all my riding, then 6 months later I bought a pair of Assos FI MILLE S5. What a difference.

The Assos became my goto shorts for longer rides. Enjoyed a pair of Castellis for a short period of time before destroying them in an accident.

The DHB shorts were still heavily used, particularly the 40km (one way) commutes.

Had a pair of Cell Shorts for one commute, rubbed me up the wrong way and got given away.

After 3 years, time to replace the Assos and 4 pairs of the DHB (one pair was an L, so got rarely used). The Assos had ben discoloured, but all 5 pairs (4 DHB, 1 Assos) after 5 to 8,000km use in them were see through.

[ausvegguykk]

ATM, the limiting factor on my rides is my ass abuse from just wearing normal pants... what do u guys think is the cheapest i could go for a good quality pair?
i cant wait a whole lot because i am training for something that is in 2 months time

[Thoglette]

what do u guys think is the cheapest i could go for a good quality pair?

Well, there's an oxymoron if ever I saw one.

Try the no-name brands from some of the local online retailers - eg http://www.abcoutlets.com.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; who have UNO "club nicks" for $30. Waaay better than anything with seams. But won't last forever either!

[nickobec]

Everybody's ass is different, and reacts differently to various saddles, bib short pads and the combination of the two.

The big questions is how long are your longest rides going to be?
For me over 4 hours, I really need top quality bibs,
for 2 to 4 hours, I need good bibs,
and for less than 2 hours I can get away with lesser quality as long as there is some padding and it does not chaffe.

As stated above, I needed to replace some bibs this week.

Bought 4 pairs of On-One Raceline Bib Shorts on a ridiculous special for about $32 each, with no previous experience with On-One bibs, but have enough of On-One gear to trust them to do the job on the 40km one way commute.

I also bought a pair of Capo Padrone bib shorts for $200 (discounted from $350) for longer rides. Have a couple of Capo shorts and impressed by the Padrone jersey.

So my opinion based on my experience:

Top quality Assos S5, Capo Padrone

need to do a couple of longer rides in to confirm Castelli Kiss3 Pad, Babici

Comfortable, but rather no spend 4 hours in the saddle with
Santini club kit, Pedal Mafia, DHB Aeron range,

Limit to 2 hours max
Nalani and Santini race replica kit

Never again
Cell

Unfortunately I can't find any great specials (Ribble has 10% of Assos, Torpedo7 has great prices on a few high end bibs, but very limited sizes and colours)

So my recommendations for spending more than 2 hours in the saddle
4hrs plus in the saddle Assos, the money is well spent
long rides with a little style Capo (Padrone, GS or SC) but need to buy matching jersey
want to be noticed Babici http://babici.cc/en/14-jerseys
don't need to spend 4 hours in the saddle and $200+
Castelli, note my experience is based on the Kiss3 pad in the Nano shorts and regular bib knicks (my wet/cold weather choice), Italian name brand so paying $20 premium over DHB either aeron range or classic $80,

Yes the are cheaper, but I would not want to wear for 2 hours plus of hard riding

Size wise, based on what you said above, I would say
Castelli, Capo, Rapa L (XL for me)
Babici, Pedal Mafia upper end of M (have XL could do with L)
DHB M (L for me)

[g-boaf]

The best value versus quality is Cuore "silver" bib shorts. The gold ones are even better, but silver ones are way better than Castelli and the others. Really nice padding:

https://www.cuore.ch/shop/eu/en/CUORE-T ... SHORT.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They have an Australian site. Also do custom kit too. As a side note, Giant Sydney does have them as their own branded kit...

I'm 175cm, 60kg and the S size is okay, but XS fits perfectly. I can do 5 hour rides in these with no trouble.

In Champion systems I take small size for the shorts. Castelli small or medium.

By the way, $60-80 won't get you any really good quality bib shorts IMO.

[Farmer Elvis]

I wouldn't recommend DHB to anyone. I didn't even get six months out of mine, before they crapped themselves. Plus they weren't the cheapest ones in their line.

I love my Pearl Izumi and also don't mind the ASSOS that I have.

Foo

Agree

[ausvegguykk]

Sup all, ended up just getting some DHB blok bib for now, and they have been working well, however i think i want a few more cheap pairs... a few people have said there are some decent cheap brands that go on special often, so if anyone sees a good deal, please send me a pm!