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As the cold winters nights draw in my mind is turning to staying warm on the commute. So what 3/4 bib shorts are the current leaders in the STW massive's opinion?
Endura FS260?
Assos
Santini?
Happy to pay up to £80.
G
3/4 bit of a waste of time (imo) although I do have them. Get bib shorts and knee warmers far more practical.
Conversely, I love 3/4 bibs. Perfect for all but the coldest days in this country. Knee warmers don't keep the lower back and vital organs as warm as nice roubaix 3/4. Enduras always seem baggy around my knees. Assos you'll be doing well to get for <£80. Santini are nice, I have some of their longs. I have some Lusso 3/4 which are nice and warm and have a bit of a water repllent coating which helps at least while they were fairly new. I was perilously close to buying some Rapha ones this morning but managed to restrain myself - like Assos, close to double your budget...
Ed I've tried the knee warmers but for some reason my awesome quads cause them to slip down and form an annoying lycra tourniquet around my knee joint (this could translate as my weedy thighs aren't big enough to keep them up)
Hence I'm in the market for 3/4s
Gore ones I have are better than my Pearl ones. Roubaix ones are the very best for those cold months.
DHB Finchdean, superb quality/value
Second for the DHB
DHB Merston are pretty good.
I don't mind knee warmers on a day where I think I need the extra warmth early on (or late on) but will eventually take them off to ride in just shorts(you know what I mean). The problem for me is - if you put them over shorts they slip down, if under shorts the shorts ride up. Mine have gripper on as do short legs. I find gripper is ace against skin but doesn't "gripper" lycra.My experience of 3/4s is Alexa many years ago which were ok but no longer about. Endura - excellent and below your £80 target. Rapha Cyclo-cross almost twice the cost of the Enduras but I have to say that the pad is the most comfortable I have ever used. They are the ones I use for longest toughest ride. Are they twice as good? Hard to say apart from on those rides when you are saddle sore and think "I wish I'd put the Raphas on". Also nice touch - webbing bib straps, nice low front on bib making peeing easier/less messy and even the little key pocket on the back is good (for keys).
If I could only afford £80 though I'd consider dhb and Altura too.
Various dhb shorts and tights I've had have been great. Not tried their 3/4 yet as my Endura ones stubbornly refuse to die....
My Endura 3/4's are into there 6th (or is it 7th year?) and still going strong. No idea what model they were though. I feel the cold so tend to wear them from pretty much now through to April. No complaints what-so-ever.
DHB are great, I have several pairs (like Sam, I'm a big fan of 3/4s rather than knee warmers). I was planning on ordering some more myself, but I think there are some new models coming or something as at the moment there aren't any Merston 3/4s on the site, and the otherwise excellent Finchdeans aren't fleece lined so are less suitable for winter (did I dream there was a Roubaix version of these?).
Knee warmers still flavour of the month, but have just invested in 'Decente 3/4 Bibs' from Wiggle, bloody fabulous for the money!
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Descente_Coldout_Bib_Knicker/5360047220/
ps - pad is pretty substantial, but excellent quality!