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I really need some new shorts. My Howies ones are too warm and have a hole in them. My endura ones are indecent for people riding behind me. I have one pair of castelli ones that are ok. None of them cost me more than £50 and now I’m looking to get some new ones it seems like I have to spend over £100 and some are over £200.
Where should I be looking for bargains?
what’s the difference between £50 shorts and £200 shorts?
is there a happy compromise for a comfy not too hot pair?
Planet-x do bib shorts at about £30 - comfy and cheap enough.
They suffer the same issue as all other bibs - you need to undress to socks when you need to go for a seat on the throne!
Even cheaper than what I paid - https://planetx.co.uk/products/planet-x-pro-line-365x-bib-shorts
Sport Pursuit is as good a place as any to find bargains. The Rivelo stuff they sell is pretty decent for the price.
Galibier classiques - £55 . Really well made, and comfortable (for me, anyhow).
https://www.galibier.cc/category/shorts-tights-suits/
Going off a previous thread, I wonder if the price is artificially high due to a lack of second hand market.
Rivelo and Huub off Sports Pursuit for me. Both less than £50 and both seem good quality, decent fit. I only use them on the gravel bike and don't have an expensive pair to compare them against, but happy with both pairs for some long days in the saddle.
For the amount of time you spend on the saddle I think they're pretty good value and worth the fit and quality of £100+.
Assos etc have no equal for me.
Cheap ones always feel cheap and do a disservice to your body.
These linked below have a good reputation for their kit, £60 for bib shorts..
https://www.corinnedennis.co.uk/mens-supplex-performance-biking-shorts
Kostume do shorts you can go for a wee in whilst not undressing - that's worth the premium in my eyes
Planet X bibs, and Decathlon ones are perfect. Done bike packing and a 205km Sportive in the PX Carnac shorts. They are really comfy.
You don't need much else.
If you can deal with “deep teal” I’m a big fan of the endura shorts at 50% off - https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/endura_pro_sl_egm_bibshort_standard_leg_deep_teal-ID_92329
Kostume do shorts you can go for a wee in whilst not undressing - that's worth the premium in my eyes
I've been able to go for a wee in every pair of bibs I've owned and there's been a few now.
Regarding cheap vs expensive, I've always found cheaper bibs to not fit as well and the pads to be less comfy. But I've never paid more than £100 for a pair, always bought in sales.
Must be seriously good shorts if they are 100 quid in the sales!
Must be seriously good shorts if they are 100 quid in the sales!
Yeah that. For a lot of people there is an assumption that the more they pay for something the better it is likely to be, that pushes prices up.
Plus some people don't like to be seen wearing something cheap, that pushes the prices up too.
Some cycling apparel manufacturers would start to lose sales if for whatever reason they were able to half their prices.
I've been able to go for a wee in every pair of bibs I've owned and there's been a few now.
Possibly down to how well you are endowed. Obviously easier in summer 🤣
I can wee in any outfit. The trick is not relying on it soaking through your clothing.
The top Decathlon pad is great. Not actually got it in any shorts but a pair of tights and a pair three quarters
Van Rysel endurance bibs at Decathlon. Most excellent.
Depends on how long you intend to ride for as well.
Expensive shorts appeal to label snobs mostly 😘 but they "sell" on better pads = more hours in the saddle, and better materials handle sweat better and make you more aero 🤷
I've got, ooeer, about a dozen pairs on bibs. In fact, I bought a pair of Decathlon bibs with cargo pockets last week and two pair of Giant branded bibs yesterday, on top of the three other pairs of Giant branded bibs I already had (in my defence, I ride a Giant and all were ridiculously cheap in sales)
Expensive shorts confirm that you are a proper cyclist
As to why £200 lycra is better than £50, I have no idea.
You can buy very good lycra shorts for £100. It’s the lycra straps that take lots of engineering that add another £100/£150 😂
Easy to be dusmissive, but I find Rapha shorts are the comfiest and most durable I've had, either the Core range of the normal ones. Both come up in sales 3-4 times a year.
Plenty on ebay as well if you don't risking whatever it is folk are scared off.
I recently bought some lusso ones, cost £100 which was top of my budget but thought it was worth it to buy something made up the road
I have in the past had some nice fitting planet X shorts that were great, then bought two more pairs the same size and they were too big, fine for winter commuting use under padless longs. I now go to decathlon as I can try some on. Bought some £60 van rysel bib shorts and some £30 van rysel bib shorts with pockets yesterday hopefully they will be as good as the other pair I have.
Decathlon cargo shorts are excellent, £39.99 currently
Use Premier code to get 40% off Gore. I paid £75 for Gore SPINSHIFT BIB SHORTS, which are great.
https://singletrackmag.com/2025/01/singletrack-members-discount-list-january-2025/
I've been able to go for a wee in every pair of bibs I've owned and there's been a few now.
Me too but it's a different matter for women.
Just divide the cost of the kit by the time you expect to use/keep the item.
Good quality kit ,that fits your body shape and does the job, it's (usually) well worth the price.
Thinking a bit more about this, there are "good enough" bib shorts and "really good" bibshorts. One will be fine for 4-5 hour days, the other for 10 hour days.
Plus cheap may mean poor factory standards.* Lusso are made in Manchester, Fat Lad at the Back use(d) top Italian factories. No mention of a sale yet but they have announced that they are closing down and running down stock, so may be one to watch for deals.
(I know Rapha kit is Chinese which disproves my own argument)
Maybe a trouser company in the UK could start making them and selling them for > £500 ?
(I know Rapha kit is Chinese which disproves my own argument)
Rapha manufacture in all sorts of places. I've got clothing from them made in Portugal, Romania, Vietnam, Thailand, China...
And related to this thread, their bib shorts (and tights) have always been excellent, they wear well and retain a good fit throughout.
I've had reasonable success with the Rivelo ones from Sport Pursuit, 200k days were fine.
Has anyone any experience of The Black Bibs? They're American, so obvs not flavour of the month, but I've seen Phil Gaimon pushing them a couple of times...for whatever that's worth. Seem to be relatively affordable.
I can wear any decent bib shorts for shorter rides up to 3-4 hours. I have various Castelli, Morvelo & Sportful varieties. For longer rides 5 hours plus I used to always get some saddle chaffing. Chamois cream does help with it though. I took a gamble this year and bought a pair of the new expensive Rapha pro team bib shorts. I thought the hype about all day comfort might have just been a sales pitch but they are brilliant. No saddle chaffing at all and I’ve not used chamois cream.
My only issue now is I only have one pair so need to make sure they are clean and dry for any big days out through the summer. I’d love to buy another pair but they are £240.
Why are they so expensive? There are only a handful of chamois manufacturers in the world for starters and good quality Lycra is relatively complicated and expensive to produce, so the raw materials are pricey to begin with. Add in relatively small production runs plus premium brand tax and you can see where some of the pricing comes from.
(I know Rapha kit is Chinese which disproves my own argument)
The idea that Chinese manufacturing is somehow inferior is outmoded and, frankly, a bit ridiculous. Because Chinese factories have been working for top western brands for decades now, they've invested in excellent machinery and skilled labour and are capable of turning out top notch apparel. Arc'teryx, for example, are a byword for manufacturing excellence and while they still produce some core stuff in Canada, loads of their kit is made in the far east and is every bit as good.
Not purely my take btw, but also of a friend who is a technical clothing designer with several decades of industry experience and a zealot's eye for construction details.
Another vote for Galibier (Classique bib shorts), the price hasn't changed since I bought a couple pairs last spring. They're very comfortable, excellent kit.
My problem with bibs and all padded shorts is that the pad doesn’t last. It doesn’t take many wears and washes before that initial fairy cushion becomes ineffectual. Because the shorts still look fine , I can’t bring myself to throw them out so I have about twelve pairs lurking of which I wear three. If I could guarantee the pad would last I wouldn’t mind spending big money
First ride in Assos RS Equip yesterday, 75 very comfortable miles at a sale price of £172
I've tried a few pairs north of £200 and all have been better supporting than cheaper options, when you go back to club shorts you start to notice it! That said my latest use Gobik which are pretty solid.
Only pair that failed me was MAAP which split after 11 months, I got refunded under waranty and those now serve me well for indoor.
The idea that Chinese manufacturing is somehow inferior is outmoded and, frankly, a bit ridiculous
Obviously wasn't clear, I was trying to point out their manufacturing costs are lower, not having a go at quality.
You will know what is comfortable for you.
It's a price worth paying for time in the saddle. Especially considering the cost of a bike!
I've had two pair of assos -.just about shot now after 4 years of 3 season riding. Never thought about the comfort once. (Winter is longs)
Spent 250 (for 2) 4 years ago seems a bargain to me considering 4000-5000 MTB miles a year
Every cheaper pair have all felt worse. Simple as that.
Mid-range bibs/undershorts can be totally fine IME. Probably my most comfy one is a simple TLD liner that I thought looked a bit rubbish when it arrived with some shorts.
Anyway, get some of these ordered OP - bargain for 15 quids: Planet X Pro-Line 365X Bib Shorts
Another +1 for Galibier Classique, although anther who has never had premium shorts to compare against.
I noticed the other day, that Merlin aren't doing Castelli bibs with their top tier pad (Progetto X2?) for anything like £60, like they were a few years ago.
Shame, as they were a revalation for me, when I'd been used to buying PlanetX specials for under £40 a pop.
It’s another area where finding what works for you can be an expensive process of trial and error. I’ve got a pair of madison bib “undershorts” that are good for maybe 4 hours. But clearly not longer on a hot day. I’ve worn them a fair bit but did 60k yesterday and it was a bit hot for longs over the top and the silicon gripper gave me a row of blisters across the front of each thigh. I’ve never had a reason to gripper silicon on anything before.
I got some mid high and top end Pearl Izumi in their Covid stock clear out. The not top pad chafes and the seamless raw edge leg end roll up under some of my overshorts.
my absolute favourite are white heavily branded zipvit. They were only £50 full price and half that in their sale ( I think I ended up with about 6 pairs, which are now starting to wear out). The pad doesn’t chafe worn all day for big rides. They feel neither tight nor loose but stay in place on the legs without silicon tape. Just brilliant. When sip it stopped selling them I went to a load of effort to try to track down who their manufacturer was to get K some more women’s pairs but what we managed to source was more expensive and wasn’t made/didn’t last as well.
random comment, maybe bib shorts aren't expensive and just currencies have tanked. In particular the UK has seen minimal wage inflation in over a decade, unlike many other markets.
Just buy them from the makers on Aliexpress. YKYW are pretty good for clothing IMO. Cheji are better for bibs.