£75 or £120 spend on bib tights.

Serious Cat

If I were to spend £75 on a pair of bibs id expect them to be pretty decent , if I were to hand over £120 for a pair of bibs they would be towards the upper end of the market. My query is what tangible difference could I discern for the extra outlay ? Some may comment on the pad but I don't believe for one second there is a £45 difference in that area. Ive looked at UK made Lusso bibs costing around £70 and to my eyes they look pretty damned good, but in the back of my head there is a thought saying why not try a pair of Assos Mille`s and see if they justify their £120 asking price or are they one big con.

Please, please don't start an Assos P!ss feast as I know the words Assos and Rapha are akin to some contributors here to a red flag waved at a bull. I just want to know if I hand over 120 quid for a pair of mille`s would the difference be as obvious as the nose on your face when you compare them to a nice pair costing around £75 ?

diamonddog

No IME.

Serious Cat

madasahattersley wrote:

Assos Milles are not a big con, the extra expense is completely and totally justifiable. Assos will repair pretty much any damages within the life of the product and turn it around within a week FOC. They are also INCREDIBLY comfortable and high quality compared with lesser tights.

Some things are worth investing in, and while lots of tight4rses on here will say that it's a rip off they have obviously never experienced the exquisite feel of an assos chammy on their delicate area. Tight from Assos WILL last you 10 years or more, trust me.

If I had the money I'd have 2 or 3 sets. I've got some mavic £70 tights which are shockingly poor. And no I have no reason to promote Assos other than that I like good quality stuff and think people should make an informed choice before saving money on something as important as a pair of tights.

Im the sort of rider who fully supports the concept that money should be spent on bibs, I couldn't care less what it says on the jerseys, but if you don't get things sorted in the bum department then it all falls apart. What is it about the Assos pad then that has users extolling its claimed greatness ?

arthur_scrimshaw

Rapha got the best rating in a recent cycling plus bibshort shootout, can't comment from personal experience though.

nochekmate

+1 for Assos Mille - superb level of comfort and a quality product. I've taken advantage of their repair service in the past too.

Bought mine in a 50% sale from Cyclesurgery some time back - proved to be great value.

robbo2011

Just bear in mind that Assos have just launched a completely new range of shorts called the S7 series, which means that the S5 Milles have been discontinued. Still plenty around at the moment though.

ugo.santalucia

I do spend money on bib shorts, as in spring and summer I tend to do long rides... I don't bother with winter tights, as I tend to stay on the bike less than 3 hours and there is not much difference between a cheap pair and a premium one.
If you do long rides in winter, then get good bib tights

charlie_potatoes

Serious Cat wrote:

What is it about the Assos pad then that has users extolling its claimed greatness ?

It gives you a nice 'Camel Toe' effect :shock:

TakeTurns

Assos 4 life.

Had a nasty crash in mine and got them repaired within a month. My jersey went in the bin, but thought I'd give the repair service a try for the shorts. When I got them back, I'd thought they'd given me a new pair - that's how well it was repaired.

Anonymous

Far from a con lol. Just a top end high quality product.
They will probably be better but it's subjective if they are £45 better, so you will have to buy them and find out ;-)

Brant

Giordana.

giant_man

Serious Cat wrote:

If I were to spend £75 on a pair of bibs id expect them to be pretty decent , if I were to hand over £120 for a pair of bibs they would be towards the upper end of the market. My query is what tangible difference could I discern for the extra outlay ? Some may comment on the pad but I don't believe for one second there is a £45 difference in that area. Ive looked at UK made Lusso bibs costing around £70 and to my eyes they look pretty damned good, but in the back of my head there is a thought saying why not try a pair of Assos Mille`s and see if they justify their £120 asking price or are they one big con.

wtf?

Serious Cat

Charlie Potatoes wrote:

Serious Cat wrote:

What is it about the Assos pad then that has users extolling its claimed greatness ?

It gives you a nice 'Camel Toe' effect :shock:

The Assos advertisement photos show Assos guy with a serious moose knuckle and it looks just ridiculous.

diy

I'm a bit of a fan of the spesh body geometry stuff and actually thought the BG SL was more comfy than the RBX. I guess "race" doesn't usually mean comfortable. IMO the mavic and Endura stuff at £60-70 - is on par with the LIDL / ALDI stuff at <£25.

Iamnot Wiggins

Comparing my current DHB bibs to some old Assos padded bibs from years ago, the difference is like night & day. The money will be better spent on the Assos stuff without a shadow of a doubt.

Warmth, feel, fit & comfort was 100 times better with Assos.

smoggysteve

OP

Answer 3 questions

1. How often do you ride a week?
2. Can you afford to splash out 120 beans for 1 item of clothing you will need to wash between every ride?
3. Would 2 pairs of £75 not be easier to manage during your weekly riding?

It's not like the alternatives out there are suddenly all rubbish. Yes Assos are good and if we can all afford to buy 3 or 4 pairs each we would be fine. But, I would rather buy 3 pairs of Santini bibs like I do and know I don't have to wash them each time I want to ride. They do me fine. I have ridden plenty of miles in complete comfort and although Assos or Etxeondo - (which p1ss all over Assos if you can afford them) are very comfortable they are not 2 x the price more comfortable.

jordan_217

Giordana FRC's. My new fave tights. The Cirro pad is much better than the S5 pad assos use (I never thought id say that!) fit and quality is on par with Assos.

cougie

I think my bibs were £20 from Planet X. No pad - so I wear them over shorts.

If you can tell what tights you have on - you have very sensitive legs I think.

Strith

I do the same, cheap tights with no pad over my bib shorts. That way I see the benefits of spending good money on the my bibshorts all year round.

t4tomo

Strith wrote:

I do the same, cheap tights with no pad over my bib shorts. That way I see the benefits of spending good money on the my bibshorts all year round.

+1 - year round use of decent bib shorts - unpadded winter tights that you can use over bib shorts for winter rides and for commmuting too. No point paying twice for the pad.

robbo2011

well maybe, but if you have padded bib tights too, then the shorts are not in use during the winter season and last twice as long.

Swings and roundabouts.

andy_wrx

No, how many pairs of padded bibs do you need to buy (assuming you are hygiene-conscious and wash after every ride to avoid 'jock itch') ?

One pair of unpadded tights will do, needing washing periodically when they get properly mucky, and you can wash the padded shorts you wear underneath after every ride.

smoggysteve

I do have a pair of unpadded bib tights which I got accidentally instead if padded. I wear them with padded shorts underneath which I have cut the elasticated waist off. If I hadn't it would defeat the whole point of buying bibs in the first place. I am not going to start cutting up more shorts just for 1 set of tights and to wear bib shorts under bib tights is too much. Wearing shorts under tights isn't very comfortable.

marcusww

Just purchased a pair of Funkier bibs with pad. Before this I wore DHB and club (no name bibs) under some £10 Aldi jogging bottoms. Did 70's and 100 miles rides in the Aldi combination. Just about OK but I found the wicking properties of any shorts were poor under a set of jogging bottoms.

I bought the Funkier as they were cheap and had stirrups (had a pair of their shorts - none bibs and rode them for some time.)
They fit very well and the pad is decent. They are warm but the leg material is not thick. Good quality stitching, zips and leg grip. They have stirrups which I wanted as the Aldi joggers used to ride up.
The most important thing to me on any shorts or bibs is the pad. I would buy thicker material next time round but this funkier material is better than the Aldi anyway.

I cant see how the fit of expensive bibs can be so good unless tailored to your body!

cougie

Whats wrong with bib shorts under bib tights ? I do it all the time - as comfy as anything ?

smoggysteve

cougie wrote:

Whats wrong with bib shorts under bib tights ? I do it all the time - as comfy as anything ?

why not just buy leg warmers?

robbo2011

because when it's really cold, it isnt warm enough?

Anonymous

Personally I would think bib tights are more comfortable (no gripper around thigh) and better to ride in (fabric sliding on fabric,on seat) than bib shorts with unpadded tights over the top, but each to their own.

The main reason I prefer bib tights though is because its just easier to get ready and they can come in nicer designs/colours :P

Another thing in favour of bib tights is that you can have foot straps (or whatever they are called).

Brant

Been wearing some Pearl Izumi leg warmers underneath Giordana 3/4 knickers this winter and it's been a perfect combo, cheaper than buying full length tights and versatile since the weather has been relatively mild, no snow drifts to deal with so far this time.

rjh299

I'm another who wears unpadded tights over bib shorts. No issues with comfort at all.
Leg grippers on thighs? How do cope normally with just shorts? Same thing.
Leg warmers? As above, not as warm, especially because leg warmers end at the thigh and I would like kids one day!
Bibtights maybe more comfortable but I can't really see how much and as above I can wear my good shorts all year round.

Anonymous

I don't want to wear my good bib shorts all year.
I want to wear my good bib shorts part of the year and my good bib tights the rest of the time!

There is nothing wrong with wearing tights over bib shorts (unlike tights under bib shorts lol), but it is better, if only slightly, to wear bib tights.

Nothing wrong with the gripper round your leg. I 'cope' with them in the summer because I have to. In the winter I have an option and it feels better if not there.

It also feels better having foot loops which I imagine do not work on non bib tights?
Not sure if you can feel the waistband of the unpadded tights with bib shorts underneath but guessing you can tell it's there and that would annoy me too.

If you cannot imagine how much more comfortable bib tights are, you either need to try them or just forget about it.
It seems odd to me to dissuade someone from buying bib tights (on a thread where the op is asking which to get, rather than whether or not to get them) without knowing what it's like to have them.