Bib shorts for 162 kms with climbs

antonyfromoz

I know that there are a lot of these threads but I couldn't find one with the information I want. I am riding a mountainous sportive (162 kms ) and am looking at some mid priced bib shorts to make it all a bit more comfortable. I currently ride in either craft or pearl izumi bibs (all med size) and I am looking for some bibs with a bit better pad but cannot find any locally so it will have to be bought on the net. The bibs i am considering are:
Sportful Gruppetto Classic http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sportful-gruppe ... -bibshort/
Sugoi evolution team http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sugoi-evolution-team-bib-short/
Exteondo Orhi http://www.merlincycles.com/etxeondo-or ... 69240.html
DHB either the Aeron Pro or the Goldline http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-goldline-bib-short/

Any happy (or unhappy) user comments will be appreciated - they all come in at between £68 to £90 so any other similarly priced suggestions will also be considered. I think i will be a medium in DHB an Sugoi but a large in the other two (175cm, 32" inseam and 32/33" waist with wide shoulders)

DiscoBoy

Castelli velocissimo are excellent, and around £80.

Silly Old Hector

Castelli with Kiss3 pad gets my vote - try Castelli Cafe

meanredspider

Assos T-Pro S2 shorts at the Assos factory outlet - £89

derosa

Buy the Etxeondos - you won't regret it.
Was so impressed with them I bought a second pair.

keef66

meanredspider wrote:

Assos T-Pro S2 shorts at the Assos factory outlet - £89

Very rapid despatch / delivery. Received mine yesterday but have only had time to try them on. Initial impressions are that they fit like a glove and hold the pad firmly but comfortably in position, so the sizing guide is spot on. Test ride tonight hopefully...

MisterMuncher

+1 on the Etxeondo. Did 225km in a pair of Dicolors, and felt much less awful than I probably should have.

defride

RC Pro insert in the Sugoi is good but not remotely in the same league for longer distance as the Assos S5 Uno pad though it took me a couple of rides to get used to the slightly bulkier Assos. The Assos can be had for £100 if you shop around, expensive but worth it. What's more Assos repaired a pair foc recently - piece of mind

ai_1

defride wrote:

......What's more Assos repaired a pair foc recently - piece of mind

I wouldn't call a piece of your mind "free of charge"..... oh wait "peace", nevermind.....

Slo Mo Jones

DiscoBoy wrote:

Castelli velocissimo are excellent, and around £80.

Velocissimo are not climbing bib shorts, they're better for the flats.

defride

Ai_1 wrote:

defride wrote:

......What's more Assos repaired a pair foc recently - piece of mind

I wouldn't call a piece of your mind "free of charge"..... oh wait "peace", nevermind.....

fear enough :]

jmccabe

MisterMuncher wrote:

+1 on the Etxeondo. Did 225km in a pair of Dicolors, and felt much less awful than I probably should have.

Interesting, Merlin have Dicolors in their sale (limited choice of size) at £49.99 at the moment.

marcusjb

Slo Mo Jones wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Castelli velocissimo are excellent, and around £80.

Velocissimo are not climbing bib shorts, they're better for the flats.

Wait! What?

I am meant to change my shorts before going up a hill?

I presume I have to carry three pairs - flat, uphill and downhill yes?

This could revolutionise my riding!

Slo Mo Jones

marcusjb wrote:

Slo Mo Jones wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Castelli velocissimo are excellent, and around £80.

Velocissimo are not climbing bib shorts, they're better for the flats.

Wait! What?

I am meant to change my shorts before going up a hill?

I presume I have to carry three pairs - flat, uphill and downhill yes?

Of course. Although obviously the effect of changing your shorts is negated unless you are wearing climbing socks

gsk82

and you'll struggle if you go over 150km with the assos s2 pad. it was specifically designed for rides of 120 to 149km regardless of terrain. they are also not sportive compatible.

jmccabe

gsk82 wrote:

they are also not sportive compatible.

Eh?

bompington

Well, I'll let you know how I get on in the 3 pistes (a mountainous 165km sportive) wearing my £6 Lidl shorts ;-)

t4tomo

bompington wrote:

Well, I'll let you know how I get on in the 3 pistes (a mountainous 165km sportive) wearing my £6 Lidl shorts ;-)

That's of no use to him, he specifically needs them tested over 162kms. I don't know how you dare come on here with your hollow offers. Have a word with yourself.

antonyfromoz

TBH, if they are really comfortable I could probably ride an extra 3kms.

(there is a certain atmosphere on the forum at the moment - but thank you to all who gave helpful advice)...

jmccabe

Have you made your mind up though?! FWIW - I'm in a similar boat; looking for a decent pair of bibshorts that will keep me comfortable up to 100miles or so. I've currently got Altura ProGel but I'm not convinced they're what I need. I've been looking at Endura FS-260 Pro but some reviews said they're fine up to about 3 hours; I need more like 6-7 hours!

dowtcha

jmccabe wrote:

Have you made your mind up though?! FWIW - I'm in a similar boat; looking for a decent pair of bibshorts that will keep me comfortable up to 100miles or so. I've currently got Altura ProGel but I'm not convinced they're what I need. I've been looking at Endura FS-260 Pro but some reviews said they're fine up to about 3 hours; I need more like 6-7 hours!

Just buy 2 pairs of FS-260, when you hit 3 hrs put on the fresh pair and you are good for another 3.

southdownswolf

Dowtcha wrote:

jmccabe wrote:

Have you made your mind up though?! FWIW - I'm in a similar boat; looking for a decent pair of bibshorts that will keep me comfortable up to 100miles or so. I've currently got Altura ProGel but I'm not convinced they're what I need. I've been looking at Endura FS-260 Pro but some reviews said they're fine up to about 3 hours; I need more like 6-7 hours!

Just buy 2 pairs of FS-260, when you hit 3 hrs put on the fresh pair and you are good for another 3.

If you buy a pair in red then you will go much quicker, therefore cutting down the ride time.

marcusjb

My serious answer as someone who does spend quite a bit of time in the saddle and who owns all sorts of snazzy shorts like rapha team pro, assos etc.

DHB Aeron Pro are hard to beat for value.

They are very comfortable, well made and fit well.

I have only ridden a maximum of around 300km in one go in them, but it was during some horrendous rain storms (wet shorts that don't suit your behind soon make themselves known).

I really rate them.

Of course I love my tarty stuff, but the DHB shorts are just superb value for money.

Camcycle1974

jmccabe wrote:

Have you made your mind up though?! FWIW - I'm in a similar boat; looking for a decent pair of bibshorts that will keep me comfortable up to 100miles or so. I've currently got Altura ProGel but I'm not convinced they're what I need. I've been looking at Endura FS-260 Pro but some reviews said they're fine up to about 3 hours; I need more like 6-7 hours!

Compare the 3 levels of pad in DHB shorts, choose one with thickest pad. Job done. Not difficuilt really

bondurant

derosa wrote:

Buy the Etxeondos - you won't regret it.
Was so impressed with them I bought a second pair.

I've bought three now, in two months. Love them.

cougie

Spookily I did 164km on a hilly ride in Sunday in my ordinary DHB aeron bibs.
I was riding in my Belfast giro commemorative stage top though - I think that made all the difference.

antonyfromoz

Dowtcha wrote:

jmccabe wrote:

Have you made your mind up though?! FWIW - I'm in a similar boat; looking for a decent pair of bibshorts that will keep me comfortable up to 100miles or so. I've currently got Altura ProGel but I'm not convinced they're what I need. I've been looking at Endura FS-260 Pro but some reviews said they're fine up to about 3 hours; I need more like 6-7 hours!

Just buy 2 pairs of FS-260, when you hit 3 hrs put on the fresh pair and you are good for another 3.

Much as I liked this idea - although i think for a full 6 hours you would need to wear both pairs at once - I have ordered the Etxeondo and Sportful shorts from my original list to see which ones are best. I am not certain that I will keep both once they arrive but it seems to me that they are both quality shorts so it is just a matter of which one fits best (and it will be interesting to compare the pads). I will give my feedback once they arrive. Thank you once again to everyone who made a sensible suggestion and thanks to the others who made me laugh!

jmccabe

Camcycle1974 wrote:

jmccabe wrote:

Have you made your mind up though?! FWIW - I'm in a similar boat; looking for a decent pair of bibshorts that will keep me comfortable up to 100miles or so. I've currently got Altura ProGel but I'm not convinced they're what I need. I've been looking at Endura FS-260 Pro but some reviews said they're fine up to about 3 hours; I need more like 6-7 hours!

Compare the 3 levels of pad in DHB shorts, choose one with thickest pad. Job done. Not difficuilt really

That's a thought.

What I've been doing is looking at the Cytech website that shows all the pads they make, with recommendations for maximum length of ride. The problem with that though is that the dhb ones seem to have slightly different, or less specific, names to the ones on the Cytech website.

When they say "Tour Air" for example, Cytech don't have a listing for that but they have a "Tour" in their medium distance section (up to 3 hours) and a "Tour HP Carbonium" in their long distance section (they say up to 5 hours).

The dhb Goldline at £85 or so (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-goldline-bib-short/) explicitly says it's got the "Comp HP" which is listed on the Cytech website as being recommended for up to 6 hour rides (http://www.elasticinterface.com/cycling ... .php?id=48).

So, actually, when you look at it that way it's not necessarily quite as simple as it looks.

antonyfromoz

with the DHB shorts, my understanding is that only the Goldline seems to be recommended for rides of 6 hours, with the Aeron Pro having a pad recommended for shorter rides (although many people have happily used these for very long rides so it really is subjective so YMMV). If you buy the Goldline shorts then get them through the British Cycling Wiggle shop and the price comes down to under £80.

raboldi

I've got a pair of DHB Aeron Pro and they are absolutely sound. Done a couple of centuries in them along with a 200km ride. Never failed me, fully recommend them.

I remember getting them in a sale for £52, can compare them to much pricier shorts.

jmccabe

The Aeron Pro do look like a good deal. One of my concerns is my size; I'm between 13 and 13 and a half stone (at the moment - hopefully will get a bit lower as I was probably around 16st a few months ago) and 6'1" so I feel like I ought err a bit on the heavy duty side.