A plain black, sleek looking pair of padded bibshorts, the slightly ambiguously named Bibtights Short+ (definitely not tights, but shorts!), have a 10 inch inseam and are a mix of lycra legs and fine mesh bibs for heat dissipation. The chamois is described as being for 'medium rides' of up to 3 hours by Gore.
Pulling them is an instantly comfortable experience, with the high quality, stretchy fabrics just fitting perfectly with no hotspots. There is no silicon grippers on the legs which was a little concerning at first, but several hundred miles of both mountain biking and road cycling in and we are happy this will not be an issue - the double thickness lycra cuffs just seem to fit so well they don't ride up. Removing the silicon also removes potential pressure points, so we are all in favour of this approach.
It has taken some chilly days to highlight a feature we hadn't previously been aware of on these shorts - namely a windproof panel across the front of the shorts, just above where the front of the chammy stops. This does reduce chill at the inside of the thighs and nether regions when the sweat has been flowing and you begin a fast downhill, keeping that clammy feeling at bay. We hadn't noticed it on warmer days, so it doesn't seem to build heat up as you might imagine. They really are good for year round riding.
A clever design that places seams where they will cause least chafing works superbly well, and one of the greatest compliments we can pay these shorts is that we rarely noticed them. Even on long rides the chammy - specced at medium rides only - never caused any issues on full days in the saddle so these are definitely worth considering whatever your ride lengths.
The plain black finish fits with just about any outfit you care to throw at them too, so all in all these are a superb pair of bibshorts at a price that undercuts many of the competition for this level of quality and comfort.
