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| Women's bib shorts review: Rapha, Café du Cycliste, DHB | Women's bib shorts review: Rapha, Café du Cycliste, DHB |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| There is a very good reason why many women riders don’t wear bib shorts: it makes going for a pee behind a bush mid-ride almost impossible. Off comes the jersey, out falls everything you’ve had stashed in your back pockets, down come the straps and all of a sudden you’re basically in your bra with your bum out. Then the farmer turns up. | There is a very good reason why many women riders don’t wear bib shorts: it makes going for a pee behind a bush mid-ride almost impossible. Off comes the jersey, out falls everything you’ve had stashed in your back pockets, down come the straps and all of a sudden you’re basically in your bra with your bum out. Then the farmer turns up. |
| Designed well, though, and they really are comfier than ordinary shorts. If you don’t have a washboard stomach they keep everything tucked in, giving you a more streamlined silhouette, and your kidneys won’t get cold at the back. There’s no waistband to dig in, either. | Designed well, though, and they really are comfier than ordinary shorts. If you don’t have a washboard stomach they keep everything tucked in, giving you a more streamlined silhouette, and your kidneys won’t get cold at the back. There’s no waistband to dig in, either. |
| You can buy some shorts with a flap which unzips to expose your cheeks to the wind, but I’ve heard mixed reports about whether or not the zipper chafes. Giro claims to have solved the problem with a nifty halterneck design that Total Women’s Cycling thinks could be a “game changer”. But it’s not out until February, so for this review I’ve had to make do with three flapless numbers. It was a test of bladder control as much as cycling apparel, but I am prepared to suffer for my art. | |
| I’ve worn and washed each pair at least five times on rides of around three hours. All three are really designed for summer riding, but add some leg warmers and they’ll get you through the winter too. I think you get what you pay for with cycling shorts (scrimp on your top half, I reckon), so have chosen three top of the range numbers. | I’ve worn and washed each pair at least five times on rides of around three hours. All three are really designed for summer riding, but add some leg warmers and they’ll get you through the winter too. I think you get what you pay for with cycling shorts (scrimp on your top half, I reckon), so have chosen three top of the range numbers. |
| Café du Cycliste Antoinette bib shorts €180 (£141) | Café du Cycliste Antoinette bib shorts €180 (£141) |
| I love the look of almost everything this Nice-based brand comes up with, and these shorts are no exception. Unusually, they are designed to be worn on their own - something impossible with many bib shorts, particularly the Assos ones with the single boob-separating strap advertised in these outrageously porny publicity shots. | I love the look of almost everything this Nice-based brand comes up with, and these shorts are no exception. Unusually, they are designed to be worn on their own - something impossible with many bib shorts, particularly the Assos ones with the single boob-separating strap advertised in these outrageously porny publicity shots. |
| Riding bare shouldered carries the obvious risks - if you come off your bike the chance of you shredding your shoulders is painfully high. But it’s pleasing to have the option. The problem with this design is that there’s nowhere safe to put your keys, phone, flapjack, banana, etc. There is a mesh pocket on the back but it’s open ended and I’d only really trust it to hold a cheap cag or a water bottle. | |
| I’m a size 10-12 and the Small fitted me nicely. The fabric is lovely and soft, but I didn’t get on with the chamois, from Italian manufacturer Cytech. It was a bit too wide for my anatomy and saddle. The top of the zip also itched like mad, to the point that I had to wear a vest underneath. Jenny, a friend from my cycling club, tried the Medium and complained about the itchy label: she cut hers out but the remnants still niggled. Both of us thought the stitching looked a little loose: I had a hanging thread from the gusset after one wash. You’d expect better from something in this price bracket. I found the silicon grippers on the bottom a bit too sticky and rubbery too, though Jen liked them and said they kept the shorts from bunching up. | |
| Best bit: Lovely fabric, really attractive and unusual design | Best bit: Lovely fabric, really attractive and unusual design |
| Worst bit: Itchy zip and label; not as well made as you’d expect for something so expensive. | Worst bit: Itchy zip and label; not as well made as you’d expect for something so expensive. |
| Available to buy here | Available to buy here |
| DHB Goldline Bib Shorts £79.99 | DHB Goldline Bib Shorts £79.99 |
| DHB is the in-house make of online sporting superstore, Wiggle. I’ve had a pair of their perfectly-ok bargain basement bib shorts for years, and these are significantly better, as befits their price. These were very flattering - the shorts are trimmed with a semi-sheer mesh which had a surprisingly slimming effect. I was sceptical that they’d tear or nick too easily, but I’ve been wearing them on and off since the Tour de France came to Yorkshire to no ill effect. | DHB is the in-house make of online sporting superstore, Wiggle. I’ve had a pair of their perfectly-ok bargain basement bib shorts for years, and these are significantly better, as befits their price. These were very flattering - the shorts are trimmed with a semi-sheer mesh which had a surprisingly slimming effect. I was sceptical that they’d tear or nick too easily, but I’ve been wearing them on and off since the Tour de France came to Yorkshire to no ill effect. |
| I’d quibble with the placing of the straps, however. It probably all depends where your breasts sit, but these ended up on the far side of each nipple, which isn’t the comfiest - and it looks weird. Top pad, though. Narrower at the front than the other two and really quite substantial: not one for those who like a barely-there chamois but good for those of us who don’t mind a bit of bulk down there. | I’d quibble with the placing of the straps, however. It probably all depends where your breasts sit, but these ended up on the far side of each nipple, which isn’t the comfiest - and it looks weird. Top pad, though. Narrower at the front than the other two and really quite substantial: not one for those who like a barely-there chamois but good for those of us who don’t mind a bit of bulk down there. |
| Best bit: Look good and the chamois is great | Best bit: Look good and the chamois is great |
| Worst bit: The straps are weirdly positioned | Worst bit: The straps are weirdly positioned |
| Available from Wiggle here. There’s a rather stylish matching black jersey with mesh sleeves too, which looks really smart, even if the pockets are weirdly high up. | Available from Wiggle here. There’s a rather stylish matching black jersey with mesh sleeves too, which looks really smart, even if the pockets are weirdly high up. |
| Rapha Classic Bib Shorts £160 | Rapha Classic Bib Shorts £160 |
| If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d be about to recommend a pair of cycling shorts costing £160 I’d have had a very stern word with myself. I still don’t even own a dress costing that much. Plus I’d always held the view that Raphaites were mugs who had not only drunk the Kool-Aid but paid through the nose for the privilege. I considered the brand to be the height of style over substance - 90% monochrome marketing (justly lampooned here) and 10% Lycra. Then I tried their bib shorts. | If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d be about to recommend a pair of cycling shorts costing £160 I’d have had a very stern word with myself. I still don’t even own a dress costing that much. Plus I’d always held the view that Raphaites were mugs who had not only drunk the Kool-Aid but paid through the nose for the privilege. I considered the brand to be the height of style over substance - 90% monochrome marketing (justly lampooned here) and 10% Lycra. Then I tried their bib shorts. |
| Crikey, these are good. First, they look great. Super flattering. The material feels expensive - as well it should - and not even the tiniest of threads has come loose after a summer of hard riding and many washing machine cycles. The grippers at the bottom kept everything in place, without sticking or pulling on the odd stray hair like the Café du Cycliste shorts. | Crikey, these are good. First, they look great. Super flattering. The material feels expensive - as well it should - and not even the tiniest of threads has come loose after a summer of hard riding and many washing machine cycles. The grippers at the bottom kept everything in place, without sticking or pulling on the odd stray hair like the Café du Cycliste shorts. |
| The bib section is made from two different mesh fabrics and cut high for a more favourable line. The mesh on the straps and at at the back improves breathability: I went up Buttertubs Pass wearing these shorts on a blazing July morning a few days after the Tour had passed through and stayed nice and cool, despite the heat and gradient. | |
| You could wear these on their own if you wanted: there’s a tiny zipped pocket at the back which could fit a small bunch of keys. I loved discovering a surprise inside: a charming label telling the shamefully little known story of Marianne Martin, who become the first American to triumph in a French Grand Tour in 1984 (two years before Greg LeMond did the same, to somewhat greater acclaim). | You could wear these on their own if you wanted: there’s a tiny zipped pocket at the back which could fit a small bunch of keys. I loved discovering a surprise inside: a charming label telling the shamefully little known story of Marianne Martin, who become the first American to triumph in a French Grand Tour in 1984 (two years before Greg LeMond did the same, to somewhat greater acclaim). |
| As with all Rapha gear, there’s a money-back guarantee if you aren’t 100% satisfied within 30 days. My clubmates also rave about the aftercare service: you can send stuff back for free repairs even if you’ve ridden the kit half to death. | As with all Rapha gear, there’s a money-back guarantee if you aren’t 100% satisfied within 30 days. My clubmates also rave about the aftercare service: you can send stuff back for free repairs even if you’ve ridden the kit half to death. |
| Best bit: Look good, feel good | |
| Worst bit: The price. And the fact I can no longer roll my eyes at Rapha groupies | Worst bit: The price. And the fact I can no longer roll my eyes at Rapha groupies |
| Available via the Rapha site here | Available via the Rapha site here |