Bargain bibs or shorts

[Kevoffthetee]

I've found the limit of my Aldi short so I'm wondering if anyone has seen any outstanding bargains for either bibs or shorts?

I don't mean cheap, more value for money. I've been recommended tenn and btwin which can vary In Price from £12.99 through to £60+ but I'm not sure what the difference is. I've looked at the btwin 500 bibs which are don to 15.99 (37% off) which seems a good deal? The 700's are 29.99 but I can't tell the difference?

At the same time I'm not after paying for the high end gear as I don't cycle often enough or far enough to justify a huge expense.

Cheers, Kev

 

[uclown2002]

You can't go wrong with any dhb stuff from wiggle.

 

[400bhp]

Planet X. I don't have any but lots of peeps on here can vouch for them. IIRC the clubman ones are raved about.

 

[Heifer73]

I agree dhb from wiggle.

 

[welsh dragon]

I have tenn 3/4 shorts, and I must say im quite happy with them. However you may not like them. Its a case of trial and error. Some you may like and some not. Its a case of trying them yourself im afraid.

 

[MrWill]

Tried loads on recently, maybe this helps...

DHB Areon pro.
Pad decent but the fit is almost restrictive/unpleasant and shoulder straps too narrow.

Endura FS260 Pro.
Pad very good, and the quality is the best, fit excellent but for some reason they have stuck an abnormally tight band around the bottom of the legs. So ruins it for me. If you have thin legs, these are the best going.

Altura Pro Gel.
Most comfortable fit, almost feel like not wearing anything, but the pad is CRAP! Literally half as thick as all the others.

Sugoi RS Pro
Best pad of the bunch, fit well, but shoulder straps slightly narrow. Quality looks ok. Handy little pocket on the lower back area.

Gore Power 2.0. Good/ok all around, but seem overpriced. Seem a bit fashion orientated

Didn't like the Castelli styling, so did not bother.

Keeping the Sugoi ones! Winner.

 

[Elybazza61]

Of the shorts I have at the moment I prefer the Lusso ones(have 2 pairs) over the dhb's;have a pair of Castellis on the way via Wiggles sale so will see what they are like.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Have a look at the Evans website - they launched their sale today/yesterday and they are clearing stock. some good bargins to be had.
http://www.evanscycles.com/categori...ice_from=;price_to=;on_sale=1;sort=popularity;

 

[BigAl68]

On decathalon I have to say I am a big fan. The 500 are great for the usual price and a real bargain at that much off. I have a couple of pairs that I use for day to day cycling under 3 hours. The 700 which I don't own have the same gel chamois that is in their top of the range 900 bibs.

Road.cc have done reviews of all of their range over the past few months and if you want cheap and great day to day jerseys you can't go wrong with the kit IMO.

I also have a pair of the planet x clubman bibs and again can't fault them.

 

[Kevoffthetee]

Tried loads on recently, maybe this helps...

DHB Areon pro.
Pad decent but the fit is almost restrictive/unpleasant and shoulder straps too narrow.

Endura FS260 Pro.
Pad very good, and the quality is the best, fit excellent but for some reason they have stuck an abnormally tight band around the bottom of the legs. So ruins it for me. If you have thin legs, these are the best going.

Altura Pro Gel.
Most comfortable fit, almost feel like not wearing anything, but the pad is CRAP! Literally half as thick as all the others.

Sugoi RS Pro
Best pad of the bunch, fit well, but shoulder straps slightly narrow. Quality looks ok. Handy little pocket on the lower back area.

Gore Power 2.0. Good/ok all around, but seem overpriced. Seem a bit fashion orientated

Didn't like the Castelli styling, so did not bother.

Keeping the Sugoi ones! Winner.

Nice little write up. Can I ask how you found the sizing across your list? I went into Evans tonight and they amazingly had nothing in medium or large to try.

I've a 33inch waist and rather big thighs from my sprinting youth so your point about the Endura stood out

 

[MrWill]

Nice little write up. Can I ask how you found the sizing across your list? I went into Evans tonight and they amazingly had nothing in medium or large to try.

The sizing is pretty uniform, Couldn't get any mediums on, all the XL were too long on the thighs.

 

[Torvi]

ill stick to the op's thread as there is no point making new one. I need to ask you guys what's the difference between cheapo padded shorts and those more expensive ones? Pads are pads and lycra is lycra after all right?

 

[vickster]

Nope

Pad shape, consistency, thickness, material varies

Lycra shorts have different materials, fits, leg lengths, waistband, shoulder straps

 

[RebornBumbler]

My experience (3 pairs, so far...) tends to indicate that paying more means being on the bike longer before pain.

For my first pair, I bought a pair of Zero RH+ Prime bibshorts (on sale at £40) that has a CyTech pad 'rated' at 2 hours. They're certainly good for that, but I can confirm they're not for 4 hours or more.

Needing a second pair (and having read all the positive comments on here), I bought some dhb Aerons at a similar price - these are rather less good - particularly in the pad department - (though I believe this year's might have a CyTech pad, so could be much better) - good for short (1-2 hour) rides only.

Most recently I've bought a pair of Zero RH+ Kinesio (on sale at almost £80) which outdo all the best features of both the other pairs, and with a pad that I can sit on for 5 hours or so before I start squirming...

Perhaps there are cheap padded shorts that work well for hours-on-end for all sorts of peoples' backsides, but (as with saddles, handlebars and bar tape) I think from here-on I'll ignore other people's advice - perhaps you should ignore mine!

 

[Apollonius]

I am a recent convert to bib shorts and like most converts I am very enthusiastic about them!
The big gain is that they stay put. They don't move between you and your saddle and are thus more comfortable as they don't rub. In order to achieve this they must fit. Really well. Rather tighter than you would expect and, critically, quite tight over the shoulders. I think this is more important than the make or the price, and since we are all different, you might get lucky and find a cheapish pair that work well for you.
The only way to find out is by trial and error, which is difficult by mail order! Decathlon is a decent place to start because you can try stuff on and they have a range of price points. I was pleased with the Halfords click and collect service as they get stuff in for you and you can try it on and say yes or no. Worked for me buying some Nalini shorts which I thought were good value for £60. But then, they fit me perfectly.