Massive difference, but only matters to me when doing big mileage or else I can ride in anything.
I still only shop in sales though anyway. Rapha are excellent now, they really do seem to put a lot of work into getting it right and would maybe be my pick if I had to go with a brand. Classic and Pro Team range I would strongly vouch for a
My Pro Team Thermal bib shorts II are destroyed noe though, chamois is still fine but material at back so thin you can see though them!
Too expensive to buy a new pair and can’t see them listed on their site anymore anyway. Shame.
La Passione I’ve been experimenting with since last summer. Got their club bib shorts and winter tights too. Chamois and fit on the tights is pretty good, like then on long rides, and the club shorts are kinda fine as well.
Generally you can tell their kit is a step down from Rapha though, but good value for money I think. Style is nice and clean too.
Assos bibs excellent. Castelli hit and miss, they tend to have thinner pads in general. Santini just okay, they like thinner pads generally too and feel cheaper.
I’ve been toying with some of the more expensive ones for the past year or so to find a brand that I want to stick with. I got the Grow Cycling kit from Cuore when it was on sale. I know the TR folks all love that brand so it was an easy purchase that also gave to a good cause. It’s by far my favorite kit I’ve ever purchased. Fits beautifully, has cargo bib pocket as well as back pockets on the bibs themselves (game changer for long jersey-less trainer rides for holding extra food).
I also ordered the new VC kit from Eliel a month or so ago, but haven’t received it yet. It was about the same price as the Cuore kit, so I’m eager to compare the two. I will say that sizing wise, Eliel didn’t go as small as Cuore did, so I’m a tad worried it won’t fit as well as the Grow Cycling kit.
All that to say that, yes, they have been worth the difference in price for me. Find ones that suit your style and fit your body appropriately, and you’ll find yourself admiring the comfort and utility of more expensive product.
Take a step back and think about it. We hear a lot about the placebo effect where it relates to physiology. If you believe it works, then it does. It’s very likely that the same principle comes into play with respect to clothing and gear choices. I have a pair of Assos thermal bibs I wear in cold weather and think they’re great. I also have a pair of no-name bibs I got on Amazon for $35 and honestly, I can’t tell a difference in how the two feel when it comes to comfort on the bike. It’d be a big jump for me to admit that I was willing to pay $200+ for a pair of shorts and could have gotten the same thing for a fraction of the price. From my perspective, quality when it comes to apparel means “does it meet your expectations”. The idea that quality and price are proportional may be an idea perpetuated by the industry marketing staff and not have much actual merit. It’d be very interesting to see some double-blind studies conducted on shorts.
Cycling gear has many examples…I ride a Cervelo S5. Why? I could have gotten an S3 that performs almost identically in almost all tests, but costs about half as much. I guess I was one of those guys the marketing staff targets…the person who wants to pay more for essentially the same product.
I’d recommend people give that big brand a try. It’s not that much money in the big picture and you’ll never know until you ride in a pair. FWIW I’ve had uber pricey boutique bibs suck after a short ride, others feel great after hours and hours, cheaper brands feel like hell after minutes and cheaper brands work well after hours and hours. Assos Equipe RS is my fav. Like shoes and saddles it’s priceless to NOT think about them while riding.
Nice bibs seem expensive, BUT they feel better, feel better for longer, and last longer. Cheaper bibs stretch and wear thin, and the chamois loses its cushion. A 2x more expensive pair will likely last 2x longer AND be more comfortable. You can get a few years out of a pair if you treat them well
The Pactimo Summit have been awesome for me, I did order a pair of the cheaper Ascent Vector model but returned them. Material felt cheaper, chamois wasn’t as substantial, straps were rough, but the Stratos and Raptor have been awesome for me for long rides outdoors and 3+ hour trainer rides completely seated. I recently ordered another pair of the Stratos on sale and compared to my 1 year old pair the chamois feels identical, the material on the older ones has softened up a bit but still fits good no wrinkles. I would recommend giving them a try and they always have sales
IMO more expensive clothing - Rapha, Assos, Le Col - is usually a better investment than things like carbon bars, seatposts, etc. My other half bought me a Rapha winter jacket in early 2020 and it has been an utter revelation: unbelievably light and breathable yet very warm. Ditto some Le Col bib shorts that were a recent gift from a grateful customer at work.
Since then I have made a conscious decision that I’m not going to buy cheap cycling clothing (emergencies notwithstanding) and as budget stuff wears out, I’ll replace it with better stuff. Yes, it’ll mean a narrower choice in the wardrobe (and staying on top of laundry) but IMO the comfort gains are a game changer, especially for long rides, or those in very hot or cold conditions.
Agreed, I only wear Rapha now as there is a club house a 15 minute walk from home which makes trying stuff on really easy. I have 3 season old Pro Team bibs that still look great and the pad is as good as day 1. Their Pro Team Thermal stuff is excellent too.
Everyone is different on fit and function with bibs. Experiment and find one that works for you. Your best bet is going to be different than mine, and everyone else’s. Find a sale and try one of the big brands, see if its better for you. Try a discount brand - same thing. Experiment until you find your happy place on comfort and cost
I tried Rapha after a cyclist on our local randoneurring club’s mailing list asked about cheap kit and got a well worded response that amounted to “of all the things to economize on, why on earth would you choose THAT?”
I haven’t bought too much of their stuff, but I like what I’ve gotten and it fits me well and is comfortable for long rides. The cost is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the local clubhouse offers a 20% for members of our local cycling advocacy / ride organizing club. I was mildly concerned that the bibs would cause me to de-saturate, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Check with rapha about getting it repaired. I crashed in my lightweight pro bibs and put a decent hole in them, plus some scuffing. Checked into their repair service and they patched them for free and sent them back in a musette bag. Depending on the damage they can’t fix everything but it’s worth an ask and for everyone else considering rapha a good reason to buy.
Amateur here when it comes to attire. Where does Pearl Izumi rank in terms of quality brands. Ive had good luck with anything under 3 hours (1.5 indoors) but after that things get uncomfortable. Worth trying a different brand? I’m mainly an XC rider so when I’m up/down on trails it doesn’t matter, but for training it is far different.
IMHO the Velocio Concept bibs have been worth every penny for me in terms of comfort.
Some of the higher-end Pearl Izumi Bibs are good too.
I have a pair of Rapha core bibs and they are decent for shorter training rides of 60-90 mins. The pad just doesn’t seem to line up right with my sit bones, no matter what I do.
The cheapy pair of Pearl Izumi bibs, which were the first bibs I bought, are not comfortable for more than 60 mins.
Yeah I started out on sale section Pearl Izumi bibs. Really terrible stuff looking back on it. But their higher end ranges are always well talked about on cycling forums. People do swear by them, but haven’t tried myself.
Investing in good bib shorts is one of the best things you can do to yourself if you want to train regularly. Most people seem to focus on groupsets, carbon wheels and the like, but forget the importance of good shoes, a good saddle and good bib shorts.
I have bought DHB’s mid-range bib shorts and their cheap bib shorts. Their cheap bib shorts are junk, I’m having saddle discomfort wearing them after 45 minutes or so. The mid-range ones are a bit better, but once you try good bib shorts, you don’t want to go back. Saddle discomfort starts ramping up exponentially after 1:45 hours or so for me, and with the wrong bib shorts they can make the last intervals unbearable.
There are two caveats, though: first of all, with bib shorts and chamois — just like shoes or saddles — there is an element of personal preference. I have 5 high-quality bib shorts from 7Mesh, Gore, MAAP, Castelli and Sportful. My bum loves the 7Mesh, they are so comfortable that I forget I am wearing any. That is followed by Sportful, MAAP, Castelli and Gore, in that order. But all of them are much better than the DHBs that I have.
The second caveat is wear: I wore through my Gore’s chamois apparently. Visually, the chamois still looks great, at least I can’t tell that anything is wrong. But when wearing them, my bottom begs to differ. They have become quite uncomfortable lately — which is why I have replaced them.
My favorites are a pair of DHB Roubaix bib shorts from around 2015, the equivalent DHB shorts now are no where near the same design wise, the newer bibs tend to be made with less pieces (sections) of fabric from what I can see.
I dug deep into my pockets recently and bought a pair of Assos bibs but they are not as comfortable as my trusty old DHB’s. I like a thick dense chamois pad which are not that easy to find.
PI make a really wide range of products. They have cheap shorts all the way to mid-high end bibs. I think many of the older crowd in the US started with cheap PI bibs because that was what shops carries. Literally every shop had some PI merch. Today, hey make some high end stuff, but we tend to think of that cheap stuff.
I personally wear Rapha and Assos products, but my wife has a pair of high end PI bibs that she loves. The material is very soft and they seem to be good construction. No idea on the chamois, but that’s a personal fit choice.
Yes. YES. DEFINITELY. They are ridiculously expensive, but they are more than worth it (for me imho).
I am also into endurance, so my rides are typically 4h+.
Before expensive bibs: oh why. I feel my butt already after an hour. Perhaps I should change my fit. Sit deeper, change my saddle position. Stand more on the bike. Perhaps I should stop more often. And after 4h+ getting off the bike: oh we’re done finally.
After expensive bibs: never felt anything, not even after 8h ride. I started with Assos bonka over the winter, then moved onto assos cento evo and assos r9 bib shorts.