bonz50

I had been riding on a couple pair of old PerfBike shorts for several years, old style with a CRAP chamois in them, basically a flat piece of felt fercrissakes. decided I wants to try bibs and bought a cheap chinese made set on Amzaon. granted, I know they're not Assos, Castelli, of Pearl Izumi, but it was a revelation as to what I was missing and my minor gripes about fit and tingly nuts and other little saddle related problems I thought I was having are now gone. took me way to long to make that change.

next up, new, better fitting shoes for my size 13's, since my feet are fairly wide I'm gonna look at Lake shoes. but not until I finish getting a couple more bibs

Gaelen

Right there with you! I started with some cheap Canari's that only had a pad in them. I've since upgraded to a nice brand that I am more than happy with. Which off-brand did you go with and how did their sizing guide match your expectations? I am always willing to expand my cycling wardrobe on the cheap.

SWorksRoubaix

Why the cloak and dagger? Which brand?

Gaelen

Lol, yeah, I guess I wanted to keep name-brands out of the thread. All Secret Squirrel-ness aside, they're Pearl Izumi Quests. Love 'em. If there's something comparable for less...cool.

bonz50

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

by up 1-2 sizes, I read the reviews and most recommended that, glad I listened.

that said, it makes me wonder how nice the big brands are in comparison. good chance I buy a second or third pair of these just because of the price. these were cheaper than the PerfBike shorts I had and the quality was better than expected. I only bought them to try bibs, to see if I liked the style (i do), happy coincidence that they were of better quality than expected. considering my budget, it helped a lot that they were cheap

TenSpeedV2

I fought the whole bib thing for a long time, including from my mountain bike days. The first day that I rode in my Pactimo bibs, riding a bicycle as I knew it, had changed forever. I immediately regretted not getting them years ago.

kc0bbq

Pactimo are one of those brands of bibs that make an iffy saddle a good one. Pactimo makes nice stuff.

bruce19

Been cycling for about 35 yrs. I've used a variety of gear but nothing in the realm of bibs/shorts has come close to Assos for me. I only buy them on sale. Figures the ones that work for me would be expensive.

QuoVadis

Are bibs really better than padded shorts in terms of comfort? It looks like the padded part of the bibs is pretty much the same as a pair of padded shorts.

BluFalconActual

I just got my first pair of bibs last week. After the first ride, I bought two more pairs.

RPK79

I'll only wear NOT SHORTS.

bonz50

not being a flat belly racer type, shorts have a tendency to roll down and I end up with a "rope" around my waist that could tie up a decent sized boat. that's why I tried bibs

cderalow

i used to be a cheap (and sore) ass when it came to shorts and would buy the performance ultra ones on sale. i was given a gift card to rapha over christmas and decided to buy a pair of their bibs on sale.

needless to say, I won't be going back to the performance ones, and now, whenever I wear them, i wind up sore.

100 miles in the now two pairs of rapha ones i own (older version super lightweight and newer flyweight) and i barely even feel it.

the shape, density and quality of the pad makes a huge difference.

bruce19

My Assos are bibs. I'm certainly not a flat belly guy.

GuitarBob

Last year, a friend bought me a pair of Performance Ultra shorts (not bibs, ahem) and I groaned. I'm happy to report that I think they're pretty darned great. I'd even say they're close enough to Rapha and Assos that I don't hesitate to wear them, plus they are less than half the price. That obviously doesn't hold for everyone, but it's true for me.

Of course, I'll only wear Rapha or Assos on fancy rides so I can remain as pretentious as possible.

rm -rf

If the shorts fit, get some more of them soon. The first couple of shorts that I bought didn't quite work for me, I got wrinkles and poor coverage of the pad where I contacted the saddle.

For maybe 5 years, I got the same model of Pearl Izumi shorts, and they were just right. Now, the PI designs have all changed, and they don't fit me nearly as well. They resized their jerseys too. Grrr.

I've never used bibs. The shorts don't roll down or cause problems for me.

cderalow

for me i prefer the lack of a waist band of bibs over regular shorts.