vandarye

Now with winter setting in, I am looking at getting some thermal bib tights. I am very happy with my pearl izumi quest bib shorts and my louie garneau shorts, but being that the bib tights can be upwards of $100, I wanted to get some opinions before I buy anything.

I am in Texas, but today it was in the 30's with a strong wind, January and February tend to be pretty nippy here.

rangerdavid

I got some Louis Garneau and some Castelli winter bibs in just now. I.ve tried the LG bibs, and they are great. Just opened the Castelli, but I've hear and read the reviews, looking forward to riding them too!


*** ooops, just saw your title, your looking for tights, not bib knickers. The tights I have are PI thermal, and I absolutely love the windproof panels. check out some pearl izumi.

billydonn

Darn I would think bib knickers would be all anyone would need for the cruel jaws of the Houston winter! If so, some Louis Garneau thermo roubax knicks should do the trick. I love mine. (leggings below could help in an emergency)

trevor_ash

I gotta be honest, I would LOVE bib tights but I don't own any for a few reasons. I own two pairs of regular tights without chamois. I just wear them over my bib shorts. It's a cheaper alternative with only one real negative (the pressure from the waistband).

I already have bib shorts I know fit well. Why go through that hassle again for bib tights that cost a fortune? That's pretty much why I never bought any. If I were in a store where I could try on every brand known to man I'd probably own a pair.

JustinHorne

I have a pair of Descente bibtights. I don't remember the exact model, but they're *very* good, I'm a fan.

twodownzero

Maybe I'm strange, but I've yet to find a major brand in size small that doesn't fit me nicely. In cold weather stuff, I look for windproofness and price and rock on from there. If I'm not warm enough, I put on more layers.

DXchulo

I have PI AmFibs and I like them. They're nice and thick throughout the whole front section, so they keep everything warm: your knees, your junk, and even your stomach. I use the ones without the chamois and wear shorts underneath. They keep me comfortable down to the low 30s, and we get plenty of wind around here. Any temps lower than that and I'd most likely be commuting and wearing pants.

topflightpro

I have some Pearl tights that work well, and I just got some Craft Bib Tights w/o chamois that seem nice, but I have not yet needed them.

I encourage you to go with bib tights over regular tights - w/ or w/o chamois - as I find tights tend to fall down in the back. It's kind of annoying.

ravenmore

I'm in Austin, and busted out my Northwave bib tights for Sunday morning's ride in low 40's with 25mph head wind. I was comfortable the entire ride. I like them a lot but it rarely gets cold enough and stays cold enough to not go with another option that I can layer. Still it's nice to have them when you need them. I found them on sale somewhere for ~$80 and have been very impressed with the quality.

rogerstg

FWIW, both of these issues are easily solved with a pair of thin clip on suspenders (braces to some). They're about $5 on Amazon.

My wife and I use Performance brand TriFlex tights.

JamieElenbaas

I am VERY happy with my Pearl long bib thermal bike pants. Yes, they were expensive, but they are very warm and, most importantly, the chamois comes up fairly far in front, preventing that most painful winter cycling condition that we guys must deal with.

JamieElenbaas

Oh, I just realized that you are in Houston. You would roast in the Pearl Thermals. You probably don't even know about the affliction about which I speak above. ;-)

UC223

Clarifying your low temps would help in some of the answers. I like the Pearl Izumi cycling bib tights (w/chamois). I use the Termals for temps ranging from 35 to maybe 50 degrees. they fit very well no pocketing issues at the waist due to heavy fabric and are warm (but not wind blocking). If the temps are staying below 35 for the whole ride (or riding in the dark), i go with the amfib. The wind blocking front panels keeps these very warm, but the fabric does move around on the mid section. This can be anoying if doing intervals or in/out of the saddle often. For those long winter endurance rides, they are perfect. Using shorts and a regular amfib tight might be more comfortable. it is something i am going to try this winter.

vandarye

I live just south of Houston, and sometimes between November and February the temps do dip into the 30's (rarely 20's). For me that is pretty darn cold, considering our norm is 90-110F. I also don't tolerate wind well at all (and it tends to be pretty windy here, flat land with little for wind breaks), my hands and ears turn bright red and hurt. I have a PI head band that covers my ears and works great. I was looking at maybe getting one set of bib tights that I could use on cold days, but not expecting them to see a ton of usage. Maybe I should just consider getting leg and arm warmers instead.

dbf73

I found a nice pair of Hincapie Alpe bib tights on fleabay that have been great. Good fit and nice and warm - good at least to down to 30F so far. too bad I forgot to wear gloves with fingers that day.

Looigi

There are a couple of basic types of winter types. One is just thermal; a thicker fuzzy lycra which works for me down to the mid-low 40s. Another type has three layers laminated in the front of the legs and on the seat area; lycra, a wind/water resistant membrane, and a fuzzy layer. These work for me down to below freezing. PI Elite Thermal, PI AmFIB, REI Novara Headwind are examples with tights with laminated fronts.