Originally Posted by
79pmooney
Another fan of bike shorts. And clip-on suspenders. Best of all three worlds. The excellent fit. (That it is easy to adjust the strap length for both your torso length and compensate for short and strap stretch is a nice plus.) Makes using porta potties easy for the serious business of the morning (and makes adding and subtracting layers a lot easier) and it's cheaper. (Shorts are typically $20-20 less than otherwise identical bibs. Suspenders cost ~$20 and outlast several pairs of shorts.l
Bibs are nice but I look at them as specialty clothing, a little like skinsuits. Better for events where you do not need to have bowel movements or go through temperature changes that are best handles with changes of under-clothing. In other words, races, not training, tours ... (And even in the professional grand tours, suspenders would sometimes save real time at key moments - like when diarrhea strikes!)
I wear both, but not at the same time
. I find bibs in the hotter months too warm. Also bathroom breaks are a PITA literally and figuratively. So I wear bibs in the cold months when my rides are shorter and not need bio-breaks. I recently discovered, since I am a confessed slow learner, that if I pull the shorts way up, usually covering below my belly button, they fit as well as bibs. I used to just put them on like regular short pants but not snug them up, which didn’t keep the gentleman parts in place. So spring, summer, fall, its shorts for ease, comfort and bio-needs. That scenario works for me. YMMV
Edit: Did contemplate using suspenders like Mooney, but found hike the shorts way up worked fine.