I have tried three brands of bib pants and find that the legs are made for someone with very thin legs and not good for cyclists with somewhat larger thighs. Measurements are given for chest and waist circumference and I would need a medium for my waist size and an XL for my chest size. Curious as to how others have dealt with this sizing issue.

When I started out doing serious riding the Italian bike shoes were narrow and perfect for my feet but their jerseys were much too tight for my shoulders (and I am not a body builder by any means). Now so much clothing is made in Vietnam or Taiwan and what may be normal in those countries is not a good fit for "stouter" folk in the USA.

That the clothes are made in Vietnam or Taiwan is irrelevant; most are designed in the west. Cycling kit has traditionally favored the thin, but some manufacturers delineate between "race cut" and "club cut" jerseys to accommodate fuller physiques. I don't know of anyone doing the same for bibs, however.

Easy: I don't wear kit.

I mean no offense, but you know that the stuff stretches and is supposed to be form-fitting, if not outright tight, right?

Yes, Italian brands can be small compared to others; try some American or similarly-sized brands.

AeroTechDesigns caters to bigger and taller cyclists.

What are these "bib pants" you speak of?

What does your chest size matter for bibs? There is so much stretch in bib straps that they can easily handle an 10" overall difference between people.

It might help if you posted the brands and sizes you actually tried. Most quality brands specify sizing based on hip and waist circumference, along with height for bibs. Some even specify thigh circumference too (eg. 7mesh). Chest size is totally irrelevant obviously. It would be like specifying your shoe size or head circumference for bibs!

You'll have to wear shorts, not bibs. If the waist area is smaller proportion than the hip/thigh area you'll need a drawstring. Try Aerotech Designs as others have stated.

You also need to use the correct terminology for your situation. You don't have larger thighs. You have massive guads!

Wait, what? This doesn't make any sense to me at all. Bibs exist because they do away with the need of restriction around the waist and I can't imagine how his chest would actually provide an impediment to wearing bibs.

The OP has to be able to have separate sizes for the upper and lower body. Unfortunately, bibs are sized for both, so one area will be too small/big to the other area. He/she should find a pair of shorts that fit then go from there. I have to do that. I am 5'8" with 34" waist, 26" gauds, 44" chest and 17.5" neck. I have to wear Aerotech 36-38, maybe 38/40 shorts. The grippers on the 32-34 shorts are too small for me to get that size on. The bib shorts that fit the lower body are way too long. I top it off with an XL Aerotech jersey because I can't zip the zipper up on a L. The tail of the XL, like all bike jerseys that fit, will go below my a$$ like a tunic. The situation gets worse as I lose weight because the waist is the only area that really gets smaller. That will actually vary with how much climbing I do. If I'm doing lots of climbing, the legs will get bigger. If it's those rides on the Cap trail between Richmond and Wburg, they stay the same.

The one positive out of all of this is................I don't have to worry about wearing nice jerseys with logos! Every jersey I put on looks bad.

It's the same for any type of endurance sports clothing. Some of the upper level brands like the one you wear are not possible for me.

What you're describing, w/r/t bibs, is a height problem - he says he has a chest problem... which shouldn't be a problem.

Presumably, a quick shortening of the straps would solve your bibs issue. That or finding a brand with slightly more generous/stretchy legs (even within the same brand, stretch can vary significantly).

Exactly, it's a body proportion problem. We don't know the OP's proportions. He could be built like me. Or all upper body. Short legs, long legs, who knows? He did say something about large thighs. The bibs he's tried aren't working for him. I offered an alternative.

He said that he's not a bodybuilder, just that he's one of the many "'stouter' folks of the USA." He mentioned chest and shoulders, but not unusual height proportions. I have a hard time believing that something from a maker like Twin Six wouldn't fit him the way it should. I haven't measured my thighs, but they're not skinny - even race-cut T6 bibs are no problem and their more casual bibs have a lot more stretch to give (I actually don't like them that much because they don't provide enough compression for me).

Oh, one tip for the larger-legged folk: I'd recommend avoiding bibs with the elastic band leg grippers that used to be more common, like this -



Go for bibs that have wide cuffs with direct-applied grippers; more stretch, more comfy, still stays in place -

The problem I encountered with bike tights is that even with 17 inch thighs they are much too tight. I mention the countries as I found shoe lasts to be quite different from German manufacturers than for Italian ones. They cater to their local market first and then to the USA. With wetsuits the off the rack ones were made in Taiwan and much too tight in the shoulders but the Henderson brand made in Nevada were fine although more expensive.

The problem with sending jobs overseas is that quality control is more critical and the people working in the sweatshops have no perspective as to American builds and proportions. I have seen this with pretty much everything being made overseas for U.S. based companies. But by moving jobs overseas the "American" corporations have been able to kill the unions in this country and drive down wages and eliminate pensions and healthcare so not all bad I guess.

With so little inventory left with small owner operated businesses closing their doors items like bike tights need to be bought online and seldom is accurate sizing information provided. If I had spindly legs it would not be a problem. For my current pairs of bike tights I bought regular tights and my wife sewed in a chamois pad by hand. I guess she could sew in a panel on some bib tights to make them wider at the thigh. My last try is going to be with something from Pactimo based in Colorado.

Your thighs are 17" around and you have tights that are too tight? That has to be a mistyped, right?
As for the rest of your post, its just a baseless ramble. Plenty of established clothing brands have accurate measurements.

Or have your wife sew things for you, i guess.

No, they're not.

The basic premise of the rest of your post is flawed and, regardless, doesn't belong here.

Maybe the OP is not used to some compression. I'm stumped.

I think the issue is that if your chest is XL, your waist is almost certainly NOT M, especially if your thighs are too large for Medium bibs. What chest and waist size are we talking about here?

There's also a problem buying bibs based on waist size, at least with one maker (Louis Garneau). I've been buying XL-sized LG bibs for years, but then in 2020 I lost about 30#. I saw the old FitSensor 2 bibs at a big discount and based on the waist size, I bought some in L. Turns out they're also SHORTER in the leg. So much shorter, in fact, that I can't really wear them on the road, because they look like women's shorts on me. They fit okay for riding in the garage, so that's the only place I wear them. Lesson learned.

^^^^^^ Yep! inseam length is just as important.
I wear XL in bibshorts and I want an 11" inseam in sundrenched SoCal to help with sunblock and for the added compression above the knees.

It's hard to give meaningful advice without OP's dimensions as a basis for comparison.

The OP doesnt seem to know what is what as a 17" thigh for a grown man is...surprising.

But the OP's confusion aside, I used to have a pair of fitsensor2 shorts and loved them because the pad was thin yet effective. When I tried the fitsensor2 bibs, I was shocked to see about 3" of untanned skin. Honestly, it may have been 4" of untanned skin. Those bibs were so much shorter than the identical model of shorts. I used them to zwift with for a season then got rid of them. My bibs were the same size as the shorts too. I bet even some women's bibs have longer leg than those fitsensor2 bibs. Just goofy short.

"The people working in the sweatshops" do not establish the garment dimensions and patterns...They just cut and stitch the garments to the designs they have been provided. So, your perceived problem has absolutely nothing to do with overseas production.

Though I agree with quite a few other posters: your "problem" seems weird. My thighs are 22" diameter at the largest spot, and I wear medium bibs and tights in most brands -- and I have never felt the thighs are too tight. I really can't imagine this is a real problem with your 17" thighs. Maybe you want your tights to fit like MC Hammer's pants?

I find the XL FitSensor bibs have a good inseam length. Not as long as Pearl Izumis, but I like the thinner pad - even on long rides - and they do the best job of keeping everything in place. At least until one of my family members 'helpfully' tosses them in the dryer.

EDIT: I got a pair of the new FitSensor 3's recently. Thicker pad, I guess because that's where everyone's going, and now it has leg grippers instead of just the elastic cuffs. I was looking at the specs online, and they only specify one inseam length - 10.26" - but I expect they simply are failing to mention that they vary that by size. Otherwise people wearing Small will get knickers and XXLs will get Hot Pants.

My thighs are 23" I wear large bike shorts in all brands.

If yours are 17" I would try medium.