Winter bib tights over summer bib shorts, good bad or ugly?
 

At first thought it seems like it would be uncomfortable to wear thermal bib tights (without pad) over bib shorts. But I thought the same about wearing cycling bibs/shorts and got used to it relatively quickly. So is wearing thermal bib tights supremely more comfortable, than wearing thermal bib tights w/o pad over summer bib shorts?

What would be the theoretical benefit of doing this instead of just wearing padded bib tights?

It's much cheaper to have a few nice pair of shorts and a bib tight w/o pad, than a few pair of nice shorts and a few pair of nice bib tights all with pads.

Style only counts if there are those out there to see it. Unless those driving the cars matter to you.

Tights over shorts work well. I've had both.

I do the same thing. I buy cheap running tights and put them over my normal bib shorts for winter riding. way cheaper. Doesn't feel any different to me than the one pair of lined bike (with pad) bib tights that I have. Maybe it feels even better because of all the money I saved.

Ahh, ok. So you wash the shorts but not the tights? Think of the long term perhaps also.. you'll wear thru the shorts twice as fast because you're wearing them twice as often.

I do the same thing.

Before I had tights, I'd wear long underwear over my padded shorts.

When i wrote the title 'good bad or ugly' it was just phrasing, nothing to do with style. I am only interested in comfort.

Depends a bit on seat and padding on seat. Tights over bibs and you slide a bit. You slide more if your seat is grips.
On a leather seat I like tights with pads.
On a slippery seat I like tights over pads.

I do the running tights with bike shorts as well. Didn't need to buy new ones, though; already had a few pairs. But I just ordered a couple of pairs of longer, thicker bib tights. Time will tell how well they work.

I still don't get it.. Just for hits and giggles went to Nashbar.. a pair of PI AmFib bib tights is about $80, and same brand cheapest bib shorts are also $80.

Padded bib tights are expensive. I happen to be perfectly comfortable in shorts, not bibs, which makes no difference to the following: I have many pair of summer padded shorts. I also have several different weights of tights to put over the summer shorts when it gets too cold for leg warmers. That's the inexpensive, simple way to do it. The very good thing about wearing summer shorts with tights over is that your crotch and ass stay much more comfortable. I have equipment to take me all the way down to long distance at 36° and pouring rain, and it's not even expensive. Performance sells a nice range of tights, insulated and not.

There's no reason to wear bib tights over bib tights. The big difference with bibs can be the next-to-the-skin fit, irrelevant when putting tights over bibs.

I always wear old shorts that are still comfortable but have the dreaded see-through window on the butt crack.

I have one set of PI Amfibs and I only wash them once a week. They've lasted me about 3 years by now. I think a pair with a chamois would have worn out by now. Think about where your shorts normally wear out.

Truth be told, I already picked up two pairs of PI bib tights with chamois. One is the Elite Thermal (purchased for $108 on sale), the other is the Elite Amfib for really cold weather. I will probably keep the Amfib's as I got them for around $50 in a mega sale.

My issue is that I'm starting to ride longer distances now and have not been that comfortable with the Elite chamois (my shorts are also PI Elite In-R-Cool) when in the saddle for 3.5hrs+. So I'm debating whether to return the Thermal bibs and look at different shorts for longer rides and get some form of pad-less tights that will be more versatile in the long run.

The reason I've been asking about bibs and not regular tights is that I prefer to not have the waistband pressure.

I do it alot also. It's warmer on those cold days than just wearing bib tights with pads. I also have bib tights with pads I wear when it's not real cold.
Cheers

So, it sounds like (?) tights make sense but you just don't like PI's chamois? Take a gander at these 2 webpages, a quick overview, I don't think there's a lot saved by buying Bib Chamois Short + tight, vs. Bib Chamois tights. Maybe just try a different brand?
Cycling Men's Bike Tights & Knickers - Up to 70% Off | Steep & Cheap

Cycling Men's Road Bike Shorts & Bibs - Up to 70% Off | Steep & Cheap

Two tights make it too compressive and my twig and berries feel very crushed, so I find it too uncomfortable in general unless the winter tight is a bit loose around my hips and glutes. It is mainly my knees I like to keep warm so knickers with leg warmers work extremely well if the leg warmers are nice and fleecy and tight knit.

I have tons of good bibs. It's cheaper and simpler to just put a pair of generic running tights over them.

I left the house this morning with tights over shorts. (My limited experience with bibs has turned me off completely. Needing to undress to perform bodily functions? In 2016?). Rode in-town in a dying rain at dawn quite comfortable. Hours later, I pulled off the tights and rode home in the shorts. Again, quite comfortable.

It's a combination that works and that I have been doing for decades. (But again, I appreciated the suspenders. Left this morning with them clipped to both. Moved the clips to the shorts and just pulled off the tights. Jersey on the whole time. No contortions.)

Ben

Not to mention that if you ride in a variety of cool and cold conditions, it is far easier to continue using all those summer bibs and just swapping tights around to suit the temperature and precipitation. I have everything from ultra-thin tights to waterproof fleece lined tights to sub-zero cross country skiing tights (sometimes paired with an additional thermal layer on my legs when it's REALLY cold). Having enough bib tights to ride five days a week and suit all those conditions would be $$$$.

One time it helps is on cool days. I get an extra layer on my torso below the hem of my jacket. Think about how warm your crotch is. (Survival manuals tell you to use it to save others from frostbite.) Wearing one thin layer of tight over 24% of your torso is tossing a lot of body heat out the window. In cooler weather, shorts have a real place. In warmer weather, simply wearing a good cycling brief under the tights works very well (and often saves the expensive tights from yet another washing).

Ben

I'm not a fan of bibs during the winter, unless they are on the outermost layer. It sucks having to remove several layers of clothing to drop a deuce.

I wear tights over shorts all winter. Not cycling-specific tights, just regular women's fleece-lined tights that I got at Marshall's for $10/pr. If its really cold, I wear two pair over my shorts (really cold for me is in the 30's).

I bought some padded tights once but returned them, the fit wasn't great. Here in LA you can't just walk into your LBS & buy tights, shops don't carry them. I ride a lot before dawn though, so I ride in temps that might be 20-30 degrees colder than daytime temps.

In the end, i figured why go through the hassle & expense of buying cycling tights when I could just meet my needs for $20?

Tights over are better for crashes.