aboss3

Last week I started a thread on who is riding in Mountain Bike shorts, and who rides in licra's. Well, I got a pair of Performance mountain shorts recently. And today on my 25-mile ride, the internal padding started sliding forward, leaving me sitting on the saddle w/no padding.

I'm all sore right now, and am finally ready to buy some licra shorts! (who would've thought)

I got a nice jersey from eBay (Castelli), and am wondering what the good bike shorts are?
My jersey is black, so anything black will do. I don't care if they look funny, but I want to ride, and my next ride will be at least 30 miles.

Looking for some input here.

Blackdays

If you can, go for bibs. They are much more comfortable than shorts. They are a bit pricey though.

Voler bibs are my absolute favorite.

andrewluke

Voler is good stuff. I seem to keep going with Pearl Izumi's elite bibs personally. The attack ones are pretty good too but I sweat a lot when I ride and the elite material wicks a lot better.

aboss3

So why bibs vs shorts?

andrewluke

No waist drawstring to tighten and the loose waist makes them far more comfortable and the #1 reason I wear them. For those of us with a little extra weight, the bibs are a tad more slimming as well lol

ILUVUK

bibs have many advantages and only a couple disadvantages. haven't checked their prices in a few weeks, but chainreactioncycles.com had some nice prices on giordana silverline bibs. at ~$50/pair, that's a bargain, but you should know what size you need. you might be better off going to the LBS and finding your size as each brand is different.

Creatre

This is something you need to go to a local bike shop for, at least the first time. You can try on bibs and shorts, and see which fit you best and are more comfortable, plus can ask any questions you have to the guys there.

Dr. Banzai

Let's take this one step farther.

Go to PBK and order the Ergo Tre bibs for $60. You'd be happy.

I_Like_Bike

Hammer bibs FTW. Hammernutrition.com

Inertianinja

You're following the same path that most people do: unwilling to go straight to Lycra shorts because you don't feel comfortable, and now you've found out for yourself why we wear them.

Get some Pearl Izumi Quest or Attack or elite shorts from amazon.

Eventually you will understand why it's worth the money.
Then you'll want to try bibs. Just get a set of pearl izumis.

You can't go wrong with that brand.

CCrew

I've got several different brands of bibs, and I'll agree, the PI Elites are about the nicest.

AngryScientist 

i guess you haven're ridden any of the good ones.

CCrew

I won't spend the $$ for Assos, sorry. But between Performance, LG, Craft and PI's I like the PI's the best.

eric_anderson

Lycra bike shorts are a very personal preference. My vote would be Sugoi RS or evolution bibs. Saturday I rode 130 miles and had no chafe or discomfort in a pair of RS’s. I have tried Voler, Perl Izumi, Performance, LG, and a few others. For rides over 60 miles I keep coming back to Sugoi. On the other hand, I know several people who have Sugoi’s that hate them.
In the end, the only thing that matters is your own arse and you just have to try them out until you find what you like.

AngryScientist 

i guess its probably an individual thing. i do have really nice bibs, but i even prefer the less expensive ones to the PI's. Voler comes to mind.

ericm979

+1 for going to the LBS and trying some on. There's a lot of different fits out there.

tagaproject6

If you are on a tight budget or really just don't want to spend the money, try love2pedal and Aerotechdesigns. They carry some pretty comfortable bibs at a very good price. I have used them for some long rides and they perform very well.

datlas 

1. It's lycra not licra
2. Please give a price range. You can get halfway decent shorts for 50 bucks (eg. Performance Elites) but you can easily spend $200+ on them if you are so inclined.
3. If you plan to ride 30 or fewer miles, you can probably get away with the cheaper ones.
4. Use "search" for threads on bibs vs shorts

roadiejorge 

I felt the same way about Assos and thought they were probably over rated but I got a decent deal from Chainreactioncycles.com so I thought I'd give them a try. Now I love my Capo bibs but the chamois on the Assos was really something else, it stays in place and you're not even aware it's there. I've used other brands but Assos really is the best, however it doesn't mean cheaper brands are terrible either it just depends on how much comfort you want.

redtires

Voler and Pace are both ok....but, I have PI's that I have had for 10 years and are still going strong. The other absolutely best bibs I have ever used are BlackBottoms....they are pretty hard to come by, but good lord, they are really nice, really comfy bibs.

rwarren

What about a good pair of wool shorts/bibs? Something like Smartwool?

bosoxmrkn

I've got a pair of smartwool bibs in the mail, will let you know how they are once I've had a chance to try them.

Quel

I said the same thing. I broke down and bought one pair, went for one ride, then bought a second right after I got home. They are great, and you can find assos on sales or UK sites for about what you'd pay retail in the US for PI Elites.

Either way, regardless of brand, I think the key is to buy quality. Of course, as a new rider, you will likely ignore this advice and get the cheap stuff at first, then spend down the line for the better stuff. I think that's what we've all done.

intence

There are many threads on this, but here are a few recommended bibs:

-Giordana Silverline: Good all around bib at a relatively low price (buy from ChainReaction or Ribble or one of the UK Sellers as it's nearly 1/2 of the US price)
-Sugoi RS: A bit pricey, but very good compression
-Voler: Make sure you get one with their higher end Pad (I think Ion, Ion SL, or Trilogy). Hammer Nutrition sells these relatively cheaply with their logo on it
-Performance Ultra: Also not bad if you get them on sale + coupon

If you want to spend more, there is always Assos.

Blackdays

I recently bought and received a pair of Assos bibs. They are quite nice.

However, I still prefer Voler when it comes to overall value. In my honest opinion, Voler makes the best clothing items of the "cheaper" brands.