The castelli is narrower and placed too far forward for how I sit (Giant TCR, road position). How that would work out for you I dont know.
I wear Voler Kit, I’ve stocked up recently as they’ve had some of their sale bibs go on sale under $60 for last years colors. My brief issues with sores were resolved with a fit and shower or acne wipes immediately after.
I have Raphael pro team bibs and free aero race 4s. Raphas are my personal preference they’re a better fit for on the bike. Castilli padding is too much and too noticeable imo
Any thoughts on Sugoi?
Just got an email from my LBS for a sale on all in stock kit. Obviously I’ll go try them on but just wondering if any of you had an opinion
I’m a Castelli guy…narrow sit bones and seem to meet my needs.
I got my first saddle sore last year, which is odd considering I’ve been riding for 30+ years, and this H Salve is the bomb. Within a week, the sore was almost completely gone. YMMV, but worth a try…good for other undercarriage things as well.
my buddy said these were pretty good
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I’ve gotten hooked on the de Soto bibs. I personally use their tri-bibs for everything, and if you wait around for one of their frequent 20-30% off sales or buy from the clearance section you can find stuff for a pretty good deal.
This is a pretty timely thread as I’m looking to add some more bibs to my rotation. Just ordered a pair of those The Black Bibs to try them out. Also ordered a pair of Pearl Izumi Quest bibs as they were on sale for $52.50 almost everywhere and ordered them from moosejaw because they had a $10 coupon available by taking a survey. I also used active junky rewards for additional cash back for the moosejaw purchase (had to add something to the cart to qualify for free shipping though so threw in another CamelBak podium chill bottle).
I’m trying out the Pearl Izumi because I have a couple of pairs of their shorts and those chamois seems to works fine for me. I also have a pair of Cannondale bibs but don’t like it for longer rides as the padding is too thick. The ones I really like are a few pairs of the now defunct Nashbar branded bibs. Really like those actually as they were cheap, relatively speaking, and work well for me (hard to beat their price/value). But I don’t know who actually made those for them and can’t seem to find them. I’ve heard the Performance Bike house brand bibs are well liked but didn’t want to pay that much (their premium line just above the Nashbar stuff).
We’ll see how my new bibs works out when I receive them. Ordered both yesterday and the Pearl Izumi in my size is on backorder so that won’t ship for a couple of weeks it seems.
Castelli bibs arriving soon so I’ll be trying those for the first time. Disappointed with 7mesh after buying those recently. Don’t like Black Bibs at all. Might try Primal again - their ordering system was quite the challenge a few years ago and I gave up on them.
Rapha still my favorite.
You might also try some lubrication before rides. That helps prevent the abrasions that bacteria can get in through. I use something cheaper than a chamois cream. I think a thick lotion like doublebase works fine.
I have 2 pairs of black bibs. They seem to be pushed pretty hard on this forum, but they are trash and are exactly worth what you are paying for them. I define a good value as getting more product than you paid for. May be fine for some people but not me.
One of my favorite pairs of bibs ever was sugio. Fairly minimalist padding design though, so maybe not for everyone.
Calling something “trash” because you don’t like them seems pretty extreme. Sure, they’re not for everyone, but I’ve been pretty damn happy with my Black Bibs. Especially the newest “Elite” model. But I’ve gotten plenty of miles (mostly trainer use) out of the $40 set, too. They’re fine.
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I’m taking the leap and ordered a set of the Rapha Core bibs. Fingers crossed they work for me. If they do I’m going to order several more.
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I hope you like them as much as I have and as much as I want to pay for the more expensive lines of rapha I don’t feel the need with the core bibs.
Jerseys are always pro training. Core jerseys for me as too baggy.
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I have used a pair of Sugoi RS Pros a few long rides now and like them a lot. Got them for real cheap too a while back on sale (around $70CAD).
Rapha Classic Bib II
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I’ve done pi, Castelli, assos, and once I tried Rapha I’ll probably never go anywhere else unless they make the mistake of trying to fix what isn’t broken. The core are plenty comfortable and surprisingly affordable
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These are super cheap so I kind of feel silly for what I am about to say, but these are easily the best most comfortable chamois Ive ever ridden in, and it’s not even close. The lycra isnt as nice or as durable as the expensive stuff, but I couldn’t care less, id rather replace these every so often, and at 1/4 the price of the high end stuff, even if I replace them more often its still way cheaper.
https://przewalski.net/products/przewalski-4d-padded-men-s-cycling-bib-shorts-basic-series
Flexibility issues can be a contributing factor if your bars are too low, putting you on your pelvis instead of squarely on your sit bones. Also, some chamois’ naturally go on too far back because people pull up on the back side of the straps. Next time you’re on the indoor bike, reach back and feel how much padding is sticking out behind the saddle. It shouldn’t be much at all. If so, get off the bike and bend over and pull the chamois forward a bit and get back on to recheck.
I have a couple pair of bibs from Artletic Apparel with super thick chamois for indoors and only wear Castelli SanRemo outside. https://www.artleticapparel.com/shop/artletic-elite-black-bibs-expert-shorts/