Rapha Women's Brevet Bib Shorts

The Women's Brevet Bib Shorts are another high quality, well designed garment from Rapha that will have some up in arms about cost and others accepting that you have to pay for the good looks and performance.

Whether or not you like the way they look, they really do put in an excellent performance, providing comfort and support for at least eight hours in the saddle.

> Buy these online here

The longest I've ridden in them is 86 miles, on the second day of the Dulux Trade London Revolution – after riding 101 miles the day before. A pretty good test for comfort, I'd say. And not all the roads were especially smooth... I felt cosseted right from the off, and had no discomfort at all, at any time on the ride.

Finding the right pad for your posterior might be as subjective as finding a comfortable saddle, but I have never had a problem with a Rapha chamois. Quite the opposite. The shape, depth and firmness all work perfectly for me. Rapha doesn't list that it's a Cytech pad in the Brevets – as used in, I think, the few Rapha shorts and tights I've worn over the years – but it's every bit as comfortable.

Moving on from the pad, the shorts section it's sewn into is formed with unobtrusive, non-irritating flatlock seams. The Lycra – 74% nylon, 26% elastane – is quite stiff feeling; elastic but at the same time quite dense compared with lighter fabrics. It feels compressive, in a good way, although – oddly – the leg opening hangs slightly loose when off the bike. On the bike it sits comfortably and doesn't move while pedalling, but it's a lightly-holding, silicone-tape-lined hem not a tightly-squeezing, sausage-shape-causing elasticated one.

It feels to me like Rapha's clothing collections have changed size slightly in the last few years, fitting more tightly than those I still have from longer ago (so no, it's not just me changing size/middle age spread). These are the same; they're slightly less stretchy in the bib than, for example, the no-longer-made Classic 3/4 bibs (a real favourite of mine), but they are pretty similar to the Classic Bib Shorts of three or four years ago. (As a note, my husband has a pair of the men's Brevets and had to size up to the XXLs to get the bib section to fit comfortably, and had exactly the same experience as me with the hems.)

Although the mesh bib section is attached to the shorts with an oversewn but not flatlock stitched seam, it's perfectly comfortable. The bib is substantial enough that you can dispense with a baselayer on warmer days, Rapha advises; I've tried it with and without and got on fine both ways. The only slight discomfort came from the large 'Made in Italy' label – before I cut it off. Rapha kit normally has the label sewn in or printed on, and I hate having to cut off labels: snip too close and you risk cutting into the seam; don't cut close enough and you're left with an annoying sticky-out bit.

> Cycling shorts – everything you need to know

I digress. What else would you like to know? I haven't overheated in these – the mesh bib section deals with any heat build-up. It's really soft-feeling too, and your skin is protected from the zip by a baffle behind it and a garage up top (which also protects your jersey).

The reflective logo and block pattern on the legs is, to my mind, a stylish way to add an element of safety (if it's too discreet for you, the blue version of these shorts has the Rapha logo on a bright pink block). Having it on both legs means it's useful home and abroad.

Is £180 too much to spend on a pair of bib shorts? You can certainly pay less – only the thermal Souplesse bibs in Rapha's women's collection are more expensive, by a tenner, and its Core bib shorts are £100 and share the same pad (you can read a review of the £80 non-bib ones here). There are choices other than Rapha, of course, like the rather more in-yer-face Alé Graphics PRR Arcobalenos, if the pad suits, which are almost half the price. Closer to the Brevets, at £150, the Assos T.laalalaiShorts_s7 are also worth a look – though you'd have to fork out extra for your baselayer...

But if you want the fab feeling fabric, the baselayer-replacing bib section, the quality, and the looks, £180 gets you a very good pair of shorts that your bottom will thank you for.

Verdict

Extremely comfortable bib shorts, beautifully made, just a little on the pricey side