dhb Aeron Bib short

The Aeron bib-shorts from dhb are an entry-level budget option, with several excellent features and one niggling issue that may or may not put you off buying.

Other shorts in the dhb Aeron range - the medium-level Aeron Race and the top-end Aeron Pro - have already been tested and reviewed here on road.cc so I've got something to compare this basic Aeron (no epithet) against. As with most dhb products, these shorts are available in male and female versions. Just for the record, I'm testing the male version here.

The fabric is called Ceylon 190g - a stretchy 80:20% mix of Nylon and Elastane - making it a lighter weight than the fabrics used on the Race and Pro varieties. Despite the name, this fabric is made in Italy, as is the pad which comes from giant Italian manufacturer CyTech - also the supplier of pads to other brands such as Assos and Rapha.

The male version of these basic Aeron shorts gets a pad called Race LT (the female version gets a pad called Performance LT). As with most CyTech pads, the Race LT stretches in all directions, and consists of padded sections where your rear-end comes into contact with the saddle, with 'valleys' in between to improve airflow and dispel sweat.

The outside edge of the pad is not chamfered, so on first wearing I found the edge rubbed slightly against my lilly-white skin. But after an hour's riding (and 55 minutes of sweating) the pad fabric softened, and the edge was no longer noticeable. After a few washes, the edge stayed soft and the whole pad was comfortable from the get-go.

The Race LT pad is by no means the best of CyTech's pads - the Pro and Race shorts, as you might expect, use superior versions with more padding - but it's totally fine for rides of up to about four hours. In fact, one of my test rides in these basic Aeron bib-shorts was over six hours, and although a tad more padding would've been nice on the final miles I experienced no discomfort. As with all shorts, a lot also depends on the saddle you use, and how comfortable it is in the first place.

The style of these Aeron shorts is fairly close-fitting, and information on the Wiggle website (dhb is the in-house brand of this on-line cycle superstore) states that they provide an 'athletic fit' and 'positive compression which allows muscles to work effectively'. To be honest, many of us have been wearing 'athletic' shorts for years - because a close fit means no excess fabric, which means no rucks or creases and therefore better comfort - but if more recent discoveries about muscle compression are true then there's no harm in dhb claiming this additional benefit.

Having said that, the 'athletic' cut is definitely noticeable when compared to previous varieties of dhb cycling shorts such as Pace or Earnley. So an Aeron in size Small will feel tighter than earlier dhb styles in the same size. If you're happy with this close fit, and you've bought dhb shorts before, keep with your usual size. If you prefer a bit more give around the upper legs and nether regions, then consider going up a size.

As well as the benefits, the athletic cut seems to have a down-side as well. With the close fit, the fabric is under more stretch, and that puts a bit more strain on the stitching. On my test rides I could see the threads pulling apart very slightly on the main seam across the top of each thigh. Not enough to split or put a hole in the shorts or anything drastic like that, but not totslly ideal either, and possibly another reason to consider going up a size - although that comes close to defeating the whole purpose of the athletic cut.

To be fair, slightly loose stitching can be an issue on any brand of budget shorts where the seams are not flat-stitched (or 'flatlocked' to use the jargon). You're only going to eliminate the problem completely if you choose shorts with flatlocked seams, but that usually means a step up in price.

The bib is made from the same fabric as the rest of the shorts, which means in warm conditions you sweat underneath it a bit more than you might with the mesh bib on the Race and Pro varieties, but as the fabric itself is pretty light and thin, you hardly notice it.

Other features on these shorts include silicon grippers around the leg 'cuff' to stop the shorts riding up your thighs when you're pedalling. They work very well, with the shorts staying firmly in place.

There's a dhb logo on the right leg, plus another smaller logo on the back of the shorts. There's also a little orange tab on the back, but I'm not clear on its purpose.

When it comes to colours, the basic Aeron bib-shorts are available in black, red and blue, while the non-bib variety is available in black, blue, red and white.

These basic Aeron bib-shorts retail at £39.99 (the non-bib version is a tenner less and currently the bibs too are discounted to £29.99). They're very comfortable, and if it wasn't for the athletic cut seeming to strain the stitching they'd be excellent value at this price, better still for £30. As it is, they're still fair value compared to other entry-level shorts out there. But if you've got more cash to spare, it's well worth considering the Aeron Race shorts, which have flat stitched seams, thicker fabric and a better quality pad.

Verdict

Comfortable entry-level shorts at a fair price, let down slightly by stitching quality.