Northwave Blade Bib Tight

Northwave's Blade bibs are good-quality Super Roubaix tights with enough warmth for most winter conditions and a decent Elastic Interface pad to keep you comfy.

The fabric is Super Roubaix (polyamide/elastane) throughout apart from a mesh section over your upper back. Chances are that you've used Super Roubaix before: it's brush-backed fleecy stuff and mega-stretchy both up and down and crossways so you can get a close fit without any restriction when you pedal. It moves moisture away from your body quickly too so you don't get drenched in sweat.

The legs are a generous length and silicon grippers hold the bottoms in place so it's unlikely these will leave your ankles exposed. The Super Roubaix extends well up your lower back so you're not going to get any chills around there either.

It's not the heaviest-weight fabric out there and cold air can blow through, so I swapped to tights with windproof panels at the front when the temperature dropped below about 5°C although, of course, everyone is different. I know other people who would be happy wearing these down to freezing point, maybe even below. The top end of the temperature range, for me, is about 13°C, so they'll get plenty of spring and autumn use too.

The seams aren't flat-stitched but they're relatively unobtrusive and they're well sited around the knee. The panel that runs along the side of your upper leg sweeps across the front of your knee so there are no seams to irritate at the back as you pedal.

The seat pad is Blaze Air model from Elastic Interface. It's a relatively simple pad but it does a good job. Grooves in the pad mean it doesn't crease when you put it on and a channel down the middle reduces the pressure on your perineum. The foam is perforated so it's fairly breathable and it varies in thickness from 5mm to 10mm. That's a middling depth. I found that it provided enough cushioning for a couple of hours in the saddle. Any longer than that and I wanted a pair of padded shorts on too.

The logos are of the iron-on variety. I thought they'd be flaking off after a couple of goes through the washing machine but they're actually doing okay. The large one on the back of the left leg has cracked a bit already, though, so guessing it'll be the first thing to start looking old.

If you're after reflectives to get you seen at night, you're out of luck here. Well, there is a small tab on the back of the left leg but it's towards the kerb-side if you're cycling on the left, so it's not all that useful for us Brits.

If you're not into the redness of these bibs, they're also available in black/white, black/blue and, surely the correct answer, just black.

Verdict

Super Roubaix bibs that are warm enough for most off-season conditions, with a decent seat pad to keep you comfy