Sportful Gruppetto Classic bib shorts

Like the previously tested Gruppetto Team Jersey, these £85 Classic bib shorts are made from the same fabrics and cut to the same shape as the kit the Saxo Bank team wear, which means you're getting proper race fit clothing, but without the garish logos, and at a decent price.

They're made from the same Aeroflow Compress and Lycra Power material that Sportful use in their more expensive Bodyfit Pro shorts. That makes these shorts very good value. It's an excellent fabric with just the right degree of stretch, they claim compression benefits but in reality that means they're just a snug well-fitted pair of shorts.

The shorts are well shaped and the various panels ensure they not only wrap closely around the legs and hips, but do so without any concession to comfort. This will make them appeal to racers, and performance minded cyclists who prefer their clothing tight fitting. The sizing is fairly standard (size medium pictured above) but some may find it worth sizing up. As ever, it's always preferable to try before you buy.

Sportful have placed the flatlock stitches so they're not in the air flow, to improve aerodynamics. I found it impossible to detect any increase in performance that such a small design feature could ever hope to contribute, but if you believe in marginal gains...

A much more noticeable feature is the seamless leg openings. We're seeing quite a few clothing manufacturers move away from stitched hems lined with silicone gripper tape. These rely on the stretch and compression quality of the fabric, and the result is greater comfort and no hint of the shorts sliding up the legs.

The bib straps are mesh lined and wide enough to distribute the pressure evenly across the shoulders. A large rear mesh panel aids ventilation, and there's a small race radio pocket towards the bottom. Unless you're racing, it's an unnecessary feature, though you could use it to store an MP3 player perhaps.

Without doubt the most important part of the shorts is the bit you can't see, the padded insert. Sportful produce a range of their own inserts, picking the third-tier BodyFitPro pad for theses shorts. Sportful describe it as their most comfortable long distance pad, and I would agree with that. It is perfectly shaped and has variable thickness padding so there is more cushioning where you need it more, and less where you don't need it.

Verdict

An impressively comfortable bib short with great fit and looks