Gorewear Spinshift Thermo Bib Tights Men’s

Gorewear's Spinshift Thermo Bib Tights offer exceptional comfort on cool days, and feature a superbly designed seat pad that takes the sting out of longer rides. They're exceptionally good, right up there in competition with the best winter bib tights you can get.

> Buy now: Gorewear Spinshift Thermo Bib Tights for £144.95 from Gorewear

Gorewear describes these as its 'workhorse bib tight combining cozy fleece and DWR protection to help keep you warm and comfortable on cold, damp, winter rides'. The term 'workhorse' is a bit of faux-modesty on Gorewear's part, because it seems to have poured an exceptional amount of design expertise into this product.

These bibs feature brushed, stretchy thermo-fleece that has been given sufficient DWR (durable water repellent) treatment to deal with light rain and road spray. I took them out for a wild and windy 100k night ride onto the Cotswolds, with temperatures around 3°C and they dealt with the cold, wind and rain admirably. While Gorewear doesn't give a suggested temperature range, I would use these on any ride where the mercury is predicted to hover above (and maybe even touch) freezing.

They feature reflective detailing that is strategically placed to capitalise on the motion perception of other road users. Subtle reflective elements are positioned at the parts of your legs that move most, so drivers recognise you as a cyclist as they approach (they're also available with neon sections at the ends of the leg, and in 'Utility Green').

Inside is Gorewear's new Advanced Brand Core Seat Pad that has been designed with the help of chamois expert Elastic Interface. It features a 'male specific' channel running down the middle to reduce soft-tissue pressure. And just in front you'll find the Gorewear Cup – a breathable insert that adds a bit of insulation to reduce wind chill where it really counts.

On the road again

These tights were just what I needed for a 300k, full-moon ride through the night from Bristol down to the Dorset coast for breakfast. This would pair them with my fixed-gear Van Nicholas Yukon – a bike that has been associated with some of my worst instances of saddle soreness. In large part this is down to my incompetence at descending hills when – unable to freewheel – I bounce ever more erratically in the saddle. It's my problem and I am slowly dealing with it.

By 2am we were riding across Salisbury Plain in dense fog and I could see water droplets beading reassuringly on the DWR-treated material. Even in light rain they've proved their worth. The windchill was increasing but the brushed cotton was keeping the worst of the cold at bay, and that extra bit of insulation ensured my nether regions remained warm and cosy.

These tights have been designed for a superbly ergonomic fit and they really do feel as though they move with your body. Gorewear calls it Kinetic Design and it really does deliver. There's none of the bulk that I've experienced with other winter bibs and no areas where material seems to gather and chafe. The material moves with you, offering a second-skin level of comfort.

As we rode away from the breakfast stop the following morning, I realised something was missing. Where was the discomfort that I've come to expect as I approach the 200k mark of a ride? The seat pad seemed to glide over the saddle. There was no hint of perineal pressure, no warning signs of saddle sore, and no chafing at the edges of the seat pad.

In fact, I got off the bike after almost 330k without even a hint of any discomfort. This is quite unheard of for me. Clearly, seat pads are a personal decision; we all bring a 'unique undercarriage arrangement' to our cycling. When Mike Stead reviewed the Gorewear Spinshift Cargo Bib Shorts, featuring the same seat pad, he was impressed but nowhere near as evangelical about their comfort as I am going to be here (he gave his review 8/10).

Pad up close

So what makes Gorewear's Advanced Brand Core seat pad so comfortable? It has a two-layer design. The top layer uses 80kg/m3 open-cell foam with a soft cover sheet to promote moisture control. I know from painful experience on the Paris-Brest-Paris that seat pads that don't wick moisture away can cause real damage on hot, multi-day rides. And then underneath this there is another layer of 120kg/m3 perforated open-cell foam. At its thickest you get 10.5mm of dual-layer padding that helps to reduce the cumulative damage from road vibrations over a long distance.

And then there is that 'male-specific channel' that also helps to reduce soft tissue damage and perineal injury. I used these bibs in combination with a cut-away saddle that I've been using for almost 20 years. This seat pad delivered the best comfort I have ever experienced in that time.

It's worth noting that there is a women-specific version of the Advanced Brand Core Seat Pad that Gorewear offers on its Spinshift Cargo Shorts, but there isn't a bib tights version. Gorewear's women's winter tights option would be the Progress Thermo Bib Tight (£109.99), which uses a women's Active Comfort Seat Pad.

The Gorewear Cup adds an additional level of protection. This 'anatomically pre-shaped insert' doesn't just deal with the cold, it also reduces soreness from rubbing and wicks moisture away effectively.

And the low front to these tights means it's easy to stop for a comfort break when that 7am cup of coffee starts to kick in.

On the outside

I'm struggling to find anything to quibble about with these tights. If you are exceptionally tall you might have a slight issue with the leg length. I was reviewing a size large and they seemed perfect for my 32-inch inside leg, but I have seen complaints online from people who are presumably much taller than I am.

I really like the wide elastic straps and this was the only area where I noticed even a slight sense of rubbing over very long distances. But this was minimal and hardly worth noting.

The soft mesh thermo waist that runs around the lower back and stomach is very comfortable and deals with moisture exceptionally well, though some might appreciate a little more insulation here for really cold weather riding.

And to top it all off there is a functional mesh cargo pocket on each thigh for extra storage. It's handy for keeping bars and snacks accessible and stashing rubbish on the go. Some might want a little more depth here to hold bigger items, but I found them perfectly functional and a useful addition.

Value

While £144.99 isn't to be sniffed at, it's a great price for what I consider to be an exceptionally good pair of bib tights.

Okay, with something as personal as this, what works for one person may not work for another, but for me these are up there with the best – and that, subjectively perhaps, raises their value in my eyes.

Objectively, they're a little more than the Castelli Entrata bib tights that George reviewed in January last year, which will comfortably operate in a similar temperature range. George rated them for the design and technology that was packed into these bibs and reckoned that they offer really good value for money at just £120 compared with some from Rapha, Pactimo and Santini.

Like the Castellis, Albion's Three Season Tights also scored 9/10 when Hollis reviewed them, but they're now £175. Again they cover a similar in-between temperature range that will get you through all but the coldest of winter months. Hollis rated them for their warmth and water repellency and found them particularly comfortable in the saddle.

But I'd compare the Spinshift Thermos with tights costing a whole lot more still, such as the Le Col Pro Bib Tights which scored another impressive 9/10 when Ed reviewed them last year. He found the chamois impressively comfortable – especially after a first wash – and they offer a level of weather protection and warmth that might well take you into colder winter days, but then they also come in at £210.

Conclusion

The key question is, would I buy the Spinshift Thermo tights? The answer is an unequivocal yes, and if comfort is a priority, then I suggest giving them your consideration. I've been using them for a couple of months and as I approach the 1,000km mark, they continue to impress. They are quite simply the most comfortable bib tights I have worn, a game changer, and that makes them well worth the money as far as I am concerned.

> Buy now: Gorewear Spinshift Thermo Bib Tights for £144.95 from Gorewear

Verdict

Great design offers excellent comfort levels and really impressive performance on cold and wet long-distance winter rides