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review
2023 Vanelli Proline Bib Shorts.jpg£75.00
VERDICT:
Heavier than competitors and not fully black, but a plush, comfortable and almost seamless ride at a great price
Minimal seams
Snug and compressed fit
Italian fabrics
YBC Unico pad provides long-ride comfort
Good value for a bib that feels more expensive than it is
Subtle and classy branding
Not the lightest at this price
White fabric beneath the stretchy fabric has the potential to age badly
Black bibs aren't actually black in reality
Weight:
194g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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The Vanelli Proline Bib Shorts are a sleek and thigh-hugging pair of bibs at a very competitive price point, and this is despite them being Vanelli's top-of-the-range bibs. Seams have been minimised for aerodynamic gains, which has the added benefit of reducing any potential for friction against your skin. The third-party YBC Unico pad proved comfortable and stood up admirably to some long alpine riding.
> Buy now: Vanelli Proline Bib Shorts for £75 from Vanelli
Looking for new bib shorts? Consult our best cycling bib shorts buyer's guide for a comprehensive run down of the competition.
At the price point, I was more than satisfied with the initial impression of Vanelli's Proline bibs. They have an interesting look, with curved seams running parallel to those of the chamois – so the leg material is a visually uninterrupted piece of material, with a concealed inseam on the inside of the thigh.
This will also have an aerodynamic gain – Vanelli uses Silverstone's wind tunnel for testing its custom cycling kit, and this experience should help with its non-custom clothing.
The silicone beads inside the leg run for about two inches inside the cuff and do a great job of keeping the shorts in position while riding. But these beads don't go the very end of the cuffs, which suggests that a slackening of the material might be possible after a few months of wear. It would require more months of testing but other bibs that I've owned with this smooth cuff detail suffer from the crimping effect after around six months.
Probably the most notable element of these bibs is the leg fit, which feels intensely secure and snug, and is something to consider if you have broad sprinter's thighs. For me, it was a perfect fit and I wore them happily for hours at a time.
Vanelli uses a YBC (Your Body Contour) Unico pad, which claims to 'ensure a natural fit between the seat pad and the bib short'. To the touch, the chamois feels quite boxy and reasonably modest in thickness, but once I was riding I found it ample for up to 100km in the saddle, keeping me very comfortable.
The front of the shorts comes up quite high, so comfort breaks required a good deal of manoeuvring unless you were going to remove upper layers.
There are sections of breathable material connecting the main body of the bibs with the straps. These are elasticated, which gives softness and some leeway to the fit and ensures different riding positions do not create shoulder pressure.
The bibs were more at home in the lower temperatures of the early morning – once the midday sun got to work, my thighs were hot and produced very visible salt rings all over the bibs.
When they stretch, the material on the thighs and up the sides turns white, which could give the appearance of early wear or fading. But on the positive side the material does feel durable and helpfully malleable.
The shorts themselves don't come with any green credentials, being made from the standard 80/20 polyester and elastane mix, but Vanelli has replaced all plastic packaging with PLA (a compostable bioplastic) or corn plastic.
Value
The Prolines are good value shorts but they have some serious competition around this price. Tom tested the dhb Aeron Bib Shorts, which are only a fiver more but they're 15g lighter and scored well across the board. Their all-black colour should please most of us and the fit gives your legs the best possible chance to look good.
While at 194 grams the Vanellis may be a little heavier than some, but their padding compares favourably with similarly priced bib shorts such as the Craft Essence shorts that Ben put through their paces but didn't really rate, and the Lusso Primary shorts reviewed by Chris, but he wasn't wowed by the Lusso's chamois.
Steve did like the Sundried Drop Bib Shorts, which are not only £25 cheaper, they also provide a bit more breathability. But they don't come in all-black and their thinnish pad won't stand up to the same amount of punishment as the Vanelli's chamois.
Conclusion
I was pleasantly surprised with the high-quality feel of these bibs, mainly provided by the snugness and smoothness afforded by reducing seams, and the chamois didn't cause any issues comfort-wise on rides up to 100km. The bibs are let down by the slightly tired-looking three-tone black effect created by the different materials and by the potential for the bibs to crimp and feel worn quite quickly. Other than that, these are strong bib shorts from Vanelli at a fair price.
Verdict
Heavier than competitors and not fully black, but a plush, comfortable and almost seamless ride at a great price
road.cc test report
Make and model: Vanelli Proline Bib Shorts
Size tested: Large
Tell us what the product is for
The Vanelli Proline Bib Shorts are designed to be unassuming with minimal branding on black material. The fabric, an 80/20 blend of polyester and elastane, is Italian, and Vanelli has focused on aero gains and presumably comfort by reducing seams to a minimum. The silicone-bonded leg feeds into this aim, creating a very snug fit around the thighs.
Vanelli says: "For the Proline Bib Shorts we are using Italian fabrics and embedded silicone in the legs for comfort and importantly durability. Minimal seams for aero gains and the superb YBC Unico pad. The above is available both retail and custom. It slots in at the top of our range above the already very popular Evoline Bibs."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
New Bib shorts for 2023!
All Black Design with discreet Vanelli logo
Italian Fabric.
Minimal Seams For Aero Gains.
Latest YBC Pad.
Silicone Bonded Leg.
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
The silicone-bonded leg tightens the overall fit and creates a super-snug and comfortable leg area. Made of polyester and elastane so lacking in eco attributes. Once you are wearing (and stretching) the bibs, the gripper, the leg and the pad area all take on slightly different shades so the all-black effect is lost.
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
There are minimal seams and you would imagine drag is reduced, especially with Vanelli's access to the Silverstone wind tunnels.
Rate the product for durability:
7/10
The leg material stretches to reveal a white core beneath the black exterior, which does sometimes appear like material fraying, even though it is not. Though there are very few seams, the thigh seams - when stretched - appear white and indicate wear.
Rate the product for fit:
8/10
The cuffless legs grip firmly on the thigh and feel well made but often bibs in this style start to crimp after a few months of wear. Comfort breaks are something of an issue with the high-rise front.
Rate the product for sizing:
7/10
The sizing was perfect for me - a large fitting snugly on a 187cm male. However, if I had thicker thighs, these bibs would probably be excessively tight.
Rate the product for weight:
6/10
Heavier than many competitors at 194 grams, which is perhaps a trade off with the better-than-expected YBC padding.
Rate the product for comfort:
8/10
The shoulder straps are split between polyester and elastane, with the elastane providing ample stretch to accommodate different torso lengths. If I had larger sprinters' thighs, the compression of the silicone might provide a comfort issue.
Rate the product for value:
6/10
These bibs are around the entry-level price bracket but feel like more expensive competitors. The performance is somewhat let down by the mixed appearance, which might disappoint you if you're after solid black bib shorts.
How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?
No problems with washing so far except for the gradual creep of the white underlayer and whitening of the seams.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
For long rides in the spring season they performed well. They didn't seem to over-insulate my legs, though I did have some pretty spectacular salt rings. Days with over 3000 metres of climbing didn't reveal any comfort shortcomings and they took four straight days of this punishment.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The snugness of the silicone bonded legs meant the bibs stayed in place perfectly and required no mid-ride adjustments.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
The white underlayer of the leg area could be misconstrued as looking cheap or indicating wear or stretching, especially alongside the different shades of black on other areas of the bib shorts. It's always useful to be able to have a comfort break without disrobing entirely, but that was definitely a problem here because of the high-rise front.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
The Vanelli Proline Bib Shorts are priced as not quite an entry-level bib short at £75, and while the alternative seam position might not aesthetically be to everyone's taste, the Vanellis are comfortable, compressing and feel well made.
Compare this to the slightly more expensive £80 Craft Essence Bib Shorts(https://road.cc/content/review/craft-essence-bib-shorts-m-295399) which score badly on longer rides in terms of comfort and compression while the Lusso Primary (https://road.cc/content/review/lusso-primary-bib-shorts-297415) is a tenner cheaper at £60 this has a pad that doesn't stand up to distance either. Vanelli's bibs provide better comfort while the fundamental construction is executed with high-quality materials and good design.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Perhaps – for their comfort and value but I don't have faith in the longevity of their black material
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes – if they had slim thighs
Use this box to explain your overall score
In terms of performance and build, at this price, there's little to find fault with. Particularly impressive was the comfort of the YBC pad. But the Vanellis fall down on slightly shaky appearance and the potential for this to decline further with use.
About the tester
Age: 33
I usually ride: Pearson Hammerandtongs My best bike is:
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, Ultra endurance
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