I’m tardy to the party when it comes to riding in bibs. Personally, I never saw the benefit despite many others before me constantly telling me. Now, thanks to the Pearl Izumi Pro Bib Short ($200) I can speak somewhat knowledgeably.
What I loved
- Aesthetically-pleasing. When I put these on, I immediately noticed the slimming effect. No rolling waistline, I’m one with the shorts. It also has very nice silicone leg-grippers to keep the legs in place. Honestly, I’ve worn bike shorts without these leg grippers and they much to be desired. I’ve never seen men’s bike shorts without leg grippers. Why would a company omit leg grippers on women’s shorts? That’s not a rhetorical question. I genuinely want to know why a bike short manufacturer leaves out the leg grippers on some women’s shorts but never on men’s. This is not an issue with the Pro Bib short because Pearl Izumi added silicone leg grippers.
- Squat-friendly (with practice!). This is the reason I resisted bibs, even ones that claim to be bio-break-able without having to remove a jersey. The Pro Bib short has a drop-tail design that has overlapped v-shaped panels at the back of the waist that allowed me to squat and pull down the shorts. Except that when Pearl Izumi describes the process it sounds so much easier. I had to re-think the way I relieve myself on the trail. With regular shorts, I pulled my shorts down while going into the squat position. I couldn’t do that with the bib because it’s designed to be pulled down when your body is not elongated (e.g. in the squatting position). It was a culture-shift for me. Bonus points that I didn’t have to remove my jersey.
- Breathable and comfortable. This is a big must-have in Minnesota in the summer. It’s always hot and humid. The Pro Bib Short is made with Italian PRO Transfer fabric. Not only does it offer some compression to help sustain the longer rides, it feels downright luxurious, lite and silky on the skin. Adding to its comfort factor is laser-cut edges and seamless hems.
- PRO Escape 1:1 chamois. Dense padding that is comfortable and placement is geared towards the aggressive riding position. Although for non-aggressive riding it works just fine. Still, the padding is dense and wide but without any bunchiness. Placement is more for an aggressive riding position but also just fine for less aggressive.
- Spotted pattern. I hesitate to mention this because I don’t want the cycling industry to add catchy patterns and colors because that’s what they think women want in a bib, short or jersey. Let me be clear: Women are concerned with products that fit and are equal to that of the men’s line in terms of design, quality and features. Don’t make a women’s mountain bike short with two pockets when you make the same short for men with four pockets. I digress. The spotted pattern. I don’t hate it at all because it’s muted.
- Fit. Spot on. I wear a size small in cycling shorts and the Pro Bib short size small is the right size. Sometimes sizing with Pearl Izumi feels a little off, like in the case of the Pearl Izumi Women’s Pro jersey. In my opinion it runs on the small size and I recommend sizing up in some cases. The Pro Bib short is sized accordingly and there is no need to size up or down.
What could be better
$200 price tag. For some cyclists, this may feel like taking a bullet.
Final thoughts
I’m pleased with this bib, you will be too.
Stage 1, Lillydale Loop
On a completely separate note, Pearl Izumi has launched their Tour of Inspiration campaign encouraging 2019 Tour de France Fans to discover more rides closer to home.
Partnering with People For Bikes’ and their RideSpot app, Pearl Izumi announces a route that correlates to the a route characteristic of that day’s Tour de France stage–but closer to home. I many cases, right in your own backyard.
If you live in Minneapolis, which is where Pearl Izumi started the Tour of Inspiration, the Lillydale Loop corresponds to Stage 1 of the Tour. .
The only thing you need, besides the app, is the Pearl Izumi Pro Bib short.
