The zippers pull from the back to the front of the bibs
Bib shorts for recreational women riders are a hard sell. If you suggest them, you get the quizzical raised eyebrow and the question about what happens at the porta-potty.
Yes, that jersey will have to come off, or at least get raised over your shoulders to pull down your bibs. Since the experience of using an outdoor toilet while cycling is akin to taking off a tight swimsuit in hot weather, most of us just shake our heads at the thought of making it even harder with bibs. Leave that for those die-hard racer girls, most of us think.
Well, struggle no more. GORE has come up with a very ingenious idea for letting you pull your bibs down from the waist, bypassing all the contortions. Zippers! The Xenon Sonic Lady Bibs have these nifty side zippers that allow you to unzip the bibs enough to pull them down. They don’t come completely unzipped, so there aren’t any worries about getting things realigned and zipped back up. They work something like old-fashioned longjohns with a back flap – form-fitting, sexy compression longjohns, right?
Why should you bother? Bibs leave your waist completely unrestricted – allowing you to take full, deep lungfuls of air during your all-out efforts. It’s a very nice feeling.
GORE’s Xenon Sonic bibs have a great chamois, the most comfortable GORE pad I’ve tried to date. Another bonus is the lack of creep in these shorts. The combination of the compression in the fabric, the leg grips and the full torso fit keeps the pad and legs in place while you ride.
I really liked the mesh back and the front clip on the top half as well. The straps never felt constricting – I just forgot they were there – and I felt like I was riding in shorts that magically stayed put without any waistband. Just pulling them on made me feel pro-rider speedy, and we all know that half your performance is between your ears.
Those with long torsos will definitely want to try these on before they buy, because there’s no way to adjust for the torso length. I found the “between the boobs” strap arrangement very comfortable, but I’d be interested to hear from any larger chested women who own these bibs what they think.
www.gorebikewear.com sx to xxl, $240 msrp
