Cyclist
Best winter bib tights for men 2024 reviewed
Winter bib tights are part of an entirely different wardrobe that you need to deploy for cycling in winter. Along with preparing your bike for winter riding, having the right clothing is the key to enjoyment and keeping fit once it starts to get cold.
This guide focusses on bib tights designed for men. While some women do wear men’s bib tights, the best women’s bib tights include features that are women-specific, making them the preferred option.
We’ll document our picks of the best bib tights from our extensive testing, then lower down the page you’ll find our guide to how to choose the best bib tights for you.
Reviews of the best winter bib tights for men
- Castelli Espresso Bib Tights
- Endura Pro SL II Bib Tights
- Gore Wear Spinshift Thermo Bib Tights
- Isadore Signature Thermal Bib Tights
- Le Col Pro Bib Tights
- Madison DTE Men’s Thermal Bib Tights With EIT Pad
- Pas Normal Studios Essential Thermal Long Bib Tights
- Poc Thermal Cargo Bib Tights
- Q36.5 Dottore Hybrid Bib Tights
- Rapha Core Winter Tights with pad
- Santini Cargo Bib Tights
- Sportful Fiandre Bib Tights
Why trust Cyclist’s advice?
Here at Cyclist, the riding doesn’t stop when the weather turns bad. We’ve got a magazine to write each month and that means reviews of the best road bikes and best gravel bikes you can buy.
So we’re out riding whatever the weather and will dress appropriately. That means that we’re in a great position to bring you reviews of our pick of the best winter clothing for your rides, not just the fair weather kit.
The best winter bib tights 2024
Castelli Espresso Bib Tights
£170 | View offer
- Price: £170 / €159.95 / $189.99
- Incredibly supple material
- Wide operating range
- Chamois is exceptional
- Fit can be awkward to get right
The Castelli Espresso Bib Tights have been designed for maximum comfort, and this really shows from the moment you put them on. The Thermoflex fleece fabric is incredibly soft to the touch and feels supremely comfortable to wear. There’s no claim of any DWR treatment, but the tights do bead water from showers well. With a thinner overall fabric compared to some, these do get chilly in sub-5˚C or wetter weather. Castelli’s suggestion of 4-15˚C temperature range use seems about right.
Fit is another point where these are not perfect. The legs appear to have almost too much material, meaning they need to be pulled down a bit to avoid bunching of fabric around the crotch. As long as you avoid this, they are incredibly comfortable with the straps and upper providing good breathability for higher intensity rides or milder conditions. Cold starts leading into warmer rides seems to be where these are at their strongest.
Castelli has opted to use the Progretto X2 Air seamless chamois, which really is fantastic. I’ve loved this chamois in various iterations since 2015, and it still holds up. Better breathability aids long ride comfort further while the support and vibration damping is fantastic. £170 isn’t bad value either, and for autumn/spring rides they’re fantastic, but they are not without fault.
Endura Pro SL II Bib Tights
£194.99 | View offer
- Price: £194.99 / €219.99 / $259.99
- Exceptional deep winter performance
- Tight fit aids some comfort
- Decent value
- Some fit elements detract
The Endura Pro SL II Bib tights are a properly heavy duty pair of deep winter tights. The thick thermoroubaix fabric paired with strong DWR and windproof coating on the front panels allows these tights to deal with freezing, windy and rainy days adequately. A lighter fleece material on the rear of the legs aids comfort without impacting this weatherproofing, however the front can still feel a little constrictive towards the top of the pedal stroke.
To boost insulation further, the front of the bibs is raised higher up to provide more protection around the lower torso. It works fantastically, plus the zip doesn’t reduce comfort in any way and the material is pliable enough that nature breaks can be had without unzipping. Where a zip is needed is on the leg cuffs, which are very tight and take a fair amount of effort to pull over the feet.
This tight and racy fit associated with the brand’s SL line does have an added benefit though. The 700 Series chamois is held very comfortably in place with very limited movement when riding. Keeping the contact between pad and skin consistent really helps improve the comfort, even with a slightly thinner pad material. All this for £194.99 makes these probably the best value deep winter tights on test as well.
Gore Wear Spinshift Thermo Bib Tights
£159.99 | View offer
- Price: £159.99 / €159.95 / $180
- Good value
- Brilliant chamois pad
- Small cargo pocket is useful
- Limited size range
Gore Wear is most known for its GoreTex waterproof materials and the brand’s aptitude for making foul weather garments has shone through with the Gore Wear Spinshift Thermo tights. The brushed, stretchy, thermo-fleece material is incredibly comfortable and well insulated down to low single figure temperatures. A PFC-free DWR treatment then provides additional weatherproofing capabilities, working well in showers and light rain.
Gore Wear’s Kinetic Design is implemented to make the tights form fitting so they move with the body, which has been achieved really well. These tights are exceptionally comfortable with the straps aiding that, while the mesh rear gives good breathability. I also appreciate the 360˚ approach to reflective features for winter weather riding.
What really impressed me with these tights is the new Gore Advanced Brand Core chamois. A pressure reduction channel plus breathable variable density foam is exceptionally comfortable and it has become one of my favourite chamois. At the front of the groin there is the Gore Cup, designed to keep that area warm but not excessively so, which it achieves well. Add to that a small but useful cargo pocket, and the £159.99 price makes these very good value. The only negative is a slightly limited size range.
Isadore Signature Thermal Bib Tights
£190 | View offer
- Price – £190 / €210 / $230
- Supremely comfortable
- Great in a range of conditions
- Decent value
- Great colour options
The Isadore Signature Thermal Tights are focussed on comfort and performance, which they certainly excel at. The brushed fleece material used across the legs is incredibly supple and comfortable, offering great insulation across a wide range of conditions. Add to that a highly effective DWR coating and these are really good tights from colder and wetter rides to more mild spring jaunts. The fit of the legs also appears to limit both pulling on the front of the knee as well as bunching at the rear.
Wide elastic straps keep everything nicely in place while spreading the load well across the shoulders. The rear panel is perforated to boost breathability too. A nice little bonus is a cargo pocket along the right thigh of the tights. It’s not necessary, but has been something I’ve ended up using and appreciating on every single ride in these tights.
The big star of the show for me is the Isadore chamois pad. It’s cushioned well in all the right places while featuring grooves and channels to reduce the build-up of moisture and keep things relatively fresh. An antimicrobial coating aids that further and does result in one of the most comfortable chamois I’ve used. All of this at £190 makes these pretty good value as well, and well worth the investment.
- Read our full review
- Buy it now from Isadore (£190)
Le Col Pro Bib Tights
£120 | View offer
- Price: £210 / €260 / $280
- Features aero lower leg material
- Quality chamois pad
- Strong insulation performance
- Higher end of pricing
The Le Col Pro Bib tights have managed to strike a great balance of a thin supple material that allows great freedom of movement, with something that is also fantastically insulated even in low single figure temperatures. Using a Super Roubaix fleece fabric has achieved that and makes these a pretty ideal pair of tights for high-intensity rides or even races in colder conditions. The effective DWR treatment enhances that further as the tights stay warm in light showers.
Up top, Le Col’s use of Polartec Power Grid means the straps are both insulated and nicely breathable, again very useful for high-intensity winter riding where balancing that with insulation is key. Another very race focussed feature is the presence of aero trip fabrics on the lower half of the leg. I can’t quantify if this is faster, but it doesn’t negatively impact other performance aspects of the tights and every watt saved makes you faster, so I like it.
With the more race-focussed design comes a secure fit. In conjunction with the Pro Chamois pad, this leads to a very comfortable seat pad that stays nicely in place. It’s a good thickness of chamois for longer rides and over rougher surfaces, but not so bulky that it gets in the way when in a more aggressive riding position. At £210 these are not cheap, but they offer something pretty rare, a race-focussed pair of tights that might save you some watts, which for winter fast rides or races makes them a brilliant option.
Madison DTE Men’s Thermal Bib Tights With EIT Pad
£99.99 | View offer
- Price: £99.99
- Low price
- Comfortable material
- Fit leaves excess material
- Pad is a touch thin
The Madison DTE Thermal bib tights with pad are an impressively low priced pair of bib tights, coming in at just under £100. For that you get the brand’s Isolar thermal Roubaix fabric, which is brushed fleece inside to provide reasonably good insulation and good levels of comfort. Externally a DWR treatment has been used, which is alright in light showers. However, because the overall material is quite thin, these are certainly better suited to drier and milder conditions. Madison does call these an autumn/spring pair of tights after all.
On the straps, a mesh material is used and along with a perforated rear panel the tights are very good for thermoregulation in warmer conditions. The chamois pad comes from Elastic Interface. It’s reasonably comfortable, although a touch thin for rougher road surfaces.
The real issue for me personally was the fit. Normally I am a medium, but this came up particularly big, meaning that the chamois did not fit snugly next to the body and there was a lot of movement in the material. A small would have likely alleviated some of these issues, however small is the only size smaller available, and as I stand at 190cm, that’s a slightly limited size range. However if it does fit you, then these are a great value pair of mild weather tights.
Pas Normal Studios Essential Thermal Long Bibs
£240 | View offer
- Price: £240 / €270 / $290
- Incredible levels of comfort
- Fit is true to size
- Decent weatherproofing
- Expensive
The Pas Normal Studios Essential Thermal long bibs are part of the brand’s Essential line, focussed around all-day comfort on the bike and premium quality. To that end the tights perform exceptionally well, with the MITI SuperRoubaix fabric providing great insulation as well as being supple and comfortable to wear. They do feature a DWR treatment, which does a good job of repelling showers and road spray, but in heavier rain water does tend to ingress. The use of abrasion-resistant fabric is another bonus and should enhance longevity of the tights.
Fit-wise these tights are brilliant. Although Pas Normal Studios can sometimes be a bit short in the body, these tights fit my lanky frame perfectly. An interesting feature is the bib straps, which start more centrally on the tights before coming up over the shoulders. This was slightly more comfortable for me under the arms and not something I ever realised I preferred until I tried it. Comfort is further enhanced by the proprietary chamois, which features great levels of support across the seat area as well as antimicrobial coating.
All this comfort doesn’t come cheap though: £240 to be precise. Although not the most weather-resistant or ideal for the coldest temperatures, it’s always a balance. More weatherproofed materials make for a less supple feel and tights that can be too warm for milder conditions. For a pair of tights that are this comfortable and are effective across such a range of conditions, the Pas Normal Studios Essential Thermal tights are an expectational performance.
- Read our full review
- Buy it now from Pas Normal Studios (£240)
Poc Thermal Cargo Tights
£260 | View offer
- Price: £260 / €290 / $290
- Great for deep winter conditions
- Cargo pockets are useful
- Very expensive
- Fit is not quite right
The Poc Thermal Cargo Tights are certainly more of a deep winter tights offering rather than a more mild autumn/spring design. A thick fleece-lined material is used for the front facing panels on the legs of the tights, with an additional windproof and water resistant membrane. This works fantastically in freezing and rainy conditions. Meanwhile at the rear of the legs a lighter fleece material is used which does help aid freedom of movement.
To manage comfort better, the legs are articulated so as to avoid pulling on the front of the knee at the top of the pedal stroke or bunching behind the knee. To this end the tights work. However the front is almost too loose at the bottom of the pedal stroke leading to bunched material. Up top the bib straps and rear panel are far more breathable allowing good thermoregulation when the intensity ramps up or temperature increases. They are still likely a bit too well insulated for above 10-12˚C, but these are more designed for deeper winter riding.
Poc has used their VDPS chamois in these tights, which has silicone inserts to aid vibration dampening. These work brilliantly, especially across rougher road surfaces. However overall the pad feels just a bit too narrow for me personally with not enough support towards the front. Add to that the £260 pricetag, the most expensive on test, and even the amply sized cargo pockets don’t add enough to make these particularly good value.
- Read our full review
- Buy it now from BikeInn (£169.99)
Q36.5 Dottore Hybrid Bib Tights
£240 | View offer
- Price: £240 / €280 / $380
- Innovative technologies used
- Chamois is superb
- Dyneema panel leads to questionable looks
- Expensive
Q36.5 has a bit of a reputation for making interesting kit pieces with innovative fabrics and technologies and the Q36.5 Dottore Hybrid bib tights are exactly that. Using a proprietary UF-Hybrid Shell PLUS, the fabric is thin and supple, yet impressively warm even in low single figure temperatures. Although I can’t quantify it, the silver and recycled coffee bean fibres that are designed to attract near-infrared radiation to warm the legs may be helping there. A windproof and water-repellent exterior boosts this insulation and winter weather performance.
At the rear of the tights a more flexible material aids comfort and reduces bunching around the knee. There are also large reflective panels on each ankle, however they are orientated slightly more on the side than the rear, so aren’t as visible as would be ideal from behind. Other fit elements are the C-interface stitching, which removes the usual rear central seam, that is honestly more comfortable when switching from other tights. Q36.5 has also featured its lumbar support panel, which puts pressure on the rear above the seat pad to aid support of the lower back and glutes.
A really great part of the Hybrid tights is the Q Lab Air chamois. It’s an impressive design that stays in contact with the body even as the tights move around, while the padding is variable density to be supportive where it needs to be. I get on really well with this pad and find it incredibly comfortable. There’s also a Dyneema external panel to reduce wear around the crotch. It’s a useful feature, but being black against the light grey colour option, it sticks out like a sore thumb. The price also sticks out, being on the higher end, but for the comfort and performance that come from the impressive features, I think it’s worth it.
- Read our full review
- Buy it now from BikeInn (£179.49)
Rapha Core Winter Tights with pad
£140 | View offer
- Price: £140 / €160 / $175
- Good value
- Comfortable material
- Mostly very comfortable
- No additional weatherproofing
The Rapha Core Winter Tights are Rapha’s budget offering for bib tights. However, they pack a lot of performance for the price. They forgo the durable water repellent treatments or specific windproof materials used in the higher range offerings, but still utilise a fleece backed material for insulation. This works brilliantly in conditions down to around 5˚C when it’s dry. Below that temperature or in light showers or wetter conditions, these tights can however get a bit more chilly.
Comfort is an area where these tights mainly do very well. That fleece lined material is nicely supple, making it comfortable against the skin. Rapha’s chamois is another star of the show, with even the Core offering still being incredibly comfortable and supportive for long days in the saddle. The only small comfort gripe is that the contoured legs still experience some fabric bunching around the rear. Not a dealbreaker for comfort, but still worth considering.
At £140 these are one of the cheaper bib tight offerings in this list, especially given they come from notably premium brand Rapha. If you want a pair of bib tights that are going to be effective in dry cold to mild conditions, offer good levels of comfort, and get you the Rapha brand for good value, then these are a solid pair of bib tights.
Santini Cargo Bib Tights
£150 | View offer
- Price: £150 / €160 / $192
- So many pockets
- Very good value
- Quality chamois
- Lower front end
The Santini Cargo bib tights are an impressive offering delivering a lot of performance for the price. Santini’s Sitip Blizzard thermofleece provides great insulation and comfort, while the fluorine-free AcquaZero DWR treatment keeps showers at bay well. It’s not as supple a material as others on test, but does undercut most of them on price, so this can be forgiven with this level of weatherproofing as well.
Santini’s GITevo chamois is another great performer in these tights, using shock absorbing gel inserts to make these pretty comfortable to use off-road as well as on. The pad features a good level of coverage as well as carved channels and antimicrobial coating to aid breathability and cleanliness. Raw cut straps with a mesh rear panel results in decent breathability while keeping the fit secure and comfortable.
Cargo pockets are the big differentiator with these tights though. Not only are there decently sized ones on each thigh, there is also a larger one at the rear just below where a jersey will sit. This allows for a huge level of storage of spares, clothing, tools or food, and is very practical. It’s better to put larger volume, lower weight items in them though as they are not the most secure, so the contents can shift around. All this performance, storage and comfort for £150 makes these tights exceptionally good value though.
Sportful Fiandre Bib Tights
£150 | View offer
- Price: £150 / €169.90 / $199.99
- NoRain is superb for water repellence
- Good insulation
- Great value for money
- Chamois is mixed
Making up part of its racing line, the Sportful Fiandre Bib tights are designed for fast paced riding or racing in foul weather conditions. Sportful’s NoRain technology is added to the fleece fabric, which uses nanotechnology to repel rain. In practice this works pretty well in light to medium showers, while insulation is effective in mid-single figure temperatures. A raised front boosts warmth levels further.
With a more race-focussed fit, the tights articulate nicely around the knee to reduce bunching or stretching of fabric, while the zipped cuffs help keep the legs securely in place. Both the straps and the rear panel are perforated for better breathability, which is very useful when doing higher intensity rides where a good amount of heat is generated. These were particularly comfortable for that side of effort where breathability becomes as important as insulation.
Padding-wise, Sportful has used its TC Pro seat pad, which is the same found in other members of its racing line. The chamois offers a good level of support, especially when hunched over in an aggressive position, but lacks the overall thickness for super long, rough road surfaced winter slogs. At £150 though, these tights pack a lot of performance into a pretty low priced package, making them very good value.
How to choose the best winter bib tights for you
What are winter bib tights?
Winter bib tights mimic the design of summer bib shorts, just with long legs. Rather than stopping mid-thigh like shorts, they keep going. Most cover your legs to the ankles, but some are three-quarter length (also called ‘bib knickers’), which are good for milder days. Winter bib tights need to be close-fitting just like bib shorts, to keep your legs warm, avoid fouling your chainring, and prevent chafing as you pedal.
The bib bit refers to the upper section, which includes a bib, or shoulder straps, to help keep the tights in place and stop them from falling down. This means that there doesn’t need to be a waistband. Most riders find bibs more comfortable as there’s nothing digging into your stomach, but you can also buy waist tights without bibs. Some female riders prefer waist tights as they’re easier to remove for comfort breaks, although the best women women’s bib tights have specific features that address this need.
What fabrics are winter bib tights made of?
Most winter bib tights are made of fabric with a fleeced inner surface that’s designed to add extra insulation. They’re most often branded as Roubaix or Superroubaix. Since winter roads are often damp, many add a durable water repellent (DWR) outer coating to help repel water.
Key features to look for in winter bib tights
Seat pad
As with the best cycling bib shorts, a quality seat pad is paramount if you want to have an enjoyable ride. Brands usually sew the same range of seat pads into their bib tights as into their shorts, so you can pick a pad for winter riding that you know works for you for summer cycling too. You can also buy tights without pads. Those are useful if you want to wear your padded summer shorts underneath or just prefer not to have a pad for short rides.
Cut at the waist
Look out for the cut at the waistband. Often, winter bib tights will be high cut, so that there’s plenty of overlap with top half garments for extra insulation. This can make comfort breaks awkward, so some bib tights have a short front zip.
Ankle zips
Ankle zips can be useful to help get tights on and off more easily, although the fabric the tights are made of is often stretchy enough that zips are not necessary. Zips can rub if they’re not well-positioned, so some riders prefer not to have them.
For riding in really wet weather, it can be beneficial – if unfashionable – to wear your bib tights over your overshoes, so water flows over the outside rather than into your overshoes (think roof tiles). This is usually only possible with ankle zips. Sometimes the zipper itself will be reflective, which can up your road presence if you wear your tights over your socks.
Pockets
As with cycling shorts, thigh pockets are beginning to feature in bib tights, giving you more stowage space for food or, if they’re waterproof, a phone. They’re a good option for endurance rides or bikepacking. You may get other pockets in the rear of the tights, including a race radio pocket – useful if you’re a pro, but not much good for access during a ride.
Reflectives
Although black is the preferred colour for winter bib tights (roads are usually damp and dirty), most will include some reflective elements, particularly on the rear, to help improve your visibility in conditions that can be gloomy or where the sun is low to the horizon.
With their technical fabrics and extra features, expect to pay more for your winter legwear than your summer shorts, for a given level of quality.
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