If, as a woman, you like the comfort of bib shorts but have so far rejected them because they make toilet breaks a total hassle, check out the Gore Bike Wear Xenon 2.0 lady bibshorts+
I much prefer bib shorts and tights for cycling than plain waist high shorts. I don’t like things digging into my waist area and I find bib shorts and tights so, so much more comfortable.
But for a long time there was a hassle factor involved. When going for a toilet break, bib shorts required a full top half of clothing removal. At best, in a toilet cubicle, this was a sweaty hassle. At worst, behind a tree, it has the potential for scaring people with top half nudity.
Now, a number of brands have invented bib shorts and tights with “comfort break access”.
I have written about dhb halterneck cycle shorts for women, which I like, while my other favourites are Gore Bike Wear Xenon 2.0 lady bibshorts+.
The Gore bib shorts have a pair of zips above the waistline at the back. These unzip to allow enough of a hole in the fabric to use the toilet.
I won’t go into details but suffice to say with a bit of flexibility you can comfortably take a toilet break and never peel off an outer layer. Before leaving the toilet cubicle you simple zip the zips back up again. This isn’t entirely the easiest thing to do but because the zips stay connected at one end you can manage to twist your arms around your back to re-zip.
The zips are also positioned high enough not to rub on your skin, yet accessible enough to make unzipping and re-zipping a fairly straightforward process.
The Gore Xenon 2.0 Lady Bibshorts do not compromise on other good quality features. In fact, Gore ladies shorts rate as my favourite in terms of quality versus price.
The super lightweight fabric is really comfortable and offers built-in compression so that the fabric (allegedly) aids muscle recovery even when you cycle.
The shorts also have a female-specific ergonomic seat insert, which I have found to be really comfortable. The insert moulds to the body in all the right nether region places and causes no rubs.
I like the shoulder strap set-up, too. The straps sit outside the breasts yet are held together by a hook closure for comfort. There is enough room for all sizes and shapes of chest.
The wide gripper elastic at the leg hem is a lovely design and stops the fabric from digging into the thighs.
The bibshorts also have a reflective flag and a large reflective motif on each side.
The Gore bibshorts have shot to the top of my cycling wear hit parade. I wear them with the very pretty and well-designed Gore Power SE Lady short-sleeved jersey in light blue, blue and red stripes in summer. In winter I add Gore Element Windstopper bib tights, also with back zips.
The same back zip access is included with Gore Bike Wear’s cheaper Elements range.
The bibshorts cast £149.99. See Gore Bike Wear Xenon 2.0 lady bibshorts+.