Bib shorts after DhB

For years I’ve relied on DhB bib shorts buying the Aeron or Aeron Pro stuff. Found them great in terms of comfort and durability.

Now they they are no more I was wondering who to go for? Any recommendations?

Plain Black or occasionally Navy. They need to go with a variety of jerseys.

DhB prices so no full price Rapha or le Col.

Harder wearing preferred to other performance features as I ride off road in them as much as on the road.

Only drawback on the DhB stuff was that the legs were a little short for me so longer leg variations preferred.

Galibier seem to fit the bill in most of these regards. Anyone else?

Castelli. I was always put off by the price, but bought first pair in ’20 sale, now have three pairs. Their two top tier pads.

Have a look at Freewheel for Madison (and some other brands) on discount.

Rapha Core are usually on offer. I have four pairs, two black and two blue (to roughly match our Le Col club kit). Expect to pay £80 a pair at discount.

Galibier are ok but Assos are well worth the money

do all these recommended options have the same fit as DHB? i.e. not Italian/racing snake!!

Castelli is best to size up IME

Madison true to size

I bought some Altura bibs in their last sale. Their kit has definitely been hit & miss for me over the years, but these ones were spot-on.

I’m normally an M in dhb stuff, and was also an M in the Altura stuff. I think they are the progel plus shorts. £70rrp, but I think I paid £35 for them.

I keep meaning to try some of the Van Rysel shorts from Decathlon.

I use dhb aeron waist shorts for mtb and endura fs-260 pro bibs for road biking. I think I wear a large in both so sizing isn’t too far off. Leg length on both is similar. I tend to only buy the enduras when they’re on offer – I’d say the pad in the endura is more comfortable over longer rides than the dhb.

I recently got some Sportful bibshorts on sale that come down right to just above the knee cap so may have the length you’re after.  I understood they are a kind of budget Castelli but may be completely wrong there.

They also do ones with some sort of dyneema type fabric on the side panels to help prevent gravel rash if you crash.  Do come up tight though so may want to size up (like Castelli).

These ones

Van Rysel Endurance from Decathlon

Galibier are ok but Assos are well worth the money

FWIW I’ve paid for some of the fancier Galibier bibs and got some Assos for free (strava challenge thing). I prefer the Galibier.

Sportful have been my go to for many years and the importer often has big sales on. Very similar to Castelli as owned by same parent company.

I would not recommend Rapha Core myself. I have a pair of the cargo bibs and the material feels very cheap in comparison to Sportful and the chamois is also not very good in my opinion. Not sure if this is specific to that model though?

midlifecrashesFull Member
Van Rysel Endurance from Decathlon

+1 the 500 series is good as well.

Sizing is marginally smaller than DHB, but not by much.

Material feels thinner / more fragile but on the other hand I have far more small holes in my DHB shorts so maybe not in the real world.

It all falls apart in the winter kit. The larger sizes seem to be for people with a 37″ inside leg. I’m 6ft and had to roll up about 4″ of the ankle!

Bought my first pair of Castelli a month or so back, £75 on discount, but I have to say they were worth it for long days road/gravel riding there’s an appreciable difference in the comfort of the pad (for me).

If looking for a DHB alternative Gallibier are reasonable fit and value (IME) and Decathlon are worth a browse, I have a couple of their Bibs which are good for a few hours but I’d argue not up to for a full day’s riding.

But yeah, having spunked a bit more than I would have before on Castelli, I think I’ll be getting another pair or two…

Recent (last few years) of low-end DHB or Van Rysel are almost see-through, incredibly cheaply made naff kit.

Giordana is my go to for most kit these days, very well made. Sportful for slightly longer knee stuff (n.b all Sportful logos and reflectives will fall off within weeks of use, but quality is decent that aside)

Lusso for me.

Rivello off sports pursuit – size is as expected or Castelli – size up one

Another shout out for Lusso

Another shout for Castelli – properly loverly. Need to size up a couple of sizes I’ve found. If you buy last year’s from Merlin or SportPursuit they are properly good value. Pads are excellent for long days.

I was about to say Galibier but by chance I wore my bottom-of-the-range Castelli the other day and somehow they were just much more comfortable. Not sure why – the pad doesn’t seem significantly different. One size up, by the way.