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dhb Vaeon Roubaix Pro Bib Tights

8
£79.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Brilliant performance and comfort for a very attractive price; buy cheap, buy er, once
Weight: 
307g
Contact: 
www.wiggle.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Vaeon Roubaix Pro tights are DHB's top end bibtights despite being just £79.99, a price where a lot of other manufacturers are only just breaking in to their mid-range. That's not to say the Vaeons aren't up there with the big boys when it comes to performance or quality though.

The fabric is called Lombardia, a fleece lined mid-compression material that's designed to trap warm air against your skin to keep you toasty in freezing conditions. There is a zipped abdominal section to keep your stomach and core warm which is all made out of the same material. In fact the only deviation from the Lombardia is a mesh panel over your back which is the one place you are likely to overheat.

 

Rides in temperatures down to -6°C were perfectly comfortable and even if you get wet the fleecy material keeps you warm until it dries out.

The moment you put the Vaeons on you can feel the compression benefits and the material has a solid, long lasting feel to it. The Pro fit from which they get their name is comfortable and supportive to your muscles. They're a tight fit but with enough give to get them on and off easily and for you to move around in the saddle without any sort of restriction.

The stitching is flatlocked and most of the material is on the outside of the bibs anyway so there's nothing to cause chafing or irritation when you're riding. At the ankles you get 6-inch zips and a silicone gripper to keep things in place.

The quality looks really good with tight stitching and plenty of attention to detail. I've got a standard pair of Vaeons in my wardrobe that must have done a good 10,000 miles over the last couple of years and are still showing very little in the way of wear.

Cytech provides the Elastic Interface Tour seatpad and it's a good 'un with plenty of comfort and no excess padding to bunch up. If you're in the saddle for four hours or more the firmness of the pad becomes even more relevant. The density of the foam means it barely compresses when you sit on it but over bumpy road surfaces it works more like a shock absorber rather than a cushion. After 100km you do get off the bike feeling slightly less 'abused' than with some other pads.

The white/black versions we've got here probably wouldn't be my first choice for winter miles as they do show up every tiny mark, though they do clean up well even on a 30°C wash. There is also a red/black version as well as plain black should you fancy something a little different.

One thing all three colours share is plenty of reflectives, a decent section on each thigh panel which offers good side visibility plus strips on each calf and all of the DHB logos. It's all enough to make you stand out in the dark without being over the top.

Overall the DHB Vaeon Roubaix Pros are top end bibtights that have a good enough fit and pad to be used for everything from early season races to long distance day rides. Plenty of upper body coverage and comfortable straps means they are a pleasure to wear all day in cold weather. The fabric wicks sweat away pretty well so they are also useable in warmer weather probably up to about 15°C.

Value for money is the big score here as they offer as good a fit and pad as other tights twice the price and judging by the quality of other long term testing of DHB kit, their pence per mile is going to be minimal.

Verdict

Brilliant performance and comfort for a very attractive price. Buy cheap, buy er, once.

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: dhb Vaeon Roubaix Pro Bib Tight White/Black

Size tested: Medium, Black/Silver

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Vaeons are designed for performance use during cold weather thanks to their Roubaix fabric. They worked well down into freezing temperatures and the compression material is very good for keeping the muscles warm and supported.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

-Lombardia Roubaix material

-Pro Form fit

-Cytech Tour pad

-Front zip

-Ankle zips

-Sizes XS-XXL

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
9/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Ideal for cold conditions and the Pro fit means they are ideal for hard training or even racing.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The price.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Not such a fan of the white

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 35  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: Whatever needs testing or Genesis Flyer, fixed of course!  My best bike is: Kinesis T2 with full Centaur Red

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

 

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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5 comments

Avatar
ajmarshal1 | 10 years ago
0 likes

Have owned two items of DHB clothing. A pair of their mid-range bibs and a winter jersey. Both were awful, a poor fit and fell apart rapidly. A riding friend of mine has a fair bit of DHB winter stuff that all looks shocking already and he's only had it a couple of months.

I'm not tempted to go anywhere near their stuff ever again.

Avatar
seven | 10 years ago
0 likes

Been loving my Vaeon bib shorts, but I have to say I'm underwhelmed by the standard Vaeon longs. Not warm enough. Might try the pros and see if they're any better, but then again I'm no fan of ankle zips and the dhb ones are pretty chunky.

Avatar
ped | 10 years ago
0 likes

I once bought a pair of DHB roubaix bibs but just 8 years of winter riding later the stitching around the pad has worked loose. Think I paid £50 for them. Outrageous.  3

Avatar
Tony Farrelly | 10 years ago
0 likes

They do 'em in plain black too… as it says in the review  3

Avatar
Doper | 10 years ago
0 likes

Yeh but they look stupid, LOL.

Stick to plain black.

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