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review

OneTen Primo Bib Knickers

8
£64.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Superb fit, comfort and a great price makes the OneTen Primo Bib Knickers a good choice for autumn/spring and milder winter days
Weight: 
238g

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OneTen is this in-house clothing brand from distributor Hotlines and when they launched their winter range last month the Primo Bib Knickers instantly stood out. It's important to keep your knees wrapped up in the autumn (I can't stress the importance of this enough) and bib knickers, or three-quarters as they're sometimes called, do a very good job of insulating your knee joints.

As they're designed for cycling in colder weather they've used a thicker Roubaix fabric around the thighs and the inside of the rear panel is lined with a brushed material to provide extra warmth. The rest of the shorts are made from a fast-drying polyester.

Wide leg grippers are made from a softer shinier fabric and with a few dots of silicone gripper on the inside ensure these shorts stay put on your legs with no movement detected during cycling. The bib straps are made from a light mesh material and evenly spread pressure across my shoulders and they weren't so tight that they felt restrictive.

The shorts fitted well with a good shape around the legs and thighs. The material they've used and the way the shorts are cut meant there was no restriction on the freedom of movement around the knees, so cycling in them was a comfortable experience. And inside there's minimal seaming to reduce the potential for annoying chafing. Some companies resort to complex panel designs around the knee but the simplicity and stretchiness of the fabric ensures the OneTen's perform well without that.

Like the Primo bib shorts Mat recently tested these use a chamois made from XP1 perforated foam. Chamois thickness varies from brand to brand, these are definitely at the fatter end of the scale and proved impressively comfortable on several longer jaunts. It's shaped and ventilated with a dimpled surface to prevent a horrible buildup of moisture.

Some people may well be in tights by now but there are still plenty of people still cycling in shorts. And to them I say do your knees a favour and invest in these well-priced bib knickers. They offer a lot of performance and comfort for only a small outlay, and compare well to similarly priced shorts.

They've very durable too. I've used them in a cyclo-cross race and a couple of mountain bike rides and races, as well as some shorter road rides, and they've stood up to well to the abuse and repeated washing.

Verdict

Superb fit and comfort and a great price makes the OneTen Primo Bib Knickers a good choice for autumn/spring and milder winter days

road.cc test report

Make and model: OneTen Primo Bib knickers

Size tested: Medium

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?

For optimum comfort in cooler conditions, the oneten Primo bib knicker is a three-quarter length tight offering extra warmth without performance compromise.

For road training, off-road riding and even serious commuting in colder weather, summer shorts just won't cut the mustard when it comes to keeping you warm and dry.

Building on the great design and features of our Primo bib shorts, we've developed the Primo bib knicker – a three-quarter length tight designed specifically to perform in cooler conditions, with the same long-distance comfort of its warm-weather cousin

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

Three-quarter length tight made of fast-drying polyester;

Excellent moisture wicking;

Open, breathable fabric on front of bib strap;

One-way stretch back with brushed inside surface for extra warmth;

XP1 perforated memory foam chamois;

Textured Lycra centre panel under chamois for saddle grip;;

Two-part leg grippers;

Custom oneten sew-in reflective tabs for increased visibility;

All care labels and logos directly printed onto fabric to prevent irritation;

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10

Construction belies the budget price

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Even without taking the low price into consideration, these bib knickers provide top-drawer performance

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

Testing in the abusive world of cyclo-cross with no concerns about the durability of the materials or construction

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10

The thickly padded and dimpled chamois was very comfortable

Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

They're about half the price of some bib knickers but the OneTen's comfortably match them for performance

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

For keeping the knees insulated on chilly autumn days they proved adequate, making them good for autumn and spring use (and summer as well)

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

They've nailed the fit and this really shows. By keeping the design simple they simply work

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The shiny fabric of the leg grippers, but that's a personal aesthetic call

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

OneTen prove that by keeping it simple and concentrating on the important aspects, it's possible to produce a very good product at a low price

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 31  Height: 180  Weight: 67

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

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: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, mtb,

 

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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1 comments

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Nick T | 11 years ago
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Shorts4life!! Well, 4another week at least. It's still 5 degrees out there!

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