Bib tights

'Maximum comfort in every detail' is certainly a gutsy product description. The Total Comfort Bibtight from Sportful talk the talk but how do they really perform as a winter bibtight, pitched against the UK weather?

I've been impressed by Sportful's material engineering in the past. These tights are no exception.

Temporarily setting aside the 'comfort' problems for female riders associated with bib-tights, the dhb Ladies Vaeon Reflex bib tights are still the easiest and most enduringly comfortable option for keeping warm on long winter rides.

Yes, it's hard as hell to take a pee stop, but at least your back stays warm and you're not cut in two at the waist by tights trying to migrate down your legs. So, bib-tights = necessary evil.

Performance is at the forefront of Sportful's design philosophy and this shows in the excellent NoRain bib tights, which rank as the best bib tights I've ever tested.

Key to Sportful's NoRain range, which also includes jackets, arm and knee warmers and bib shorts, is a proprietary fabric with a water repellant technology that ensures rain beads off the surface. What they're not is waterproof, but this finish prevents the fabric from holding onto the water and giving you that soggy feeling.