Tights

These Rapha Women's Winter Tights are designed for those looking to ride in comfort all winter long, no matter what the conditions.

They're made from high quality Italian Thermoroubaix fabric, which has a soft fleecy backing to it for warmth and moisture wicking properties.

Mavic's Echappée bib tights provide good warmth with windproof front panels that have withstood the coldest winter days.

'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.

Rapha's Classic Winter Tights are luxuriously comfortable with a supreme softness next to the skin, provide good freedom of movement around the knees and provide just enough insulation for the winter.

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.

Odlo have been producing incredibly popular technical sports clothing for years, but they'vee just launched a new range of cycling kit, for both men and women, on road and off road – including these Flash 3/4 tights.

The Flash 3/4 Tights are a lightweight knicker designed to offer more coverage for those who like that, but without compromising movement or coolness, so they look to be ideally suited to three season use in the UK.

At £54.99, you'd be forgiven for dismissing the Ride Aquazeros as just another set of standard bibtights but you couldn't be more wrong. These UK designed and Italian made tights are serious performers, and left me scratching my head as to why I'd want to spend any more on other options.

The Craft Performance Storm Bib Tights are a well-engineered and nicely thought out garment for your bottom half when the weather is murky.

These don't feel like a winter tight when you pull them on for the first time: the construction isn't heavy and the rear roubaix panels are pretty thin. You even get mesh bibs. However, they feature a full-length windproof insert down the front to keep the chill off when you're riding, so the overall effect is of a more heavyweight set of bibs.

The weather forecaster has just mentioned arctic and I don't think he meant a big lorry. So as the temperatures fall who is holding on grimly to wearing shorts or threequarters or knee warmers and showing a bit of skin?

I am still wearing shorts with knee warmers although my tootsies were a bit cold today but am resisting the neoprene gimpwear as long as possible and going to try a pair of oversocks much to my missuses incredulity 'socks over your shoes'

Who else is holding out?