Adidas Adistar cd.zero3 bib shorts

Back in March we brought you news of the 2015 Adistar range from German sporting giant Adidas. Having previously brought one of the lightest jerseys ever seen to market, in 2015 Adidas spotted that it's All About Aero, and its range for the year has been heavily focused on this area.

If you had £120 in your pocket and new bib shorts on your mind, it's likely that Adidas wouldn't be the first brand you'd think of. Whether you grew up in the 70s, 80s or 90s you probably wore Adidas trainers in your formative years and, if you're anything like me, the memory of those shoes somehow clashes with the notion of Adidas being a cycling brand you aspire to.

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Its cause isn't helped, it must be said, by some of the gear we've had in for test in recent years. I liked the crazy-light Adizero jersey, despite the uninspired styling, but the Supernova bibs and jersey left other reviewers distinctly unimpressed. These Adistar bibs, though, are excellent, and ones to consider even at this elevated price point.

Adidas has used an Italian fabric called Carvico Revolutional Energy to give a compression effect, which is claimed to reduce microvibrations and delay the onset of fatigue. One of those claims that sounds good, if hard to substantiate. But it's a comfortable, light and elastic fabric, thanks to the 29 per cent elastane content. The fit is excellent, too; Adidas has made real progress in this area. A good, close fit is a must for aerodynamic apparel, not to mention helping with comfort too.

The pad is an Elastic Interface from Italian giant Cytech, the Comp HP model. In bike terminology, 'Comp' sounds fairly low end, perhaps what you'd go for if you can't afford the 'team', 'elite' or 'pro' version of something, but this isn't a budget pad, it's the same one that we liked in the excellent Dhb Goldline bibs as well as the Caratti Treviso. It's made in varying thickness, up to 11mm, and using four different densities of foam. Cytech reckons it's good for rides of six hours or so and I certainly found it very comfortable on long or short rides.

Having a decent pad is one thing, but there several other areas that need to be done right for a truly comfortable pair of bib shorts. Straps are a particular focus for me – I like them wide and as lightweight as possible. The straps here tick both boxes and more – instead of seams, the edges are bonded, so there's no stitching at all to irritate the skin. They are just about perfect, I reckon.

At the other end, Adidas has followed current trends and ditched the gummy silicone gripper strip (as used on last year's model), replacing it with really wide, really white bands. They have a slightly rubberised finish on the inside, which does an excellent job of keeping them in place, while also being a lot more comfortable if you have hairy legs like me.

They have a raw cut end and sit very smoothly against the thighs – this is clearly an area where the vaunted aero approach was focused. The good fit around the hips helps here too, with a minimum of bunching if you choose the right size. (And if you want to go the whole hog with the outfit, have a look at the review of the Adistar cd.zero3 jersey here – if you have a small enough waist…)

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We've noted before the German sizing employed by Adidas is very different to typical Italian sizing. I'm a medium in these, and (unlike some other brands where I can also get into a medium) the legs aren't too short on me. Adidas has only made these in men's sizing, but they also released a women-specific sleeveless bodysuit in the 2015 adistar range, which seems quite good value by comparison; it's a notably more complicated garment and £20 cheaper.

A couple of minor details to finish with. I was initially confused by the orange tag on the back, which I (and most people, I suspect) had associated so closely with Dhb bibs as to have imagined that it was actually its trademark. Wrong. It's an Elastic Interface logo (as it is on Dhb bibs).

Lastly, there are no reflectives at all on these. At this price point you could argue that they're not really intended as winter commuting wear, but in my ideal world, everything short of a skinsuit would have some sort of subtle reflectives on it.

Verdict

Very impressive aero-influenced bibs with great fit and excellent all-day comfort – a big step forward for Adidas