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review
£39.99
VERDICT:
Very well made bib shorts that feel great to ride in, at an excellent price
Weight:
208g
Contact:
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.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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Decathlon's own brand BTwin is well known for bringing good value sports products to the market, and its 700 Cycling Bib Shorts have some top features to celebrate.
First, there's the excellent chamois. Graded with multiple density levels and gel inserts, it's almost as comfortable as anything 'premium' I've ridden in all year – and that includes the likes of Rapha, Mavic and Bontrager. I certainly wasn't troubled by it on 100km rides.
> Find your nearest Decathlon store here
The shorts don't feel uncomfortable in other areas over that distance, either. The legs feature seamless and minimalist grippers at the hem for great performance-orientated retention, while the seams are of a good quality and don't rub or chafe.
So far, it's top marks – but there's more to be impressed with. The bib section is meshed for great cooling efficiency and does a good job of helping regulate your body's temperature, the straps at the top of the shoulder are flat for added comfort, and the styling is – to my mind – well considered and tasteful. Match these bib shorts up to their sibling jersey (review here), and you've got a great looking set.
The one downside, by my reckoning, is the width of those straps. They're comfortable and flexible, but fit incredibly widely. I hadn't noticed at first on my first outing with them, but by the time I'd made it to my coffee stop, the straps had pulled so wide they felt as if they were going to slip off. They're certainly generous size-wise in this area, but overly so I think – especially as I know my shoulders are wide on account of a former life spent ploughing up and down a swimming pool.
However, it's a small black mark in an otherwise excellent pair of bib shorts. They wash through well on a delicate wash, maintaining their size and shape, which is good because the overall cut is a great blend of performance without restricting or being uncomfortable when what you want to do is take it easy.
> Check out our guide to the best bib shorts here
All this makes the asking price of £40 an extraordinarily good bargain. Stu tested the £49.99 BTwin Aerofit bib shorts recently and gave them full marks, but I can't think of any bib shorts I've tested that are quite as good value as these – even compared with the OneTen Tempo bib shorts I tested last year. These have to be serious candidates for any cyclist, not just those hoping to save a few quid this summer.
Verdict
Very well made bib shorts that feel great to ride in, at an excellent price
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: BTwin 700 Cycling Bib Shorts
Size tested: Large
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?
BTwin says: "These men's cycling shorts guarantee optimal comfort thanks to their ergonomic pad and gel inserts. Stretchy bib helps hold shorts in place, thigh hem lined with ultra-light silicone gripper, slim fit"
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Features:
- Main fabric : 80.0% Polyamide, 20.0% Elastane
- Yoke : 80.0% Polyester), 20.0% Elastane Padding
- Inner fabric : 100.0% Polyamide
- Outer fabric : 77.0% Polyester (PES), 23.0% Elastane
- Slim cut
- Graded chamois
- Mesh straps
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
Very well made.
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
Feel great to ride in, supportive and cool.
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
No complaints during my testing.
Rate the product for fit:
7/10
They fit well, with a decent cut to the leg that should suit riders of most sizes and shapes. The straps are almost crazy wide on the shoulders, though.
Rate the product for sizing:
8/10
Comes up about right in my experience, so order your usual size.
Rate the product for weight:
8/10
Reasonably lightweight on all fronts.
Rate the product for comfort:
8/10
I hardly noticed wearing them, barring the straps.
Rate the product for value:
10/10
£39.99? Can't fault that for this overall quality.
How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?
I had no issues treating them with a delicate wash.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Great.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Price, price, price. And the pad is very decent, too.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
The width of the straps on my shoulders. They just work their way wide and feel like they may slip off. Although in fairness, they never did.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your score
A great price for some really very good bib shorts.
About the tester
Age: 26
I usually ride: Specialized Allez Sport My best bike is:
I've been riding for: Under 5 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding
Latest Comments
- Jack Sexty 4 min 54 sec ago
Yep it's fixed now, it was a server issue after all! Apologies again.
- horace_goes_sking 15 min 18 sec ago
A good example here, although there is a path the other side....
- mark1a 45 min 5 sec ago
I have one of these, and I would say it's a spanner, the jaws are too thin (2.5mm as Mike mentions) really for any decent purchase on anything that...
- Simon E 1 hour 2 min ago
Surely simpler (and better hygiene) if you change your undies when you get to work?
- Mr Hoopdriver 1 hour 5 min ago
I have a bad feeling about this one, especially after reading the defence's questions....
- HoarseMann 1 hour 11 min ago
"The wheels on the bus..." ...
- Simon E 1 hour 25 min ago
I'd lump 1 & 2 together, they're not reasonable if they give 12" of room, that's incompetent....
- eburtthebike 1 hour 40 min ago
With the latest collision pointed out to Conservative councillor Andy Morgan, he penned a lengthy reply describing it as an "accident" that "is...
- check12 4 hours 23 min ago
105 weight is in the arms not the rings
- Daveyraveygravey 4 hours 27 min ago
This is 100% typical of media attitudes to cyclists. That tosser of a journalist should be made to ride to work for a month, get some perspective.
Add new comment
10 comments
And for another £9 you get their shorts that FDJ ride in the Tour, which are as good as that would suggest.
Got to agree with all that's said here. I supplied product to Decathlon for several years their R n D dept is awesome. Don't be put off by price. Its all down to buying power and scale of production. We made the same regular product Year on year. Quality stabilisers production goes up, prices maintain or go down its win, win all round.
Got to agree with all that's said here. I supplied product to Decathlon for several years their R n D dept is awesome. Don't be put off by price. Its all down to buying power and scale of production. We made the same regular product Year on year. Quality stabilisers production goes up, prices maintain or go down its win, win all round.
I'm sure I commented on the other article but after discovering these a while back I now have two pairs and they're my favourites. They're cut perfectly for my chubby human (85kg, 5'9") build, and I don't get any of the strap problems mentioned at all, in fact I think the wide straps are brilliant. It's also worth mentioning that unlike some others, they're cut quite low at the front and the mesh is stretchy so they're quite easy to pull down for a leak without stripping off completely.
Unlike some other cheap bibs I think the pad is amazing. It feels firm to begin with but after a couple of hours you realise you've no aches or anything. Even after proper long rides they're still providing support and keeping you comfy. I did Ride London in them (a brand new pair without breaking them in at all) and I had no numbness, no saddle sores, no nothing.
The only slight downside is the large BTwin logos - and while I'd prefer not to have them and next year's model might be more subtle, it absolutely doesn't matter. For £25 they're a steal and I might go and buy a couple more. They're that good.
Currently £25, there's no better pair of bibs at that price, awesome value. Had these a couple of months now and they are washing and wearing well.
Yowee, that's a good deal!
Bought these last weekend and have been very impressed so far. They share the same pad with my existing 520 shorts from last year but have much nicer leg grippers with much reduced sausaging on this chunky monkey's legs. I have less trouble with slippy bib straps on these than on the 520s too. Don't know whether my staffy-like build is a factor in this though. It's only ever a problem off the bike anyway.
Perhaps include in the review that the chamois is identical to the one in the £10 more expensive aerofit bibs? I found these a slightly more comfortable fit than the aerofit, I like the higher back in particular.
I've had a pair of these for a few weeks now having completed several 100km rides as well as 3 days in the Alps and have found the shorts to be extremely comfortable for several hours in the saddle. I agree that the straps can slip a bit, especially if you wear them over a slippery base layer, but tend to stay in place when you are in position on the bike.
I would recommend them as I found them to be as comfortable, if not more so, than my pair of expensive Gore bibshorts.
Agreed these are excellent shorts, I've had two pairs.
Never had a problem with the straps being any wider apart than my other shorts though, unless they've changed the design slightly in the last year or so....