X-Bionic The Trick Biking Pants Long

X-Bionic makes all its stuff out of pure science, and The Trick Biking Pants – or bib tights as we like to say in English – are no exception: its website lists nine special features that you should take into account when you're making your buying decision. And at £203, it's not a cheap decision. But mostly you're probably wondering whether they're any good. Yes. Yes, they are.

Let's delve into the tech then. One of X-Bionic's innovations that you'll see in a lot of its cycling gear is an insulation zone on the spine called THE TRICK (you have to write it in capitals). The idea is that insulating this zone simulates your body overheating and boosts sweat production which allows your body to cool more effectively. This is coupled with sweat traps that wick away excess moisture, so you're left with a thin film of sweat that cools you.

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The fabric is a fairly complex construction that introduces air channels next to the skin, so that the fabric can act as an insulation layer as well as transporting sweat effectively. So to recap: it heats you up, moves sweat away, and insulates you when you stop.

Does it work? It does, yes. Sometimes tech like this gets a big write-up on the box but once you're in the gear it's hard to tell whether anything's happening. The effect of the X-Bionic system is noticeable. You can feel the warming effect when you put them on, they never feel clammy even when you're working hard, and when you stop they manage to retain heat when you might expect to cool down more quickly. So yes: it does appear to do the things that X-Bionic says it'll do.

It goes on to say that the net result is you'll have more energy for performance, because your body has expended less energy upping its core temperature. That's logical, although I couldn't empirically say whether or not I experienced any improvement in performance as a result.

The other thing to note is that the technology is designed, so far as I can see, to work best in direct contact with the skin. So if you're wearing the bibs over a baselayer, the effectiveness of the system would be reduced. X-Bionic includes the tech in all layers from baselayer through to outers: does layering one on top of the other increase the effectiveness? More likely you're going to see any benefit with just one garment, with vastly diminishing returns after that.

The clever fabric requires a different construction method to most cycling gear: X-Bionic's garments are woven, and in complicated ways. The insulating section in the back panel is a complex three-dimensional weave, and X-Bionic uses other weaves in other areas to maximise performance.

Across the knees there's an accordion-style weave that allows the knee to articulate without strecthing the fabric thin and losing insulation. On the back of the knee there's a much thinner weave to allow sweat that builds up there to dissipate.

X-Bionic also uses a fabric it calls Neural Response Bandage, which is more compressive. It "exerts targeted pressure on the muscle attachment, prepares the receptors for action and improves the work of the muscles." Apparently. Then there's ISO-Pad, which is a thicker fabric that sits over important bits of your legs to retain more heat and keep your muscles working.

On the outside these different weaves meld together seamlessly; in fact there are very few seams in these bibs, and as such they offer a very comfortable fit. They're more compressive than Lycra, and also less elastic, so getting the right size is pretty crucial. I sized up to an XL from an L (I'm 1.89m and 92kg); they're just on the small side of average, sizing-wise.

On the inside of the bibs there's quite a lot of loose thread ends from the weaving process; it's not an issue for comfort or performance but it does mean you need to make sure you don't put your Velcro gloves in the same wash, as they'll surgically attach to all the fluffy bits.

The multi-thickness weave of the fabric does a good job of keeping your leg temperature well regulated from top to bottom, and insulating your main muscle groups. It's most noticeable when you stop for a coffee in cold weather and then have to get going again. I often find that my knees take a while to get going again, but wearing these tights I found that it was much less of an issue.

These bibs work in a pretty wide range of temperatures. I've worn them down to low single figures and up to the low teens and they've coped admirably right across that range, so they're a proper three-season piece of kit.

X-Bionic uses its own pad, the Endurance400FX, which sounds pretty sciency. It's anatomically formed with a variable thickness design, and instead of being sewn to the inside of the tights X-Bionic basically leaves a hole when weaving the tights and stitches the pad in. It does this so that "the fit and elasticity of the pad is not affected by the pant material"; not necessarily something I've had much of an issue with in the past but again, logical enough. The pad feels a bit cumbersome when you're off the bike but it's excellent once you're in a riding position and I've completed five to six-hour rides with no pad discomfort. So no issues there.

It's all good news then? Well, mostly. There's rain to consider. These are woven bibs and they don't incorporate any kind of water repellency, so if you ride in heavy rain they're going to get wet. In their defence they manage to retain a fair bit of their insulation, and dry more quickly than you might imagine, but if it was already raining by the time I set out I'd opt for something that had some water-shedding capability, such as Sportful's excellent NoRain bibs. 

> Read our buyer's guide to winter cycling tights

When all things are considered, there's a lot going on here and much of it is good. The fit and comfort of these tights is excellent, and the different weaves and technologies that X-Bionic uses in different areas aren't just there for show: you really do get some benefit here. Over £200 is top end: you can spend more, but there aren't that many options more expensive than this. Whether you think spending an extra £60-80 over a top-end, rain-ready pair of bibs from the likes of Sportful or Castelli is up to you.

Verdict

Very good performance from a technical and uniquely constructed pair of bib tights