Rapha Men's Pro Team Lightweight Tights with Pad

The Rapha Men's Pro Team Lightweight Tights with Pad are a great option for cool spring and autumn days. Their compressive race fit provides good support for your harder riding efforts, and I found the chamois pad comfortable for rides of any duration. But they aren't fleece lined and offer only minimal protection against wind and rain, which makes them less suitable for the seriously cold days of winter.

> Buy now: Rapha Men's Pro Team Lightweight Tights with Pad for £142 from Rapha

Looking for new bib tights? Check out our best winter bib shorts buyer's guide.

These Rapha tights are designed for cool rides rather than deep-winter days. Rapha recommends these for temperatures from 6-18℃ and I have tested these through pretty much all of that range – and I think Rapha has got it pretty much spot on.

I mainly wore these on days where I'd normally reach for knee warmers or thinner leg warmers rather than my normal winter tights. I found it good just to be able to throw in a comfortable pair of tights rather than faffing around with warmers.

The first time I wore these the temperature was a chilly 6℃ or so, and I found the initial two-minute downhill ride from home to meet my friends a little nippy, but I found them warm enough when I got going.

I also wore them in rides up to around 15°C and found them excellent. They're very breathable, so if you're on a high-intensity ride and you find the weather warming up, you shouldn't overheat.

My feeling is that this makes them a very good choice for rides during dry spring and autumn days, and for more mild winter days – not for deep winter when the temperature is nearing zero.

The tights aren't really designed to give you any protection from the rain either. I tested these on a day with a few hours of intermittent rain and while the water resistance was fairly minimal, they did at least dry out fairly quickly once it stopped raining. If it's below around 6°C or so and raining then you'd be better off reaching for something else before your ride.

The fabric is the same thickness all over, with no thicker panels to provide more protection, so it feels very minimalist when you first try them on. They do provide some wind resistance, though they will struggle against a cold northerly wind.

In common with an increasing number of clothing products we test, these have good eco-friendly credentials, being made from a mixture of recycled elastane and nylon.

Pad

The pad is the size-specific Pro Team model. Rapha says it is best for training, though I wore these on a variety of endurance and high-intensity rides and found the chamois very good.

In spring and autumn I tend to do rides up to around five hours or and found the shorts comfortable throughout.

Fit and sizing

I'm 178cm tall and weigh 73kg, which puts me in the middle of Rapha's size guide for medium, and I was happy with the resulting fit.

The shorts come in six sizes, from XS to XXL, and with that range you should be able to find one that suits.

The leg length was good for me and would still be appropriate if you were a little bit taller too.

The tights have fitted cuffs around the ankle, which are tight enough to stay in place but the material has just enough stretch to ensure they are still easy enough to take off.

They have a race fit with a good level of compression, particularly on the lower legs. They provided a perfect level of support for a tough club run.

There is a tight, supportive fit around the stomach area and the front comes up to around the belly button. I liked the fit in this area, with the material retaining enough stretch to make it easy for a quick comfort break, while still being comfortable and supportive.

The wide straps sit nicely on your shoulders, and I had no issue with them twisting or digging in, which can happen with some race-fit straps. The straps link to a mesh upper back rather than the more fleecy material you usually find.

There's a reflective Rapha logo on the thigh. 

Along with other logos this makes you highly visible to other road users, though whether you want to look like a Rapha billboard is up to you.

I thought these would be ideal for training in southern Europe, with its mild, dry winters – though unfortunately I had to make do with a somewhat bleaker Britain. But I do think that you'd get plenty of use out of them in the UK for quite a few months of the year, though you's still need proper winter tights for when the mercury really plummets.

I tested these in navy and white but they're also available in a more traditional black.

Value

At £190 these are towards the upper end of what you'd expect to pay for bib tights, though most of the more expensive tights we've tested have been aimed at winter riding than for the milder conditions these are designed for.

Matt positively reviewed the Albion Winter Tights, and while they were more winter-friendly than the Raphas, he didn't feel they were ideal for the very coldest days.

Tom praised the LeCol Sport Bib Tights II, which are available in four colours and seven sizes. At £175 they're a little cheaper than the Raphas though they're are often available for much less.

The Santini Aldo tights that Laurence rated very highly are priced at £190 like the Raphas, but they are designed for more deep winter riding.

If you are looking to spend a fair bit less, Ali really liked the Van Rysel RCR Sport Winter Cycling Tights. These come in at just £80 and while there were a few minor issues, their warmth and comfort compared well with more expensive tights.

Overall

The Rapha Men's Pro Team Lightweight Tights with Pad are a very good pair of mild-weather tights. The race fit is excellent and provides good support on those tough training rides, they're comfortable and the chamois is perfect for day-long rides. They are excellent at what they are designed for but with only minimal protection against wind and rain, they are best suited to dry, milder days.

Verdict

Comfortable, high-quality race-fit tights designed for the mild dry days of spring and autumn