Santini Ready To Ride Bib Shorts

The Santini Ready to Ride Bib Shorts are very comfortable with an excellent pad, perfect lightweight mesh straps and a lightly compressive fit, making these a good choice for long training efforts even during hot summer days.

> Buy now: Santini Ready to Ride Bib Shorts for £150 from Santini

Santini’s new Ready to Ride collection is designed for cyclists who value performance, comfort and style, and they come in a wide variety of colours available, though some of these are decidedly quirky.

Pad

The chamois is Santini’s GITEvo model, which has a seamless construction with a gel core. The 10mm-thick pad has a thinner layer at the front. Santini says the shorts are suitable for rides of up to seven hours, and while I haven’t gone quite that far, I found them great on rides of up to five hours. There was no numbness, even on long, flat rides where you rarely change your position.

This leads me to believe that Santini’s seven-hour claim is well founded.

The pad is breathable enough that it didn’t feel overly damp, even during high-intensity training sessions in warm weather.

Materials

Santini says these shorts are suitable for temperatures between 18-35°C and I was able to test them in the 15-27°C range, which makes me think they’re suitable for any hot weather you’ll encounter.

I thought the green would show sweat, but even after a few hard training sessions, there were no visible sweat patches.

The recycled Italian fabric is a mix of 65% recycled polyester and 35% elastane, and it provides plenty of stretch to keep you comfortable. The leg material feels slightly lighter than that of most of my other shorts.

Fit

Santini claims that these are medium compression shorts, but I’d say they felt more like a light compression. I like a nice compressive fit on harder training sessions, but these felt more suited to endurance rides.

The medium-to-long leg length strikes a nice balance, long enough for a modern look, but without feeling restrictive or causing any interference with your knees when you’re pedalling. The rear of each leg also features a reflective tab.

The wide silicone grippers offered a grip that felt a touch loose to me, though once I was on the bike they worked well enough to keep the shots in place. Perhaps I need to stop skipping leg day…

The straps are wide and made of a light mesh material. They were effective and extremely light, so much so I forgot they were even there when I was riding. I found them highly breathable and great for riding even on hot summer days.

I sometimes find that mesh straps don’t feel supportive enough, but that wasn’t the case here, with the Santini’s straps combining sufficient support and excellent long-distance comfort.

The shorts come up quite high at the front, and while I typically prefer a lower cut, the material offered enough stretch to make mid-ride comfort breaks easy enough. The front is also high enough to make it unlikely you’ll expose any of your stomach off the bike.

Sizing

On the size guide, I fell between a medium and a large and I tested the large. But they are a regular fit, so if you’re between sizes, I’d actually recommend opting for the smaller size. This is the third pair of Santini shorts I’ve tested, and it’s essential to check the the fit guide. These were perhaps a touch too big, but the last pair in a medium came up small.

The shorts come in an impressive eight-size range from XS to 4XL, so you should be able to find a size that suits you.

I wore these for numerous rides during testing, and they still look as good as new after wearing and washing.

Santini’s Ready to Ride – or ‘RTR’ – bib shorts are available in six colours. I tested the ‘pistachio green’ version, which wouldn’t typically be my first choice. The black option would be the optimal choice – at least for my more monochrome tastes!

If you’re a bit more adventurous than me you might consider the likes of rust and cappuccino…

Value

At £150, the price of these is in line with shorts from a lot of Santini’s competitors. The Assos Equipe R Bib Shorts S11 received an excellent review and are a little more expensive at £165. Spend a little more again and you’ve hot the likes of the Kostüme Signature Bib Short, which Jo raved about.

After a pair with pockets? Steve rated the Cycology Cargo Bib Shorts very highly, and these are a chunk less change at £115.

That said, if you’re on a tighter budget, Josh really liked the Boardman Series 9 Bib Shorts, which like the company’s bikes are great value, coming in at just £60.

For more options, our best cycling bib shorts buyer’s guide rounds up our favourite men’s and women’s shorts at a wide range of prices.

Conclusion

The Santini Ready to Ride Bib Shorts are a very good all-round pair of shorts. The pad is suitable for rides of any duration, the straps were excellent, and the material highly breathable. Double-check the sizes and fit guide, as these are sized a little more generously than other Santini shorts I’ve tested.

Verdict

Very good all-rounders with a great pad and excellent straps – ideal for long training efforts and big days out

> Buy now: Santini Ready to Ride Bib Shorts for £150 from Santini

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