Stolen Goat Bodyline One Bib Shorts

Stolen Goat's Bodyline One Bib Shorts are the company's least expensive offering, yet still extremely impressive. The pad works brilliantly, the one-seam construction fits well, and compression and muscle support is good. I've worn these on long days out as well as for Zwift Racing League sweat fests, and I can't fault them.

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The Bodyline's fabric is an 80% polyamide, 20% elastane mix, and sewn with a single seam down the centre line and under the pad to minimise potential pressure points. It has a sort of honeycomb pattern on the inside, which makes it plenty stretchy and gives just the right amount of compression.

The outside is treated with Schoeller Textiles' Coldblack, which reflects sunlight to keep you cooler and protect from UV rays.

Instead of the usual silicone grippers, these use wide elastic cuffs. I found them less aggressively grippy, yet effective and comfortable too.

The pad

The pad is a proprietary affair, apparently 'developed alongside household names in the professional peloton'. It has a dimpled surface to aid airflow, and is antibacterial. I've used these for all kinds of durations, on the road and on Zwift, and my backside has not reported any problems. Top marks.

Stolen Goat is upfront about their clothing being made elsewhere: SG designs it, then the fit, form and function is taken care of by Bioracer, which has serious pedigree in competitive clothing for the pros. That experience and know-how is immediately obvious when you put these on.

Sizing

Stolen Goat approaches sizing slightly unusually. As the fabric is so stretchy, it bases everything on waist size, with height being less relevant. The size guide asks you to measure the widest part of your hips and waist and base your size on that.

My waist is around 32 inches, my hips around 36in. The former puts me in the lower end of size medium, the latter in the middle of large. We've got a medium on test, and it's exactly the fit I like: nicely compressive. And no, that's not me in the pictures...

Stolen Goat does say to size up for a looser fit and down for tighter, so I'd say the sizing is about right.

Value

These are a little cheaper than the also excellent La Passione Club Bib Shorts (£105), a lot cheaper than the Ale Agonistas (£160), and cheaper again than Rapha's Team Crit Bib Shorts (£175).

All these pale into insignificance besides something like the Rapha Pro Team Powerweave Bib Shorts at £275, but though these are 44g lighter at 180g, they're not otherwise massively better than the Stolen Goats.

Okay, the Bodyline One Bib Shorts are a little more expensive than Bioracer's own Spitfire bibs, but those lack the single seam construction and the Coldblack coating.

Overall

I like these shorts. I like how they look, how they fit and how they perform. And I like the price too. At £98, they're not the cheapest in absolute terms, but their fit, build and performance is premium level.

Verdict

Premium-feeling bib shorts at a non-premium price