howies Men's Padded Bib Tights

For the last couple of years Welsh-based clothing brand howies have been gradually expanding their cycle clothing range with some really well designed and well-priced garments, and that theme continues with these new Padded Bib Tights.

The Leadout bib shorts scored highly when we tested them and so did the bib tights, but the later came without a pad - you had to wear them over a pair of bib shorts. Nothing wrong with that, some people prefer that flexibility that offers, but now howies have taken the padded insert from the bib shorts and sewn it into these new tights.

The Padded bib tights only cost £6 more than the unpadded bib tights (which does make you wonder where the money goes in the unpadded bibs) which means they offer far greater value for money.

The Italian manufactured TMF high density 2-layer insert is a simple looking pad but it's a very comfortable place to park yourself for a ride, and proved comfortable for me for anything up to 5 hours in the saddle. The 2-layer refers to a base 4mm thick foam with 8mm of foam in higher impact areas, such as the sit bones.

The excellent fit of the bib tights ensure the insert sits in the right place and stays put without any shifting out of position. The tights are made with the same seamless knitted fabric as used for the unpadded tights. The super high stretch of the fabric negates the necessity for complex and multiple panel designs, and they have a second-skin feeling over the legs around the hips and bum.

Though they are seamless in name, there are actually a few seams, one up the back of the legs which you can't feel on the skin, and a few around the waist area, but again you don't notice those when cycling. They really are a very comfortable tight.

Moving upwards, there are two wide bib straps with a large rear panel providing a bit more warmth, and because of the stretchiness of the fabric there's no problem going for a mid-ride pee. There's a small pocket on the bib strap, which according to the official howies blurb is good for 'storing keys or emergency cake money' but I mostly didn't use it. I suppose if you really ran out of pocket space with your jersey and jacket it could be useful.

Other than that these bib tights are all about beautiful simplicity. There are reflective tabs at the bottom of the legs... which a pair of overshoes will obscure, so it would be nice to see a few reflective details around the top of the legs and hip area.

For a range of winter conditions the tights are adequately insulating, the fabric is quite thick, but I ventured out on on ride last week when the temperature was stubbornly below 5 degrees with a cold wind whipping across the fields, and the fabric failed to provide adequate warmth. I'll admit I do run colder than some cyclists - Stu who tested the unpadded bib tights fround them warm enough down to minus tempretures, but for me it took a noticeably long time to warm up the legs, leaving me to conclude that for the coldest rides they're not sufficiently insulating. For rides with higher temperatures they were just fine however, and if you run warmer they may well suit you better on the colder days.

Verdict

Supremely comfortable tights at a great price but may not be warm enough for some on really cold days