MAAP Team Bib Short 2.0 Navy

Australian company MAAP's Team 2.0 bib shorts provide good performance, with a comfortable chamois that is excellent for long rides and smart styling that's a bit different to other shorts out there. They are a good rival to other high-end bib shorts, but at this price you do have the pick of many established premium clothing brands.

• Pros: Very comfortable pad, leg openings stretchy but secure, colour options!
• Cons: Quite expensive

I reviewed MAAP's Blaze Team shorts last year and while I was impressed with them in many ways, I found the highly compressive Lycra hem openings just too restrictive, ruining what I thought was a really good product otherwise. Boy were they tight around my legs – and there isn't much muscle on me to speak of.

> Buy these online here

These Team 2.0 shorts have a revised hem design. A pre-dyed, dual-layer, bonded hem with laser cut edges offers more stretch and the fit is much better. It's secure without needing silicone tape or elastic bands; these shorts aren't for budging. The pre-dying treatment of the hem material also means the colour doesn't change as the fabric stretches.

MAAP hasn't just designed new hems, it's also developed a new padded insert. Apparently, it's the result of a quest to better reflect modern saddle designs and bike positions. In short, it's a very good pad, which provided all the comfort I could wish for on longer rides.

MAAP roped in Ken Ballhause, a sports scientist and founder of Adaptive Human Performance, to inform the design direction of the new pad based on a study of the changing trends of rider positions, fit and saddle designs. You can read a lot more about the development in this blog article. To summarise, the goal was to provide additional support without adding unnecessary bulk, through dual-density padding and putting more padding where it's needed most, in particular in the front third where the cyclist's load is concentrated.

Meanwhile, the actual shape of the chamois is intended to closely mirror the silhouette of a saddle, which MAAP reckons better moulds to your movements while riding. Over the top of the padding, the part that contacts your skin is a soft touch microfibre lining that is luxuriously comfortable. No need for chamois cream with these shorts!

Holding the hem and padded insert in place is an Italian 'four-way stretch' fabric. The fabric feels premium and the stitching is all nicely placed to avoid discomfort. They lean towards the 'boy that's snug' end of the compression scale, which means they provide good support and hold everything in nicely. It's an indicator of the high-performance rider that MAAP clearly has in mind with these shorts.

The legs are longer than many shorts, as is the fashion these days. Personally I'm not a fan and prefer shorter shorts, but each to their own.

There's a good amount of stretch at the front for easy nature breaks, and the bib straps are wide and flat and sit comfortably over the shoulders.

Out on the road and after some very long rides, I can confirm these shorts are very comfortable. The chamois fits nicely, is well shaped and the padding is ample for keeping you nicely cushioned without being too bulky. It's as comfortable as any pad I've used in other similarly priced shorts.

> Buyer's Guide: 18 of the best cycling bib shorts

MAAP is punching high with the price, but the performance is what I would expect for it. They compare well with the £150 Ale R-EV1 Master shorts and Rapha's £195 Pro Team II shorts, but you don't need me to tell you that there are lots of much more affordable designs that offer similar levels of performance, even from the like of Assos, with its £100 T.MilleShorts_s7 shorts.

Verdict

New pad design and hems make these shorts very comfortable, but you pay a high price for them