Craft Monument Bib Shorts

The Craft Monument Bib Shorts are a great pair of cycling shorts with a comfortable pad, strong grippers and plenty of stretch in the fabric to allow unrestricted movement.

• Pros: Well made, comfortable pad, strong grippers
• Cons: More flatlock stitching would be good...

The shorts are designed to go with the Monument range of jerseys and caps that pay homage to some of cycling's biggest Classic races such as Milan-San Remo, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Flanders and the Giro di Lombardia.

As with all bib shorts, the most important element is undoubtedly the pad, although pad comfort is, of course, subjective. Here, Craft has used its own Infinity C2 design with multiple foam densities. I found it very comfortable, and the flatlock stitching along the edges means there are no problems with irritation when pedalling. Having used the shorts on several longer rides I found that the pad could easily cope with over three hours in the saddle.

Craft has used a Lycra Sport Energy material with a four-way stretch, with two panels being used on each leg. They offer a good range of movement and also an excellent fit. There's flatlock stitching on the legs, but it's not used throughout the shorts, such as between the top and bottom. Once you get going you can't really feel it though, and I didn't notice the seams at all through an underlayer.

Additionally, Craft claims that these bib shorts offer light compression to help with muscle performance. That's a hard one to measure; all I can really say is that they feel comfortably tight without restricting movement.

The legs are kept in place by a wide elastic hem with silicone grippers. It works really well – I certainly didn't notice them riding up at all throughout the review period.

The shorts section seems about right size-wise, with the front sitting midway up my abdominals, so nature breaks were pretty simple and there wasn't a huge amount of material building up heat.

The back and straps are made from a stretchy mesh, with the straps being wide enough to prevent any twisting or rubbing, and the hemmed edges mean they're comfortable throughout longer rides.

Ventilation through the mesh is decent and the Lycra material used throughout the leg section quickly moves moisture away from the skin while also being very quick drying, which also helps with comfort.

With an RRP of £110, these bib shorts are in the mid-range performance bracket, and with the material choices and comfortable pad it doesn't seem an excessive price. Mind you, I would like to see more flatlock stitching used for bibs over £100. They are up against some stiff competition, too, including from Castelli and Northwave.

> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best cycling bib shorts

Overall, these are a very good pair of bib shorts. They have a comfortable pad, good material choice, and allow a nice range of movement. And if you like the design, you can pair them with the Monument jersey and the Monument cap – in various Classics designs…

Verdict

A well made and comfortable pair of bib shorts, good for longer rides