Best shorts/jersey?
 

Shorts are clearly the more important of the two...what have people found to be the most durable and comfortable. I’ve been experimenting with a few different brands and “levels”. Funny enough a pair of $30 Amazon shorts are the most comfortable so far. I assume the difference will be they will wear out pretty quick. Looking for good quality without spending 150 bucks a pop if I can avoid it.

Best value or best, period?

Well I assume best period is going to be quite pricey and probably unnecessary for me, so I guess I’ll go value. Assuming a certain level of quality is in that equation. So far I like the Louis Garneau Fit Sensor 2 shorts ($80). Seem to have good comfort, be of solid quality and breathe. Only thing I wish they had was a little pocket to slide a phone in when off the bike.

All of my jerseys have pockets,

Assos or go home.

Rapha

In general, you get what you pay for. But I hear you. Who wants to spend over $100 on a pair of shorts? I have worn different brands over the years and at any point, one pair emerges as my favorite, and when it wears out, usually that particular pair of shorts is discontinued or updated. It has to do with fit and the shape of the chamois. So for years, I wore a pair of Specialized shorts I really liked. What I liked was the fit and the shape of the Chamois. My second favorite pair was Gore. Then both of these wore out and now my personal favorite is Aerotech designs, which I bought specifically because the Chamois looked a lot like the Chamois on the Specialized, and fortunately that turned out to be the case. Those go for about $60 or $70 for shorts, or $100 for bibs. Not cheap, but not outrageously expensive either.

As far as jerseys go, just stay away from the really cheap ones, and find a fit you like. Loose, semi form fit, and form fitting jerseys. Pick a fit you like. I have had good luck with Bontrager for looser fit jerseys, Primal, Twin Six, Voler, Mt. Borah, and Pearl Izumi for semi form fit. If you have a decent number, your biggest problem won't be worn out jerseys but rather, a drawer or closet full of jerseys and not enough time to wear them all.

Bibs as far as lowers.....jerseys, well, the world’s your oyster there.

Some will fork down $100 + on either of the top two but in no particular order. Hey, your money for sure. I value shop in this department and have never been disappointed with a $30 pair of bibs as compared to a $120 pair. Jerseys alike.

I've been doing well with Pearl Izumi Quest shorts (around $50). And, I've been happy with Primal jerseys. They run good sales and you can pick up some nice ones $40 or less. Key thing for me is my cell phone fits in the middle pocket comfortably.

Przewalski or Spotti shorts and bibs (these appear to be made by the same manufacturer). I have both and they're outstanding values. As of 2019 they used Dupont CoolMax pads, the most comfortable and best wicking pads I've tried. I'm not sure whether they still use those pads.

Nothing fancy in the appearance of the shorts and bibs, very generic like The Black Bibs. But good quality. My first pair of Przewalski shorts is two years old now, used a lot and shows little wear. I prefer the Spotti bibs over the Black Bibs, although the latter is also an excellent value. The Spotti suspenders stretch more easily to accommodate pee breaks. But the Black Bibs have no rubbery gripper strips on the leg hems, which some folks prefer -- some people get ingrown hairs or rashes from silicone grippers on legs.

Those are all as good as my Pearl Izumi shorts. However I usually prefer Pearl Izumi jerseys, especially their Elite Pursuit Speed jerseys -- excellent values, but the waist hem runs a bit short because it's intended only for wearing with bibs. They just fit me better and are often excellent values when you shop for unsold older stock. Ditto, Louis Garneau kit.

I've had good luck with Performance Bike's second to top of the line shorts. Unfortunately their move to online only had destroyed their service. I ordered a pair a month ago knowing they were out of stock but as of now they have no idea when they will arrive. I have cancelled the order and have a pair of Castelli Competizione shorts on the way. This is the first time I've spent 3 digits on cycling clothing.

Posted numerous times, but I find that shorts and jerseys from Blackbibs are a great value. All day comfy for me.

for my fit, Assos bib shorts and castelli jerseys are top choices . . . full price on either can be expensive, but competitive cyclist often marks down their castelli offerings and the assos usa website has last year's shorts on sale prices, you first select MEN or WOMEN then find the link at the far right side of the page for PAST SEASONS STYLES, also look for assos markdowns on the excel cycling website, great prices albeit in limited supply and sizing

I buy the cheapest Jersey I can find on sale, I don't buy the cheapest shorts I can find but I do wait till they're on sale.

I haven't tried these shorts yet, but Amazon sells one called the Sponeed for around $40 and it gets very high reviews from over 3,000 people. Most of the time I get Aero Tech shorts, but again only when they have a sale.

I also buy the cheapest socks I can get on sale.

But I don't mind spending $100 plus for shoes.

I always look for closeout deals because that's when prices are reduced the most.

I got a pair of The Black Bibs plus earlier this week and took them out for a 45 mile ride today. I find the chamois is much more comfortable than my PI shorts. I'm 6'3" 210 lbs and they are a bit tight in the suspenders. I figure that if/when I order another pair of bibs from them I'll get the tall version which should be about perfect. I see they are now selling shorts and if they are as good a feel as their bibs at $35 that is a pretty good bang for the buck.

Right now my goto bibs are Santic brand from amazon. I also like Racmmer jerseys also at amazon.

Are their jerseys really see through as they seem to be on product photos?

I have the men's orange Race Jersey and it isn't see through. I can't speak of how see through the Aero or Summer jerseys are.

Bud Lite has a lot of devout followers. Big fans. Devoted fans. That does NOT automatically make Bud Lite a good beer choice. For any reason. Just because some very cheap shorts have lots of Amazon reviews does not make them the best shorts of bibs for YOU. Choose carefully. Choose wisely. Life’s too short to drink bad beer. Have some self respect- buy nice cycling gear. You get what you pay for. Invest in yourself.

I'd really like to try Blackbibs but they seem perpetually out of stock. Trying some Castelli Endurance 2, jury is still out but leaning towards acceptable.

Jersey, who cares the brand. As long as it is obnoxious, messaging, bike cultural signaling, or otherwise not team kit go for it. I have yet to see a highest tier team kit I'd like to wear. Mostly because of the companies involved.

Ive owned top of the line stuff from Sportful, Castelli, Assos and Pearl.

The Castelli and Sportful both had stitching start to come undone at the chamois within a few months of wearing. This was their good stuff too (Premios and LTD). Besides the stitching issue, I really like the Sportful’s. The Castelli chamois placement doesn’t get along too well with me, but that’s a personal preference thing.
The Pearl leg grippers stretched out and became loose way too early.

Assos is by far my favorite out of those brands. They are really just excellent. My go to brand for value though is DHB. Their Aeron line is nothing flashy or special, but they are consistently good and fit me well without breaking the bank. Their newer 2020 stuff is a big improvement over their earlier stuff too. When on sale, which is pretty much always, you can snag their Aeron or Aeron speed bibs for 60-80 bucks and they blow everything out of the water from that price range to even over double that price from what I have personally experienced.

Were The Black Bibs out of stock pre-pandemic?

+1 For Rapha

I like my De Soto bibs. For jerseys the hard thing is finding something I actually want to wear; earlier today I ordered a Spesh long-sleeved summer jersey because it looked OK and is long-sleeved.

rapha all day.