momoman

+1 for Assos. My former neighbor who rode 50-100 miles all the time told me his riding group swore Assos were the most comfortable. I balked at spending that much. Last Summer a friend in my riding group got us free tickets for the Amgen Tour of California Finish Line Event at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. There was an Assos trailer there and we went in. The sales guy there explained the construction of the bib shorts and mentioned the crotch area was designed to hold your junk so it would feel like it was "cradled by the hand of God." Whoa! One of my buddies bought 2 bib shorts and i bought 1 at full price, ~$200. It is the most comfortable short I've ever worn. I've tried Performance, Canari, Pearl Izumi, Voler, Descante (back in 80's), The Canari gel shorts were pretty comfortable but the gel deteriorated after many washes.

The least comfortable was the mid-level Performance shorts. I remember on one ride I stopped and got off the bike to look in my shorts to see if I had put them on backwards! They were that uncomfortable. LOL.

NoWhammies

7Mesh. I have multiple bibs and multiple jerseys. Quality stuff through and through.

diphthong

have never had any luck with durability of bib shorts...even handwashing and line drying them, regardless of price.
i pick up the pryzewalski bibs now at a third-or a sixth-of the price. if i buy four pair and religiously rotate them, they last about
3 years riding 5,000 miles. a .75 year average from a comfortable bib short that can handle centuries and 20+ mile mountain climbs works for me.

now jerseys, i'll splurge since they seem to last longer with the same care. i've got a few older rapha and de marchi ones still going nicely.

a1penguin

Voler. I bought one of their "sample" top of the line bibs for $30. They fit me so well and the chamois was excellent. They looked brand new to me. I ordered two more bibs and a matching jersey. I ordered Black Bibs a couple of years ago. They run *really* small.

My last pair of shorts were Performance Ultra and I loved the mesh material, but they changed every year. The lower end shorts didn't fit me very well.

I've been very pleased with the two Castelli long sleeve heavy winter jerseys I bought. Perfect for mild NorCal winters without requiring any base layer many days.

bruce19

Assos fits me best and they last for a long time. I have bibs that are 5 yrs. old. I switched to Assos 5 yrs. ago I paid $139 on sale. So, that's less than $30 a yr. so far. One caveat....all their gear is race fit.

silverado8405

Thankfully I’ve found three brands that suit my sensitive backside, in no particular order, Rapha, Assos, and Castelli. Tried numerous others and just didn’t get along with them. Either the pad didn’t fit right or was too thick/thin or flat out too short in the front causing unwanted rubbing on sensitive bits.

As far as jerseys go I’m a huge fan of the Voler (mystery jerseys!!) and Borah Teamwear stuff, kinda lukewarm on the Rapha and have yet to form an opinion on Primal as I just ordered it yesterday. I like the fit of the Rapha one but the zipper is backwards and the logo on the back pocket has disintegrated after a few months of usage. I’m more of a fan of printed on logos/designs as I feel they stand the test of time a bit better than the vinyl/plastic/whatever iron/glued on ones are.

AdkMtnMonster

Its not all race fit any more... (thumbs up!). For example, the Mille GT bibs and half shorts say,

“regularFit: Optimized for total comfort in the riding position, with a more relaxed cut than our second-skin racingFit.”

Great gear. It’s more than apparel. It’s equipment.

speedlever

I haven't bought any shorts in a long time, but need to get some new shorts. I'm not into the bib thing. PI Quest over on Amazon is getting bad reviews for a change in the style of chamois. My old PI shorts have lasted many years and miles, so that's where I looked first.

I'm looking for value... long lasting and good quality for the money. Not necessarily the cheapest, but something that offers genuine value and preferably reasonably priced. BlackBibs looks to be out of stock on all their shorts in my size (L).


Edit: ordered a pair of Sponeed and a pair of Przewalski 4D shorts. Reasonably priced... will see how I like them.

swifty

My experience, in order of comfort (worst to best):

Pearl Izumi (pro)
Santini
Assos (T Mille)
Craft (C1)

Fox Farm

Assos

Hiro11

Rapha
MAAP
Assos
Eliel
Ornot