cyclezen

HI All,
In another thread regarding cycling bottoms and in particular, the chamois pad, I had noted that I had found a reference to a company - BlackBibs.com.
I had done a internet search for 'cycling thin chamois pad', and a bicycling.com article popped up with reference to the Blackbibs.com bib. At $40, my interest was piqued.
So I went there and ordered a pair - in Navy, size M. Received very quickly, in a few days. Total cost was $50 - which included $7 shipping and remainder in sales tax.
$40 and even $50 dollars doesn't seem to get you much in cycling kit, these days. So I was interested to see what this brings.
Before I get into the '1st use review', I will give some of my info, to help qualify my comments.
Almost 74 spins around the sun, of which 56 years as either licensed racer or performance rider, still riding quite a bit - in season about 5-6/wk. 5' 9", 145 lbs, weird body is quite long legs and arms, very short torso ( 6' 3" legs under a 5' 3" torso... LOL!). No real butt, thin legs (not skinny). 33 waist, 34 pants leg inseam. These definitely affect how I 'see' and 'like' kit.
Usually my Bibs are in the $100 - $160 price range.
SO - bibs were noted in Bicycling article as having 'thin chamois pad' - and I do hunt for those because, THIN chamois is best for me, has always been, for 56 years...
Well, These really are the EXACT Opposite... from what bicycling said. I was a bit disappointed when I received them, BUT, I now accustomed to being disappointed in this area. Real Chamois is history, and all the modern, synthetic chamois is very much about 'padding'. I don;t need it, but am putting up with the 'progression'.
The '1st ride' use, was today, 32 mi, 1300 vert ft of real climbing, 1 hr 54 min, 8 mph headwind for 1/2 the ride, same for tailwind on return. steady pace zone 3.
OVERALL Summary - for anyone not interested in reading all the words - These are quite nice, reasonable comfort, good quality construction, chamois pad was not 'uncomfortable' Fit me quite good - For $50, they were as good any any $80-90 bibs I've seen/used.
Details (also see photo of the chamois/bibs)
Fit me quite well. Spandex Fabric wasn;t super-high end, but seems better quality than most of the stuff in this price range. SHort Body comes up fairly high, so not likely a 'go-to' for really hot days - for me. Picture shows, these are overlock stitched, not flat-lock. Even so I had no problems with stitching being uncomfortable. Leg inseam length is fine for me, not down to knee (which I truly dislike). I think company noted a 10 inch inseam length for size M - is what I also measured. Shoulder straps are venting mesh and short enough to fit my short torso, yet long and elastic enough to prolly fit a 3 inch longer torso.

Blackbibs.com - my navy bibs in M
The chamois Pad - quite thick in places. But it does have variable thickness and is comfortable without any real irritation. NOTE - the day was sunny, but very mild temp at 65 F, so no real heat or heavy perspiration, even on stronger pace segments or climbing. The padding in the key places is variable and becomes quite thick going back and up the bib, to the sitzbones area. It's so thick that when I 1st got on the bike, I did experience as those my seating position had changed. Legs felt more stretched, I felt 'seated higher'. The sitz pad area is definitely thicker than any of my other bottoms. Enough that I 'Felt' the difference (I usually can 'feel' a difference in leg extension of 2-3 mm).
Also, my sitzbones hit the pad area near the front edge of the heavier, ticker, stiffer foam pads which are the largest portion of padding. I think someone with a bit more 'butt' than I have, will find themselves sitting more 'center' of the large rear padding area. I didn;t really feel any discomfort, just felt weird for the first 15 min of ride - but mostly forgot about this by 1/2 way point.
No legs grippers, just folded back leg material which was stitched. In other, older shorts without a gripper band or gripper fabric band, the shorts legs would creep up. No problem with these. The slightly longer leg length and good dimensioning of that area, keeps the short leg in place with no leg creep, forme.
my conclusion - These bibs are quite good, given the price point, fit well and ride ok, for me, and my dimensions.
Sometimes shorts or bibs in different color options may also be made with different fabrics - because that's what's available. My bibs are with the Navy fabric. The Black bibs might be with the same fabric or be different - you'd need to ask to confirm any of this.
If a rider has a budget and wishes to stay in this price range - there are about as good as I've found for Bibs up to $90. I happy with them and how they function and certainly got my money's worth.
I prolly won;t be here at BF for the immediate future, so if you have Qs, I would address them with the company.
Ride On
Yuri

Eric F 

My experience...They hit above their price point, and the pad is pretty good. My pair, however, started losing elasticity in the leg openings, which left things looking a bit wonky. I also found that the cut on the shoulder straps is such that they are a little odd to put on compared to every other set of bibs I have. Mine have become relegated to trainer use only. YMMV.

shelbyfv

Where's my tater?

cyclezen

ERRATA !!! the correct URL for the company is: theblackbibs.com !!!!
DO NOT use blackbibs.com - it will take you into internet hell ! LOL!
(almost the 9th level of hell, like trying to 'edit' a post here on BF... I went to 'edit' hell here... don;t follow me)
Ride On
Yuri

Wildwood 

I have a couple of pairs of bib shorts from them - BlackBibs. They are OK. No complaints. My rides are almost always less than 40 miles.

cyclezen

Yeah ! Thanks for noting that ! You're 100% on the leg openings not having any grip mechanism! I noticed that right away when taking them out of the bag. I had noted that in the 'review', but now I see that somehow it's no longer part of the review - not sure what happened... And I'm not about to try to EDIT that post...
So, Yeah, it's a definite weak point on the construction. The leg openings are just the material, folded back and stitched. Having a longer, thinner leg I don;t stretch the leg opening as much as someone with a beefier thigh/leg. But definitely a consideration.
It would be a major improvement if the company were to add a good grip mechanism to the leg.
Thx
Yuri

Eric F 

I have other bibs without a grippy fabric (NeoPro - also a very good bargain), that do fine on my legs and haven't had the same issue with losing elasticity. Generally speaking, however, I prefer bibs to be a bit grippy at the leg opening.

Canker

Just received my first pair and splurged on their Ultimate $80 bibs which have a "better" pad and the silicon leg grippers. Haven't ridden them yet but they feel pretty quality coming from mostly cheaper bibs.

mstateglfr 

I returned the least expensive shorts immediately- the leg band is, for me, woefully unimpressive
The Ultimate bibs model is fine- I have a pair still from many years back at this point, but they are easily the least compressive bibs I own. I like more compression.

The stomach panel on black bibs goes up really high. Like probably 10" or more beyond where my Voler Black Label bibs reach. That makes em run hot, especially when zwifting indoors.
For shoulder season riding where cold biting wind hits, the higher panel is nice.

Koyote

Seems like that would make mid-ride bathroom breaks more difficult.

Canker

Well I had my first ride today with my ultimates on a 14 mile rocky/rooty mtn bike ride. Best thing I can say about them is I didn't think about them the whole ride. My shoulders and legs are sore, butt is fine. Still need to get a road ride in before I order another pair or two to replace my worn out kinda see through bibs.

pdlamb

Everything's a tradeoff. Black Bibs are great for tall people riding with short people jerseys, but bathroom breaks are problematic.

mstateglfr 

Yes for sure. I have to kinda bend over a bit to curve my spine to get enough stretch in the upper part of the shorts to pull em down enough. Good point- that is something I definitely notice when I do wear them and have to take a mid-ride break.
They really are something I rarely reach for- lack of compression, only comfortable for me in shoulder season, distance of 25mi or less- combined, that makes for not too many rides.


I am 6'5 and love my Voler Black Label bibs. They scoop down far enough to make pulling em down very easy, they are highly compressive, the straps are around the nips instead of over the nips, and the shoulder straps as well as leg length are plenty long enough. Cant say there is a tradeoff for those, unless the higher price is considered the tradeoff. I would say the higher quality offsets that 'tradeoff' though and it isnt a tradeoff.
Anyways, no jerseys that I wear will ride up to show skin even though the Voler bibs scoop down lower than the Black Bibs. I do know what you are referring to and if I had that body type/dimensions, I would definitely look for a bib panel that rises up higher.
I dont think my jerseys are abnormally shaped- they are just jerseys from Donkey Label, Voler, and Rapha...but none are race fit, so they all fit close to the body without any flapping, but not painted on.

Koyote

The feedback on these bibs explains why I tend to buy only higher end cycling apparel. I am not keen on things that only work “kind of well.“ Or things that can only be used for certain rides or ride distances.

mstateglfr 

Fully agreed.

The bibs I like a lot are great for 15mi, 30mi, 70mi, 100mi. Its pretty redundant to then have some bibs that are OK overall and work well for under a couple hours.
I actually tried the Black Bibs initially because I wanted to see how their 'long' bibs fit me due to my height. A lot of cycling clothing has been hit/miss due to height and thats probably the case with a lot of people for varying reason- tall, short, long leg, long torso, wide, etc etc. So when a brand specifically has a fit that is geared towards me, there is some interest, even if it isnt high end. I figured this stuff was just expensive enough to take the leap. In the end though, there is a reason why I own multiple pairs of Voler Black Label and Voler Cache bibs, but just 1 pair of The Black Bibs.

Kinda funny unintended result- I use the Black Bibs a decent amount on the trainer. Bibs but no shirt works well since the bibs go up so high, I dont need a shirt and regulate temp pretty well indoors.

BCDrums

I like a bargain, but I'm not looking for the low bidder with cycling shorts. My favorite shorts and bibs are from Boure. They make me feel, uh, secure.

genejockey 

I bought The Black Bibs mid-range bibs, the $60 ones. Fit and finish were great, the pad was nice, they were comfy. HOWEVER, they slid all over the saddle. It was like they were made of teflon. I had to keep skooching back in the saddle about every minute or so, because I'd slid forward about an inch. This was true with every bike I have that I tried them on, and I have a lot of bikes. Before anyone says 'Your fit is wrong', let me point out that I have NEVER had that problem with ANY other bibs. Only these. In the end I had to pitch them.

tomato coupe

I have some “high bib” Pearl Izumi that fill the same role.

rosefarts

In your picture, you can see the pad is segmented. It’s not a single piece. I’ve got the same ones as you. That gap makes a pressure or pinch point. I’ve tried on several occasions to make them work. I can’t. Every single time I get a painful red crescent shaped mark just right of my taint.

This is not an issue with other brands.

If you want cheap, go with prezwalski on Amazon. The fit is a little short on the bibs and the fabric is a bit thin but they don’t hurt to use.

Garthr

All this is very useful to me as I've been looking for alternatives to what I've been wearing of late and that's Sportful Bodyfit Pro LTD and Fiandre Pro bibs. I'm tall and thin so the slim euro fit works great for me in a size large for 6'2". I don't wear medium in anything. The last couple of years though their LTD bibs strap material doesn't have the same elasticity it had as years past. If they get any worse I won't buy any more. I buy them off season, so the price is typically 45-50% off retail. While their warranty dept has never left me disappointed, the problem is I've had to use their warranty often due to stitching coming undone. I've since taken it upon myself to use McNett Seam Grip WP waterproof seam sealer on the outside when threads start coming undone. Just a dab, as it dries hard, but it's very very durable.

I've been on the fence about the Black Bibs Ultimate, Boure and Voler. I can cross off TBB Ultimate ! Boure inseams are too short for me @9.5" in a large, so I'd have to pay an extra 25% just to get it longer. Ouch. I bet the quality is outstanding though. I might try Voler's Black Label or Caliber, as the large with compression fabric may fit me snug without feeling too loose. I like that the pad goes up well in the front like they do on Sportful bibs with the TC Pro pad. It used to drive me nuts that pads didn't extend up high enough "back in the day"/80's/90's. I can't wear anything that doesn't have that kind of pad anymore. If someone wonders why one may prefer that, all I can say is to try some and let it speak for itself.

So the best "economical" bibs are either to buy a good brand on sale, or hey, if a quality bib costing more is very durable and lasts longer, you simply don't need to be buying them as often. While I don't wear them but on short winter rides under some thermals, I have a Santini bib from the early 90's that has not deteriorated one bit. While it's not compressive, the fabric is sublimely soft. Italian fabric at it's finest !

robalong

Cheers!

LarrySellerz

Hi Yuri, thanks for your detailed review. mad props for knowing your body proportions so well, down to the numbers

jaxgtr

So I was in need of some new bibs and I picked up a pair of the BB Ultimate. For me, I found them quite comfortable and they worked really well. I will say the material feel is slightly more slick compared to the Louis Garneau I have been riding. However, I did not have any issue with sliding on the seat as @geanjockey mentioned with his experience. As far as the height of the front panel. I guess I am used to that, as the LG Fit Sensor and Fit Sensor 2 bibs do that as well, but never gave me any issues. Had 2 longer rides, 85 and 50, and both were very comfy for the entire journey and I did not find them any warmer or cooler than what I am used to either.

Sierra_rider

I got a pair of the Black Bib Ultimates a couple weeks ago...I like almost everything about them, it seems like just the right amount of padding and I had virtually no soreness after 5-6 hour rides. However, the straps are ultra wide, they bunch up just a bit, and then chaff my nipples...never had this problem with any other bib. I wore them on yesterday's 6 hour ride, just with my pasties I fashioned out of blue painter's tape. That seemed to do the trick, and it was a generally comfortable ride.

mstateglfr 

I have no idea why any clothing brand would route the bib straps directly over the nips.
That's absurd.