Rapha overhauls its Pro Team bib shorts for third iteration in search of ultimate comfort

Rapha has gone back to the drawing board with its range-topping Pro Team bib shorts, with this third generation boasting a new chamois pad that’s proprietary to Rapha, new fabrics and fewer panels. It says they’re its most comfortable high performance shorts ever.

Rapha says that it’s let its EF Education pros loose sitting on the pad, which it says has already been road tested over a total of 400,000km. The new seat pad increases the amount of high density foam padding, with a reticulated net-like structure that Rapha says helps to mould to your derriere and wicks sweat away quickly.

The seat pad is sewn into a new fabric structure which reduces the number of panels and seams. There’s a new fabric used for the body of the shorts, which is made in Italy and which Rapha says has a high strength to weight ratio, provides compression and helps to increase seat pad stability. It’s also claimed to assist with thermo-regulation.

The leg hems are laser cut, there are lay-flat bib straps and a mesh waist section, which Rapha says provide optimum fit, functionality and support.