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Milan San Remo takes place this Saturday and for some British cyclists at least represents the day when it’s acceptable to dust off your best summer road bike as spring approaches. Unfortunately, here in the UK, my last ride featured snow on the ground and it felt like winter was doing its level best to cling onto March.
For that ride, I wore the Rapha Pro Team Winter bib tights, the brand’s heaviest-duty offering for the worst conditions winter can throw at you, as I have for dozens of rides this past winter while testing for our best winter bib tights buyers guide. Rapha claims they are for cold weather racing and training, and I can’t disagree.
Specifications: Rapha Pro Team II bib tights
Price: £250 / $325 / €285 / AU$420
Materials: Leg: Nylon/Elastane Bib: 92% Polyester 8% Spandex Side Panels: 53% Polyester 34% Polyamide13% Elastane
Available sizes: XS-XXL
Colours: Burgundy / Dark Lime – Navy / Black / Black-White
They sit alongside five other pairs of bib tights in the Rapha range. The Classic winter tights sit just below the Pro Team and are a touch cheaper, while the Core winter tights are £110 ($150 / AU$190 / €125) less. I recently reviewed the lighter-weight Pro Team Training bib tights and got on brilliantly with them, this is my review for their heavier-duty stablemates.
The Pro Team bib tights carry a retail price of £250 ($325 / AU$420 / €285) and are something of a direct competitor with the MAAP Apex thermal bib tights. They come in four different colours, but I tested the black/white version in a size small.
Design and aesthetics
The Pro Team tights are comprised of multiple panels and a couple of different types of material. The rear of each leg has a soft brushed fleece fabric whilst the whole of the front of the legs extending up to the bib straps uses Polartec power grid fleece material. I mentioned Polartec in my Maap Thermal base layer review but to recap, the Power Grid’s square-shaped material pattern aids warmth and moisture transportation. The fabric on the front also has a DWR (durable water repellant) coating which helps protect from showers and spray.
The bib straps themselves are just over 4cm wide and are a thick, stretchy polyester. The strap width ensures they always lie flat comfortably. There is also a race radio pocket on the back of the bibs, something most amateurs won’t be using but they are Pro Team by name, and pro team by design.
The chamois is…
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