Hi dollar cycling shorts - worth it?

ghsmith54 said:

For the last several years, I've used Pearl Izumi Ultra Sensor shorts pretty much exclusively and have generally been happy with them. I was recently talking to someone who'd bought a set of the Assos F1.3 bibs who raved about the comfort and have considered springing for a set. The price tag of more than $200 is certainly enough to give me pause though so I'm wondering whether or not they (or any of the other more expensive shorts) are worth the extra cost. I'd appreciate replies from those who've tried both.

Greg

I just moved upto IP Attack and Ultrasensor shorts from the mid-line Performance house brand (@$35) I'll never go back. Wow what a difference. twice the price, but infinatly more comfortable esp. on hot days. I would be interested in trying a pr. of Asso's (sp?). I've tried bib's, they were ok, I expected a much bigger comfort difference than I got tho.

i recently bought a pair of Hincapie shorts for $100, and they are very nice.

i can't speak to whether spending more money always ends up in greater comfort, but i have been very unhappy with several 'store brand' shorts that go for cheap !

ghsmith54 said:

For the last several years, I've used Pearl Izumi Ultra Sensor shorts pretty much exclusively and have generally been happy with them. I was recently talking to someone who'd bought a set of the Assos F1.3 bibs who raved about the comfort and have considered springing for a set. The price tag of more than $200 is certainly enough to give me pause though so I'm wondering whether or not they (or any of the other more expensive shorts) are worth the extra cost. I'd appreciate replies from those who've tried both.

Greg

My faves are Pearls that ran about $70 -- can't remember which model. I had Assos FI13 bibs, and actually didn't think they were anything special, so I eBay'd 'em! Part of it was they were too short in the upper body for me, but even so, the chamois wasn't any more comfy than the Pearls are. I have since bought Performance house brand 'ultra' bibs, and they seem as good. I have some Voler shorts, and they are too long and the chamois seems to chafe me a bit since it has a seam on each side and the legs are a little too long for my tastes (bibs seem to be shorter in the leg).

Everyone's different, I guess. But I definitely see a correlation between price and overall quality.

I have a few pair of shorts ranging from cheap performance, mid grade perforamnce, and mid grade PI. My favorite so far are definetly the midgrade Performance(the kind with the gel pad) Oh yeah bibs are definetly the way to go. I think 200 is a bit high for shorts. I have tried the expensive nike bibs and think the pad is just a bit thin....I know nike and assos are completely different but to me most upper brands seem like the pad is a bit thin.

quote from famous framebuilder:

light, strong, cheap

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