Assos T.Neopro_S7 bib shorts review

At £120 they may not seem like budget bib shorts, but with a range going up to £295, the Assos T.Neopro_S7 bib shorts are the cheapest shorts that the Swiss brand has to offer. Even these bargain basement Assos bib shorts are not bad – although you need to be careful with sizing, as the mediums came up quite generous on me. A tester with a more racing snake build found that the leg grippers were too loose around his thighs.

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At the heart of any pair of bib shorts is the pad and Assos has always been renown for the quality of its offering. The Assos T.Neopro_S7 bib shorts come with a pad from Elastic Interface, the Italian makers of many of the world’s best seatpads. There are two dense foam inserts sewn into the pad where you sit on your saddle, while the rest of the pad is a much thinner perforated foam, all covered with a purple facing fabric. The thickness of the thicker sections does not taper at all, but I really didn’t notice their edges.

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Unusually, Assos does not sew the pad completely into the shorts, so you can see the pad’s innards. Instead it's tack stitched at the front and rear while the middle section is left free to allow the pad to fit better to your position as you ride. Assos calls this its goldenGate design.

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Assos says it’s kept the price down by simplifying the construction. So although there are few seams on the Assos T.Neopro_S7 bib shorts, they are not flatlocked. This increases the potential for irritation, although I never experienced any problems when out riding. There’s still only a single seam up the legs and this is positioned on the outside, so there’s no chance of chafing from the saddle.

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There’s a seam from the middle of the front, under the seat and up to the bottom of the bibs. These have a dart-shaped base, so that their mesh fabric extends a bit lower in the middle – a nice touch to improve air circulation in an area where your jersey’s pockets and their contents are likely to make you hotter and promote sweat build-up.

The rear yoke has seams, but the bibs themselves are single layer, seamless and plenty broad enough to fit comfortably over the shoulders. The shorts are finished off by single layer thigh grippers with silicone dots on the inside.

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Assos’s entry level shorts are certainly the match for other brands’ offerings at this price point and Assos has a reputation for durability. I certainly found the Assos T.Neopro_S7 bib shorts more than adequate for medium length rides. The fabric includes 18% elastane, so despite their simpler construction and slightly generous fit, there’s enough stretch to ensure a comfortable ride.

For more details visit the Assos website.