Santini Triton Windstopper bib tights review

When we see the Gore Windstopper badge on an item of clothing we have come to expect excellent quality, fit, breathability and warmth. The Santini Triton bib tights live up to those expectations. These tights are designed to be worn in the coldest of cycling conditions with Santini claiming a massive suitable temperature range of –8ºC to +10ºC. We never went out below –2ºC owing to the potential ice risk, but these tights kept us warm and very comfortable. The excellent breathability of the fabric ensured that things never got too warm when the temperature rose to double figures either.

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Deep winter tights all to often fall down with regards to fit. Through making fabrics more windproof manufacturers are often forced to reduce the elasticity and stretch. This all too often results in a compromised fit, such as that seen in the Madison Sportive Shield bib tights. This is not the case with the Santini Tritons. The Gore Windstopper fabric is the same as that found in the Castelli Gabba and offers excellent stretch, resulting in a superb fit. The bottom line? These are the best fitting deep winter tights we have tested. For reference, our tester was 6'1, 69kgs and a size medium fitted perfectly.

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The chamois is comfortable and unobtrusive too. On rides as long as 160 km we had no issues and the antibacterial treatment appeared to play its part too. Crucially there was no chafing on the edges of the pad either. Santini call it a 'GIT' chamois. We're not sure about the choice of name (perhaps something was lost in translation), but the performance and fit is nothing short of excellent.

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The tights feature a white reflective panels on the calf and some reflective piping too. This adds an element of visibility without turning you into a fluorescent health and safety officer. The ankles also feature zips to ensure a close fit and in practice these work pretty well.

One downside we encountered was when attempting to conduct 'nature stops.' The Pearl Izumi Amfib tights have a flap which you can open and other tights are cut lower at the front, to allow easier access. While the Tritons are not cut high, we still felt access to the family jewels could be easier.

The Pearl Izumis also win out with regard to the ankle coverings and stirrups. The bottom portion of the tights are held in place better and the coverings stop water seeping into your overshoes. Its a close run thing between the two pairs and we feel that if the best attributes of these pairs were combined it would result in the best pair of bib tights available to humanity.

For more information head over Santini.