Milltag Sector Men Bibs

Milltag's Sector Men Bib Shorts are well made and comfortable, but not as supportive as I'd like. The price isn't bad for the quality, especially the pad, and the leg grippers work well and comfortably too, but I did have some niggles with the fit – not helped by the eight-panel construction.

Milltag's Sector range is a premium race collection where each product has been created for the high-tempo demands of competition. The graphics on the ends of the legs match the pattern on the rest of the Sector wardrobe of jersey, gilet and jacket.

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The main body of the bibs is constructed from four-way stretch Lycra and Milltag says it has made the shorts with fewer panels (eight, in fact) for comfort, which goes against conventional wisdom that suggests more panels make for a better fit and thus more comfort. But what the shorts lack in panels they more than make up for in fabric technology, with Eschler mesh-backed Lycra supposedly increasing airflow and Coldblack treatment added to the material to reduce the heat absorbed by black clothing by reflecting those nasty UV rays – both designed to give your thighs a more pleasurable experience in the sunniest and hottest conditions.

The patterned sections at the hem, or Power Cuffs as they're called, have an integrated silicone gripper, meaning the skin side of the fabric is covered in tiny tacky dots to keep the shorts tight to your legs. In practice it's less noticeable and more comfortable than the concentrated band of silicone some other shorts use as it's a broad swathe of slightly sticky material and you can't noticeably feel the silicone sticking on your leg, but the cuffs do still keep a nice firm grip to the thigh.

The bibs are a mesh construction, or 'body-netting' if you will, of three parts, the front being a fine mesh, and the rear a more holey fabric with a central Lycra panel that extends up to the mid back.

The heart of any shorts is the pad and the one in the bottom of the Milltag Sectors comes from Cytech, a company that produces a range of pads used by far more famous names than Milltag and included in far more expensive shorts than the Sectors. The Road Performance chamois is extensively patterned with all sorts of contours, ridges and bumps to form an incredibly complex pad. It's thick as well, with three levels of anti-bacterial impact foam for shock absorption and memory foam for maximum comfort and rapid sweat-wicking. The pad is only attached to the shorts around the edges, the 'No Sew' system around the centre allowing the pad a small amount of independent movement to the shorts for easier saddle shuffling. The pad is noticeably thick under cheek, maybe even too padded for some, which keeps things more than happy down there whether you're racing or going further afield, and there hasn't been any foam compression yet.

The low panel construction of the shorts does make them feel less fitted than others, and they do feel a bit vague in parts and wrinkle a bit more in places, especially at the front around the join between top of leg and torso. This isn't helped by the relative light weight of the material, though the four-way stretch of the Lycra does do its best to keep everything together. You can feel how elastic that stretch is and how much it gives compared with other shorts when you pull them on, but although they might not feel the most supportive of shorts in critical areas, they remain comfortable for the duration of any ride.

The Eschler mesh-backed Lycra technology and Coldblack treatment are harder to quantify as regards their efficacy but the material is lightweight which makes them pleasant to ride in when the going gets hot, be that when riding with a sweat on through effort or through higher ambient temperatures.

Fit and comfort of a pair of shorts is always very personal, but these Milltag Sectors fall into the acceptably okay for me rather than all-day favourites or the first shorts out the drawer before heading out on a ride. There's nothing necessarily bad about them at all, and they do have some features of note, especially for the price: the chamois is well padded and shaped for all-day comfort, the Lycra is light and nice against the skin, and the thigh grippers work really well. The pattern at the end of the legs looks smart, too, especially if you pair them up with the matching top, if that sort of thing matters to you.

> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best cycling bib shorts

But sadly, the low panel count and lightweight Lycra make them just the tiniest bit baggy when you might want snug; it's not going to ruin your ride but it just feels a little disconnected in important places where things should be happily at one with each other. I'm usually a stock medium in most shorts and these were a little loose in the lap; admittedly, I'm probably at the thin end of the size after a long summer of riding so if you're a more medium medium then this might be less of an issue for you. 

Price-wise they're pretty good, though there's plenty of competition out there. Jack rated dhb's 'most technical shorts to date', the £80 Aeron Speeds, very highly, and Sportful's Gruppetto bib shorts are worth considering too, at £85.

Verdict

Good looking shorts with some nice features that are more than comfortable enough, but may lack support for some