Etxeondo Attaque Bib Short

These Etxeondo Attaque shorts are excellent but there's just one thing that puts us off and that's the small matter of the £230 price tag.

We'll come back to the price in a bit and try to ignore that particular elephant in the room for the time being. In terms of quality, we have to say that these are fantastic. The Lycra Sport fabric is very soft and stretchy and it's cut really well for a comfortable fit throughout. The shorts maintain their shape almost perfectly even when you're not wearing them so there's virtually no pulling or over-tightness anywhere when you put them on.

All the seams are triple-stitched which adds to the durability and silicone rubber inside the leg grippers holds them in place well. There aren't too many shorts where the logo – which is placed at the top of your butt/base of your back – is embroidered. Nothing makes a new pair of shorts look old and tired quicker than logos cracking and peeling off; that isn't going to happen here. You don't feel that embroidery against your skin, by the way, because there's a mesh lining behind it.

The bib section is made of mesh too – a double thickness with a Lycra panel between your shoulder blades to stop them slipping to the sides. They're highly breathable and very wide to spread the load.

The other key feature is the chamois. It's made by Cytech and, although Etxeondo say they've had plenty of input into the design, it's closely related to the Multi-D Comp Carbonium. It's designed for endurance rides and the foam varies in depth from 3mm to 10mm, the deepest section through the middle and underneath your sit bones.

The pad is stretchy in all directions so it maintains good contact with your skin and it shifts moisture away efficiently; a central channel helps with that and also relieves pressure. The pad is designed to be antibacterial too. How successful it is, I couldn't tell you. What I can tell you is that I've done some big rides in these shorts on some unfamiliar bikes and that pad has always been perfectly comfortable with excellent cushioning and no rubbing.

These shorts are clearly very high quality. The materials are excellent, the construction is top-class – they're made in Spain, Etxeondo being a Spanish brand – and there are a few neat little design touches like that embroidered logo and the red gripper on the right leg (which, I guess, is a matter of taste). Plus, best of all, they feel great throughout even the longest, hardest rides.

The only problem is that long-trunked, big-eared elephant of a price tag. These are great shorts but the fabric will still get caught on the Velcro of your gloves, a long jersey zip or whatever. If I'd spent over £200 on a pair of shorts, that would hurt. Personally, I wouldn't pay that much. But if you are willing to shell out on what will be among the most comfortable bike shorts you ever wear, well, these are a bit special.

Verdict

Excellent materials and a top-class construction but there's no getting around it – these are expensive