Vanelli Proline Bib Shorts

Tell us what the product is for

The Vanelli Proline Bib Shorts are designed to be unassuming with minimal branding on black material. The fabric, an 80/20 blend of polyester and elastane, is Italian, and Vanelli has focused on aero gains and presumably comfort by reducing seams to a minimum. The silicone-bonded leg feeds into this aim, creating a very snug fit around the thighs.

Vanelli says: "For the Proline Bib Shorts we are using Italian fabrics and embedded silicone in the legs for comfort and importantly durability. Minimal seams for aero gains and the superb YBC Unico pad. The above is available both retail and custom. It slots in at the top of our range above the already very popular Evoline Bibs."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

New Bib shorts for 2023!

All Black Design with discreet Vanelli logo

Italian Fabric.

Minimal Seams For Aero Gains.

Latest YBC Pad.

Silicone Bonded Leg.

The silicone-bonded leg tightens the overall fit and creates a super-snug and comfortable leg area. Made of polyester and elastane so lacking in eco attributes. Once you are wearing (and stretching) the bibs, the gripper, the leg and the pad area all take on slightly different shades so the all-black effect is lost.

There are minimal seams and you would imagine drag is reduced, especially with Vanelli's access to the Silverstone wind tunnels.

The leg material stretches to reveal a white core beneath the black exterior, which does sometimes appear like material fraying, even though it is not. Though there are very few seams, the thigh seams - when stretched - appear white and indicate wear.

The cuffless legs grip firmly on the thigh and feel well made but often bibs in this style start to crimp after a few months of wear. Comfort breaks are something of an issue with the high-rise front.

The sizing was perfect for me - a large fitting snugly on a 187cm male. However, if I had thicker thighs, these bibs would probably be excessively tight.

Heavier than many competitors at 194 grams, which is perhaps a trade off with the better-than-expected YBC padding.

The shoulder straps are split between polyester and elastane, with the elastane providing ample stretch to accommodate different torso lengths. If I had larger sprinters' thighs, the compression of the silicone might provide a comfort issue.

These bibs are around the entry-level price bracket but feel like more expensive competitors. The performance is somewhat let down by the mixed appearance, which might disappoint you if you're after solid black bib shorts.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

No problems with washing so far except for the gradual creep of the white underlayer and whitening of the seams.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

For long rides in the spring season they performed well. They didn't seem to over-insulate my legs, though I did have some pretty spectacular salt rings. Days with over 3000 metres of climbing didn't reveal any comfort shortcomings and they took four straight days of this punishment.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The snugness of the silicone bonded legs meant the bibs stayed in place perfectly and required no mid-ride adjustments.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The white underlayer of the leg area could be misconstrued as looking cheap or indicating wear or stretching, especially alongside the different shades of black on other areas of the bib shorts. It's always useful to be able to have a comfort break without disrobing entirely, but that was definitely a problem here because of the high-rise front.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

The Vanelli Proline Bib Shorts are priced as not quite an entry-level bib short at £75, and while the alternative seam position might not aesthetically be to everyone's taste, the Vanellis are comfortable, compressing and feel well made.

Compare this to the slightly more expensive £80 Craft Essence Bib Shorts(https://road.cc/content/review/craft-essence-bib-shorts-m-295399) which score badly on longer rides in terms of comfort and compression while the Lusso Primary (https://road.cc/content/review/lusso-primary-bib-shorts-297415) is a tenner cheaper at £60 this has a pad that doesn't stand up to distance either. Vanelli's bibs provide better comfort while the fundamental construction is executed with high-quality materials and good design.

Use this box to explain your overall score

In terms of performance and build, at this price, there's little to find fault with. Particularly impressive was the comfort of the YBC pad. But the Vanellis fall down on slightly shaky appearance and the potential for this to decline further with use.