Rapha Pro Team Bib Shorts III review: What I reach for when it matters most

Cycling shorts are quite a personal thing, but having tested a load of them in the lab it’s clear that, while they do make a difference, they don’t make as much of a difference as getting your saddle right. Think of the best cycling shorts as the final tune-up for comfort, rather than a silver bullet to cure you of any sore bottom woes.

I have been using Rapha’s Pro Team shorts for years now. In fact, the original Pro Team shorts were the first premium piece of cycling gear I ever bought as a young man flush with my first paycheck and no responsibilities.

Recently, Rapha launched the Pro Team Bib Shorts III, which represent a pretty radical overhaul of the British brand’s top-tier race short (if a pair of shorts can in fact be radically overhauled).

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I’ve been using this V3 pair since they launched back in February, and I really, really like them. While I tend to opt for a pair of the best cargo bib shorts because I love pockets, if I’m doing a hard ride, these are what I reach for.

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Design and aesthetics 

As far as one can overhaul a set of cycling shorts, Rapha has done so. The materials, pattern, construction, and chamois pad are all new. The basic summary of the changes is thus: More compression, fewer panels, and a thinner, lower-density chamois pad. There’s also no radio pocket anymore, given that the pros all wear skinsuits now anyway.

Starting with the chamois pad, because that’s the key bit of any cycling shorts, the new one is thinner but denser than the previous Rapha shorts I’ve used (Core, Core Cargo, Cargo, and the old Pro Team). It’s not quite as firm as the one Maap uses, but it’s much more in line with the trend of race-oriented shorts I’ve seen recently.

The old pad was thick, so much so that I had to adjust my saddle height to account for it, and while it was comfortable, it was quite soft and felt a little disconnected despite it compressing in use. The new one isn’t anything radical in terms of shape, but it is perforated internally under the face fabric for greater breathability.

Onto the legs, there’s a pair of fabrics used. The main outer leg panels are a thin, yet not-too-stretchy Lycra to provide compression, while the undercarriage, from the crotch to the rear, is a more traditional, less compressive and more breathable ‘normal’ Lycra as you’d find in more generalist cycling shorts as the main fabric.

The cut of the shorts part (without the straps) is a happy middle ground between the low cut, almost 90’s jeans of Assos’ shorts (which almost always leave me with an exposed tummy when standing up), and higher-waisted winter cycling shorts. It’s about bang on, and the rear is high enough that unless you’re wearing a very cropped jersey like a Pas Normal Mechanism, the straps are unlikely to peek through.

The straps themselves are thicker elastic numbers. Not as thick as those used on the likes of the Maap Alt_Road cargo bib shorts, but not meshy like dedicated lightweight shorts. Over your hips and up your back between the straps at the rear is a very open mesh to keep things breathable.

The days of old school elastic grippers at the end of the legs seem to be numbered, and these are no exception, with laser cut edges to the main fabric simply backed by silicone dots at the hem taking care of business.

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Performance

As you’ve probably gathered from the introduction, I am a big fan of the Rapha Pro Team Bib Shorts III. I liked the old, thicker chamois but it tended to feel a little swampy on longer, hotter, or even wetter rides. This new pad isn’t night-and-day different, but it’s certainly more in line with what I’d expect nowadays from a race-oriented pad.

As you might expect, it does feel better in a more aggressive position, but even more upright, the shorts feel a little more connected to the bike than the old ones did, or even compared to the likes of the Rapha Cargo bibs. Having ridden in a downpour on my final ride in them, the chamois doesn’t become as waterlogged, which is great.

The compression is spot on in my eyes, too. While my colleague Tom really got on with the Rapha Powerweave bib shorts, I really did not, and found the compression actually caused some anatomical problems while on the bike (my unmentionables didn't have enough room). No such issues here, with a firm hold all the way up the leg that keeps them locked in place, which is key not just for aero reasons but also to keep the chamois pad from slopping about; a saggy fit on a set of cycling shorts is a recipe for an uncomfortable day out.

I’m glad Rapha opted to use a more breathable, stretchy Lycra for the front and rear. While these aren’t dedicated hot-weather bib shorts, they will undoubtedly be used by many people in the heat, and allowing some airflow around your privates is always helpful. Again, in the rain, the main fabric also felt less waterlogged than many others I’ve used, which is great for summer riding in showery conditions.

Aside from the fit and compression, the main fabric of the shorts takes a step up from the last version in terms of how premium they feel. The laser-cut edges and reduced number of panels help, but the fabric itself just feels great. It’s a dense, matte fabric without feeling like crépe paper, as some compressive options can. I know they aren’t luxury shorts in the same way as the likes of the Velocio Luxe are, but they feel every bit the premium set.

Personally, I never really mind thicker elastic straps. I’ll take the advantages of a more secure fit over any potential heat issues, but unless it’s really, really hot, I don’t tend to get mega sweaty. The elastic straps do a really great job of keeping the back end of the shorts locked in place with no sag, without ever feeling like they cut in. With thicker elastic straps like these, there’s no danger, as lower profile straps can be guilty of, of rolling along one’s collarbones and bunching into a narrow cord that cuts in.

We have been in the midst of a series of heatwaves here in the UK, and while these aren’t officially a lightweight, super airy set of summer shorts, they’re also perfectly adequate for your standard range of summer cycling conditions. I never felt overly sweaty in them, and given the price (which we will go into soon) I suspect these will be purchased by many as a general use set of shorts that have to cover everything, and as such I’m happy to take a little bit less breathability on days where it’s absolutely roasting, for a little more comfort on those far more frequent changeable, windy, or over cast days between April and September.

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Value

A £240 / $295 SRP is on the upper end of the price scale for the market as a whole, and on a par with the likes of the Pas Normal Mechanism bibs, and a little bit dearer than the Maap Team Bib Evo, but a lot cheaper than Assos’ Equipe RSR bibs. While Assos’ build quality is superb, I will say that Rapha’s quality of construction, in my experience, is superior to that of Maap and Pas Normal, and when you’re dropping this much on a set of shorts, you want them to not come apart at the seams.

Considering the feel, compression, comfort, and quality of construction, I don’t think these are bad value at all. There are absolutely diminishing returns the further up the cost scale you go with cycling shorts, but there is still a difference between these and a mid-range set in feel and comfort.

Verdict

I’m going to wheel my ‘pub test’ out yet again here (where I pretend what I’d say to my riding mates down the pub if they asked me for advice), and I think if they had about this much to spend on a high end sent of cycling shorts I’d probably steer them in the direction of the Rapha Pro Team Bib Shorts III. They might not have the influencer market sewn up like Maap or PNS does, but these feel like a higher-quality offering.

They are really very comfortable, especially in a racy position, offering the perfect level of compression, and are breathable enough to cope with a wide temperature range, especially if you’re riding hard. The new chamois has been improved, and if you ride with different brands’ shorts on rotation, these won’t mess up your bike fit.

If they had pockets, they’d be perfect, but, as the Rolling Stones said, you can’t always get what you want.