Velocio Luxe women's bib shorts review: Where comfort, style and practicality align

The Velocio Luxe bib shorts are the brand’s best-selling women's bib shorts, and for good reason, they are excellent.

Since the first prototype was developed in 2017, the Luxe bibs have evolved to cater to women’s riding needs, with Velocio saying that the latest iteration of short offers excellent updates and adjustments.

Designed to be ridden all day, they are made from high performance fabric which offers a neat combination of lustful comfort, compression and timeless design.

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They also feature a supportive chamois and brilliant comfort break feature. The Luxe bib shorts come in four colours and sizes XXS to 3XL.

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Design and aesthetics

The Luxe bib shorts are made from three-panels which Velocio says eliminates unnecessary seams and reduces chafe points.

The fabric is a blend of polyamide and elastane which the brand says results in an ultra-high gauge lycra. This fabric is nicely compressive which helps with muscle support while also offering excellent opacity, and a stylish matte finish.

As mentioned, the Luxe bibs are designed for hours in the saddle and a major element to this is the chamois which was developed with Cytech. The brand says it provides ample comfort for long distance riding.

A key feature of the Luxe bibs i s the nature break feature which Velocio calls FlyFree. This works by extra elastic bib straps and extra material on the rear of the shorts which allow for riders to simply pull down the shorts, negating any need to remove layers.

Notably the bib straps are connected by a mesh panel, but this doesn’t hinder the FlyFree mechanism.

The design of the shorts is sleek, minimal and timeless, with raw-cut leg hems which amplify this as does the minimal branding.

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Performance

There is no doubt that the standout feature of the Luxe shorts is the FlyFree mechanism. If this is a priority for you, then these are the best women's cycling shorts for you. Any comfort break feature needs to be simple and easy to use, and given there are no zips, clasps or hooks to unlatch, the FlyFree system is excellent; simply pull and crouch and nature breaks are easy to cater to.

The lower-priced POC Women's Cadence bib shorts have also done an excellent job of simplifying nature breaks, so if this is a priority for you but the Luxe bibs are too expensive, those would be a good alternative.

Notably, I went a bit off piste size wise after reading the size guide and went for M when usually I wear L. For anyone who has had to navigate the labyrinth of women’s sizes this was a risk, but to my sheer delight, it paid off. They are tight and compressive enough without feeling restrictive and I still had ample elasticity with the FlyFree feature which was my main concern.

The Luxe bibs are ample in length and sit nicely above my knee. As a tall woman, the threat of shorts looking like hot pants is always on my radar.

Comfort wise, I would argue the Luxe bib shorts are close to unbeatable. They feel luxurious on as they are silky smooth against skin and the material is the sort which you want to stroke, it’s almost satin like. If Prada did shorts these would be them.

What’s more, Velocio says that the bibs improve after every ride, essentially they ‘break in’ after a few rides and washes and will conform to the shape of the rider.

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Initially I was a bit cynical about this but I have found that my enjoyment of wearing these bibs has increased from day one.

While overall I’m a huge fan of these bib shorts, the benefit of the mesh panel escapes me, which is why I have docked a point.

I asked Velocio to explain the mesh panel design, and was told that the mesh started out as a way to implement the FlyFree function and then evolved into something women appreciated and made the shorts a nice option for spring, late summer and early autumn.

I appreciate we all have different design ideas, but I don’t think this mesh adds anything to the shorts.

Separately, there are no pockets, but these shorts aren’t pretending to be cargo bib shorts.

Verdict

There is a clear reason why these are Velocio’s best-selling bib shorts, the Luxe bibs are brilliant.

They are thoughtfully designed for women’s riding needs, with an inclusive sizing guide, and are delightful to wear when riding.

This sort of technology doesn’t come at an entry level price, but despite the £218 / $299 pricetag, I think it's an investment worth making.

A special mention also goes to Velocio’s 30-day signature guarantee which means you can test these shorts properly and make sure they are the right ones for you. Even more reason to try them.