On the surface, all bib shorts seem to be made of essentially the same thing. And that’s true to a certain extent.

For example, Assos’s £220 T.cento_s7 shorts feature a 73 per cent polyamide, 17 per cent elastane, 10 per cent polyester construction and dhb’s £17.99 Padded Cycling shorts are 80 per cent polyamide and 20 per cent elastane, so in very general terms they seem to be largely the same thing. But the quality of the material used varies wildly and with it how said material feels against the skin.

You’ll also get a much higher quality of stitching on the more expensive shorts, with techniques like flatlock stitching lowering the chances of chafing or irritation. And on the very top of the range models like Castelli’s Body Paint 2.0 shorts, there will be no seams at all on the legs as the shorts will be a single piece of fabric.

Outside of the actual material there are things to consider too. You can get shorts that are lined on the inside, most commonly with fleecy, Roubaix-style fabric to add warmth for anyone who, like me, prefers thermal bib shorts and leg warmers to bib tights whenever possible in winter. Roubaix-lined shorts are also good for early morning spring rides – or racing – when it’s still fresh outside as you can keep your legs bare as the temperature rises, while keeping the, er, essentials warm. Alé’s PRR Ponenté Winter bib shorts are among my favourites.

Similarly, some shorts have use a water resistant fabric. Sportful’s Fiandre No-Rain shorts are a good example (as are Castelli’s Nanoflex shorts) and combines a water repellent outer and brushed fleece inner with minimal seams to make sure as little water as possible gets through.

Lots of quality shorts offer sun protection, so you only have to worry about sun cream on the exposed parts of your body during a ride. On a similar note – and to the opposite effect of the thermal winter shorts – lightweight bib shorts are popular in summer when (if) the temperature really beings to soar (admittedly that’s more likely on the Continent than here in the UK).

Such shorts are generally made of much lighter, less dense fabric on the legs with a higher degree of breathability, and have thinner mesh bibs, larger cutaways on the back and will play their part when it comes to wicking moisture away from the skin. Rapha’s Lightweight bib shorts and Etxeondo’s Feather shorts are two examples.