Gore Bike Wear Xenon bib shorts |
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Dual density chamois |
Soft wide hem |
Gore Xenon Bib Shorts £104.95
With Gore Bike Wear’s latest bib short, the Xenon, the company is attempting to offer a high end bib short to compete with the more established high-end bib shorts currently available. With the products seen coming out of Gore Bike Wear in recent years, it’s clear the company is trying to position itself as a well-rounded clothing manufacturer.
Starting with the important bit, the chamois, the company have worked with Cytech, an Italian firm who specialise in designing chamois, to design an exclusive chamois. It’s actually two halves, split along the middle, which offers a better fit as the two halves can move independently. The other big feature is the dual density foam employed, evident by the orange colouring. Placed at the sit bones and along the perineal channel, with a small section of toweling at the front tip of the chamois for wicking sweat, they’re an extremely comfortable chamois.
Outside, the short is an eight panel layout. EIT Max material, which has excellent sweat absorption and high elasticity properties (Cytech developed this material with Assos), is divided into thin panels vertically. Higher elasticity panels are placed in key areas to improve the fit. Wide braces are comfortable and the back section is filled with a light mesh to remove sweat. A wide hem made from a soft material, that doesn’t look too dissimilar to those found on Assos shorts, is lined with gripper tape. Comfortable and they didn’t slip throughout our tests.
Final details include a reflective logo and reflective dashes on the bottom of the legs. Available in sizes small, medium, large, xl and xxl.
Verdict
The price puts them firmly inline with the highly rated Assos T F1.Mile shorts tested last year, and on first impressions the Gore Bike Wear Xenon chamois turned out to be a lot more comfortable.
Following some prolonged testing, the chamois is holding up well and are still as comfortable as when we first pulled them on. They’re now the first pair of shorts we dig out of our wardrobe before any ride.
Comfortable, comfortable, comfortable, pricey but in Assos-territory, one of the best chamois we’ve tested
Some loose threads have started to appear