Castelli

Free Aero Race Wilier Bib Short - Men's

Since 1910, Castelli has clothed pro cyclists and relied on the feedback of teams to improve its cycling wares to better suit the demands of the pro peloton. The Free Aero Race Wilier Bib Shorts are one of Castelli's top summer riding shorts, and have been tweaked and changed based on the feedback from pro cyclists. Though we may not get paid to ride our bikes every day, we know the improved fabrics, panel design, chamois, and bibs make a big difference on a training ride and in a stage race. Slip the Free Aero Race Bib Shorts on for your next ride and feel the lightweight fabrics gently hold to your body while the Pregetto X2 chamois protects you for hours in the saddle.

The beauty and effectiveness of the Free Aero Race Bib Shorts comes from the targeted use of three main fabrics. First, Castelli developed what they call an Action Micro fabric that is particularly durable and placed it in the saddle contact regions, since those are the areas that get the most regular wear and tear. Energia Micro fabric is used on the sides and back of the bib shorts to take advantage of its outstanding stretch and return. The Breathe Micro fabric is used for the front of the shorts because, as its name indicates, it has been designed to let the fabric breathe to help keep the legs from overheating when the sun is beating down on a hot day.

Perhaps nothing in these bib shorts has benefited as much from Castelli's association with professional cycling teams as the Progetto X2 Air Seat Pad. The Garmin-Cervelo team spent a year testing this short; that's a lot of saddle time to be thinking about how comfort could be improved. Since Castelli had it pretty right to begin with, there wasn't much more than tweaking going on. What it has done is add a perforated foam layer to the pad to help ventilate and keep the nether regions cooler by allowing air to flow directly onto the surface fabric. That layer sitting next to your skin is made from a four-way stretch, seamless, bacteriostatic layer designed to move with you, reducing any bunching and friction. The cushioning layer consists of strategically placed, multi-density foam. For good measure, perforated viscous comfort inserts have been added under the highly sensitive ischial and perineal pressure areas, so that your undercarriage will be supremely protected whether you are out on a two-hour weekday jaunt or training over cobbles for Roubaix.

Castelli has taken great care in making sure that these will be bib shorts that will never feel stifling on a midsummer's day. Keeping your chest free from unnecessary fabric is priority, so you'll notice that the shape of the bib straps allow for a very wide opening on the front torso that dips down to the waist. You won't feel hindered by the straps and you'll really appreciate the open-air feeling on hot climbs up mountains in July. Knowing how irritating inner thigh seams can be, Castelli has eliminated them from this bib. And what seams there are have been properly sewn so as to be as unobtrusive as if there were no seams at all.

Castelli upgraded the hems of the legs by including their Giro3 integrated leg grippers, which features grip material knit directly into the short. The generous 5 cm wide band will gently compress to secure the leg hem in place. It also lies completely flat, keeping your leg aero as if it were in a skin suit. As a final touch, Castelli included highly reflective details on the back of the grippers for extra safety.

The Castelli Free Aero Race Wilier Bib Shorts are available in Black. They come in five sizes, Small through XXX-Large.