After so many rides and many thousands of miles I still found myself looking for my ultimate bib-short and there it is, ... the Giordana FR-C Pro. Outstanding (or would that be outsitting?) comfort along with exceptional form and function led me to owning two pairs.
I have Assos and like them very much. I have Castelli Premio and they are good. Giordana FR-C are the best I have ridden. Of all my bibs, once on the bike I never think about the FR-C's again. They check all the boxes from chamois (never feel the need to stand up and let things recover a bit), to compression, to length, to shoulder straps. My second choice are the Assos, but once I wear them out I likely replace them with more Giordana. Oh sure, I will try the latest and greatest just to see, but the FR-C are the best I have worn. For summer I have purchased a pair of Assos Lite FR-C and they are perforated on the legs for ventilation but still perfectly compressive. For any longer rides, races, fondos, etc., I pull on the FR-C bibs.
I used to wear only Pearl Izumi cycling gear but have begun swapping out my old kits with Giordana. They are, IMO, superior in quality for an equivalent price to the PRO line up. The chamois in particular are amazing.
First off, I'm no longer a racer but I train about 3000 miles a year on Zwift, which is a good test bed for shorts. These bibs are a great example of "you get what you pay for". They are supportive with good compression in the legs and the chamois is one of the most comfortable I've worn. I've washed them about 15 times now with no evidence of stitching issues or loss of compression. I will be ordering more next time they're on sale.
