Assos Women's UMA GTV Bib Shorts C2 review

Quality, comfort and convenience for demanding endurance riding

Front view
(Image credit: Emma Silversides)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Assos UMA GTV Bib Shorts C2 are the ultimate short for performance orientated endurance riders. Innovative design, functional fabrics and flawless construction all deliver comfort, quality and convenience. Obviously, all of this comes with a high price tag.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Comfort

  • +

    Moderate compression

  • +

    Endurance chamois

  • +

    Easy-pee system

  • +

    Well-made

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Clasps may irritate if you happen to stop in a cafe

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Assos’s LaalalaiShorts_s7 have undergone a re-vamp, the result: the UMA GTV C2 women's bib shorts. A revised fabric sheds grams but gains permanent odour-control and active cooling. It’s a deeper, richer black and still offers UPF protection. The biggest change is the easy-pee system; the central, front magnet has been replaced with two clasps at the rear (exactly what we said needed to happen at last review of the Laalalai) to enable hassle free comfort breaks without compromising on-the-bike comfort and performance.

Construction and sizing

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Emma’s first encounters with a bike were in between swimming and running. Soon after competing for GB in the World Age Group Triathlon Championships in Edmonton in 2001 she saw the light and decided to focus on cycling. 

With a couple of half decent UK road seasons under her belt, she went out to Belgium to sample the racing there, spending two years with Lotto-Belisol Ladies team, racing alongside the likes of Sara Carrigan, Grace Verbeke, Rochelle Gilmore and Lizzie Deignan. Emma moved from Lotto-Belisol to Dutch team Redsun, working primarily as a domestique for Emma Johansson. When Redsun folded, Emma was offered the opportunity to ride with a newly formed Belgian team and home to the first year senior and budding rider Anna Van Der Breggen.

After retiring, Emma returned to teaching, setting up her own tutoring business. When not coercing kids to do maths, she is invariably out on two wheels. While the road bike remains her true passion, she has also developed an addiction to touring, with destinations including Iceland, Georgia and Albania, to mention just a few. There have also been sightings of Emma off-road, on mountain and gravel bikes… As if all of this isn't enough, she's been working as a freelancer since 2005, testing and reviewing the latest kit and sharing her insight into the sport.