Le Col Pro Indoor Bib Shorts review - supreme cooling for indoor performance gains

One thing you might find when riding the turbo is that you need a bit more extra padding from your chamois. Unlike on the road where you move a bit more around in your saddle, on the turbo you are very stationary and keeping yourself in one position for longer than usual.

Enter the Le Col Pro Indoor Bib Shorts. Not only does the chamois offer up a bit more protection against the saddle, but two mesh side panels down the side help keep things breathable yet modest. You could wear these in a spin studio while still feeling like you’re suitably covered up.

Although these shorts are a little shorter than what I’m used to, they performed effectively and kept my body temperature down - which is what the best indoor cycling clothing is all about.

Le Col Pro Indoor Bib Shorts: construction

The Le Col Pro Indoor Bib Shorts are well supported with their wide shoulder straps which help keep them in place when riding - you don't feel like they tug on you too much whilst keeping the shorts pulled up. The top half is constructed out of 'Pro Mesh', a lightweight material which doesn’t add much to layering.

On the sides of the shorts themselves, you have a more lightweight semi-transparent material which breathes incredibly well and keeps things modest, too. With the material being that little bit darker, it blends your skin tones to the shorts and makes them look like part of the design.

Elastane thread on the legs, for grip, helps keep the shorts in place and they hold up pretty well to sprinting and long climbs in and out of the saddle. The party piece, though, is their ability to keep you cool and wick the sweat away from your body.

Le Col Pro Indoor Bib Shorts: the ride

These perform better than I initially expected. Looking at them I was worried about how the legs would hold and their ability to effectively reduce my body heat. But despite the number of training sessions they have been subjected to, the shorts have held up well and kept me noticeably cooler on the turbo – whilst also not leaving me feeling ‘exposed’.

The chamois worked very well – incredibly comfortable for longer stationary periods on the turbo. I didn’t feel the need to stand to allow circulation. 

I also found the grippers to be just right, not too tight and tugging on my skin and not so loose that I was constantly pulling the legs down.

Le Col Pro Indoor Bib Shorts: value and conclusion

Now, here’s the crunch, would I be happy to part with $210 / £180 for a pair of turbo trainer bib shorts?

There are cheaper indoor specific options available. dhb’s Aeron Turbo Shorts which cost $90 / £70 and Van Rysel's Ultralight Racer Shorts ($99.99 / £64.99) being just two examples.

But if I was riding in a spin class and wanted something to help keep me cool and keep me modest, I would probably look for something like this. The Le Col Pro Indoor Bib Shorts are durable and can withstand plenty of washes – they work well and I do see a place for them.

But $210 / £180 isn’t a small amount of money to be spending. For most people they would only really be worth it if you decide you might actually be able to put them through the wash between each session – thereby saving you needing to invest in a second set of shorts.