Rapha Men's Powerweave Bib Shorts review

Expensive but high performance aero bib shorts whatever the level of racing

Rapha Powerweave bib shorts
(Image credit: Future)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

If racers have the money and fancy bib shorts that aren't just black with a small logo on, the Powerweave bib shorts are a brilliant purchase. Incredibly quick drying is a massive plus, but there's no hiding from the price.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Compressive fit

  • +

    Incredibly quick drying

  • +

    Aero features

  • +

    Stylish

  • +

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Expensive

  • -

    Only two colours

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.

I always laugh at sports marketing, and wonder how anyone can really believe such hilarity. Rapha’s mumbo jumbo is at least always poetic, and in selling their Powerweave bib shorts, they claim that they are “made for race-winning movement.”

I hate to be the one to break it to them, but no-one ever won a bike race because of their bib shorts.

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Chris Marshall-Bell

A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and long reads across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013. In 2024 he released a seven-part podcast documentary, Ghost in the Machine, about motor doping in cycling.

Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains. He lives in Valencia, Spain.