Vermarc Veloce bib shorts

Everything about the Vermarc Veloce bib shorts oozes quality. They perform well and look great, with all the boxes ticked without an price-tag that makes you look twice.

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If you’re not familiar with the Vermarc names, it’s a Belgian brand that has been making cycling clothing since 1977, supplying clothing to Etixx-Quickstep for the past few years. And it’s clear that all that experience has been brought to the table when designing the Vermarc Veloce bib shorts.

The first thing that struck me about these shorts is the quality of the construction. At £81.99 the Vermarc Veloce bib shorts can reasonably be considered mid-range, and yet have many of the features that you’d usually associate with high-end shorts. That means that the hems of the shorts are lazer cut, flat-lock stitching is used throughout, and they come with a compressive fit that should give some performance gains depending on what science you look at.

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They also look great. When it comes to shorts you should be able to buy any colour as long as it’s black, but Vermarc has still be able to add some subtle colouring and thankfully hasn’t gone over the top with its deployment of its own name and logos.

Watch: buyer's guide to cycling bib shorts

But that’s all well and good, what you really want to know is how the Vermarc Veloce bib shorts perform.

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Well, the best place to start is with the pad, which is Vermarc’s LD (Long Distance) pad. Compared to some other pads, such as the ultra-complicated one used by Santini in the slightly-more-expensive Santini Mago bib shorts, this pad is relatively simple with a two-piece construction. There is, however, high density foam that is “placed in key points to provide maximum comfort, while the upper layer is an “Aloe vera microfiber material”. Nice.

After testing the Vermarc Veloce bib shorts on a handful of long rides of over 100 miles, I was fairly impressed. I didn’t find the comfort to be absolutely exceptional, and still found myself easing up out of the saddle occasionally after four or five hours, but then that’s the case with every pair of mid-range bib shorts I’ve tried, and compared to their direct competition the Vermarc Veloce bib shorts perform well.

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Aside from the pad, everything else is really comfortable too. The straps are a tight mesh and are nice and a good width, providing plenty of support while still being breathable when riding in hot weather. There aren’t any silicon grippers around the hems, but don’t let this put you off, as the fit is so good that I never had a problem with the Vermarc Veloce bib shorts riding up.

For more details visit Chicken Cycle Kit.