Gorewear Distance Winter Bib Tights+ Men’s

The Gorewear Distance Winter Bib Tights+ are an excellent pair of comfy, cold-weather leggings that deliver insulation, considerable weather protection and a nuanced mixture of fabrics for a price that is high but remains competitive. The fit could be tightened up a little below the knee, and they don't quite manage to keep the posterior totally dry, but they inspire confidence when the weather is bad and overall are a pretty great bit of kit.

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> Buy now: Gorewear Distance Winter Bib Tights+ for £199.99 from Gorewear

Gorewear doesn't tell you the temperature range of its Distance leggings, but they are fleece-lined without feeling too thick, and nicely flexible too. On filthy, soggy days with the temperature between about 6-11°C, they were in their comfort zone. My legs were really cosy without overheating, thanks to the mixed fabrics used, and I didn't even feel the need to put more effort in to warm myself up. Always a nice option!

Once the mercury dropped down to freezing and low single digits, I still felt very happy in the bibs. It's at these shiver-inducing temperatures that you start to notice the thinner material on the calf and around the groin, but it isn't a serious shortcoming. The bibs are still thoroughly warm and more than capable of keeping a southern Englander insulated for the duration of winter.

Windproofing is particularly good on the shins, but the fleece material on the knees and thighs is more porous. So perhaps windproofing isn't the bibs' strong point.

The straps are excellent. Made from mesh, and a nice length for my body, the fit is neat without making me stoop, and once on I didn't notice them again.

The ankle isn't one of those rigid seamed affairs you sometimes find on winter-leaning bibs. It's a bit of a wiggle to get your feet through, but the cuff springs back tightly afterwards.

Three panels make up the lower-leg area. The same fleecy material from the upper leg wraps around the knee, dark grey wind-stopping material covers the shin, while there is super stretchy black material on each calf.

The shin material is a triumph, standing up to direct drizzle and whatever the road throws up. And once dry, any debris just brushes off. The stretchy stuff helps to offset the firmer feel of the water-resistant shin material. The knee area gets wet and stays wet for longer because of its material. The DWR coating delays rain soaking through, but once into the cafe or place of shelter, the garment stays wet for a while.

The Gore-Tex Infinium Windstopper Cup is meant to protect sensitive areas from windchill. It's essentially an extended chamois pad which reaches round to the front for more coverage. This is anatomically specific to men and claims to create extra space and less compression too. Because Gorewear has used the stretchy material from the calf, the groin area feels a bit less protected – but yes, it has managed to create some space in that area. This material is very thin so I suspect it might become a bit baggy over time, but all good so far.

To the touch, the Cup doesn't feel wildly different from my other bibs, and famously that is the warmest part of the body so it didn't suffer from too much chill.

The material used on the panel between crotch and waistband is different to the rest of the leggings: it's the stretchy black material used on the calves. This would seem to provide less insulation than the other materials, so Gorewear is relying on the efficacy of the Windstopper Cup rather than the material. But as mentioned, I never became cold.

Nearby, Gorewear includes three pieces of reflective detailing which ensures some visibility from the side and rear.

I found the chamois comfortable on my rides, and it is covered in the grey weatherproof material, which makes it reasonably helpful at offsetting the worst of the weather – in tandem with the water-resistant inserts on the seat and back area.

I left my mudguards off to really put the bibs through their paces, and my bum, back and chamois area caught a lot of rain and road spray. The grey panelling runs from the chamois all the way up the back, and it was really good at keeping me dry inside. It was wet to the touch but nothing seeped through after some persistent showers. The chamois itself does get wet quite quickly, and takes a while to dry off as the padding material is very absorbent.

I couldn't fault the comfort or the construction of the bibs during the test period. Though there are seams everywhere on the Distance bibs, they are unobtrusive and didn't rub or catch.

To my mind they look really smart. Apparently they are black, but in the light look predominantly like a kind of navy, with some grey and actually black panels on the claves and groin. I'm a fan – but this might annoy the black-only purists.

Value

While the Distance Winter Bib Tights+ aren't cheap at £200, they are still competitive with the other high-end brands.

Rapha's Classic Winter Tights, for example, are £240. They're made of high-stretch Thermoroubaix fabric for insulation and have a large rear panel for extended back coverage. Rapha has gone big on reflectivity too, with full calf strips to make you very visible.

The MAAP Apex Deep Winter bib tights are even more expensive at £295. They have windproof panelling in similar locations to the Distance tights, and DWR is applied all over. MAAP claims they work down to -10°C, while also being breathable and Bluesign approved for environmental kudos.

Ed waxed lyrical about the Le Col Pro Bib Tights which cost £210 and I can't see much difference between them and the Gorewear Distance bibs, neither of them having any serious drawbacks. Ed didn't like the ankle zippers, and the Le Cols don't have any bulked-up shin pad weather stoppers like the Gorewears, but they are around 160g lighter which is a significant difference.

The slightly cheaper Santini Aldo bibs I reviewed in November cost £189, are slightly less hardy than the Gorewears, but actually weigh 30g more. Their tough polyurethane covering is on the calves, but from my testing I reckon it's more useful to have additional protection on the shins.

Conclusion

These bibs will happily escort you into the coldest parts of a British winter: super warm, sufficiently breathable, and comfortable for hours at a time. Even when it's not raining there's often detritus spitting up at you from the road, so the bulked-up shin protection is a brilliant addition which sets these apart from some competitors. I'd like the fabric to be slightly more vacuum-packed to my leg from the knee down, but it's a small aside on what are predominantly brilliant bib tights.

Verdict

It's not cheap to keep your legs warm and dry on winter rides, but these tights tick all the important boxes