Przewalski Bib Shorts Review: What Holds Up After Real Miles

I bought my first pair of Przewalski bib shorts in the first week of March, two years ago, along with a saddle, a multi-tool, a floor pump, and a GPS computer. That was the week I decided my old kit was done. I had one bad 80 mile ride the fall before, about two and a half years ago, and I was still thinking about it. Sore, a flat I fought on the shoulder, and a wrong turn on the way home. I am 67, I live in Prescott, Arizona, and I ride about 4,000 miles a year. Most of those miles are on a steel touring bike with a 9 speed drivetrain and 32 mm tires. I am not a racer. I am a retired shop teacher who likes long days and does not like replacing gear every season.

Before the Przewalski pair, I wore plain padded shorts with a waistband. They were cheap, and they felt cheap after 40 miles. The waistband rolled, the pad shifted, and I spent more time standing on the pedals than I wanted. I bought two pairs of the Przewalski bib shorts, both size Large, and I have rotated them for about 8,000 miles since. This is not a first-ride impression. It is a report from the garage bench, after two full seasons and a third one starting.

How I've Used It

I rotate the two pairs. One goes in the wash, one goes on the hook. I wash them cold and hang them to dry, never in the dryer. That is the whole care routine. They have been on 50 to 70 mile routes around Prescott and Chino Valley about twice a week, spring through fall, plus shorter winter loops. Prescott sits at about 5,400 feet, so most rides have real climbing. My left knee complains on steep climbs, and my lower back gets stiff after four hours. The bib shorts do not fix either one. They do remove the waistband problem, and that is enough for me.

The first long ride in them was a 62 mile loop out toward Chino Valley. I noticed the straps first, because I was not used to them. By the halfway point I had stopped noticing. That is the best thing I can say about any piece of clothing. The pad is a 3D padded chamois. It is not gel, and I am not going to pretend I know the thickness. What I know is that it kept me comfortable on a long day, and it did not bunch up when I moved around.

The first week was an experiment. I wore them on a 24 mile shakedown loop out past the airport, then on a 38 mile ride two days later, and I still was not sure. I had worn a waistband short for years and the straps felt like a harness. What settled it was a cold wash, a line dry in the garage, and a second wearing. The straps softened up and stopped printing lines on my shoulders through the jersey. If you try a pair and it feels odd on the first ride, give it a wash before you decide.

I am 5 foot 10 and about 160 pounds. The size Large is a regular fit on me, mid rise, and it pulls on. The straps sit flat under a jersey. The listing lists a utility pocket, and I keep a folded route note in it. There is no magic to the fit. It is a budget bib short, and the cut is honest. If you are between sizes, I would not size down hoping for a race fit. The regular fit is the regular fit.

The Fit and the Pad After Two Years

After 8,000 miles, the pad is still the pad. It has not packed down into a thin rag. It has softened a little, which I expected. The fabric has not gone see-through, and no seam has let go. I am careful with it, but I am not gentle. It goes in a cold wash with other riding clothes and gets hung on a line in the garage. The straps have kept their shape. The legs have stayed where I put them on the ride. That is a low bar, and I have owned shorts that failed it.

Pair one has more miles than pair two, because I bought them the same week and then reached for one more often. It is a little softer in the pad than the newer pair. That is the only difference I can find. Same size, same fit, same straps, same pull on closure. I keep a note on the bench and I checked both of them in April before the season started. If a product is going to fail, it usually fails unevenly, and these two have aged the same way, which tells me more than a first impression does.

The pad is also the main complaint. On a 20 mile spin, it feels like too much. I feel the bulk more than I feel the road. On a 60 mile day, I am glad it is there. So the shorts have a narrow window. If your long day is 50 to 70 miles, that window is wide. If your rides are short and hard, this is not the pair I would pick.

Bathroom stops take longer with bibs. That is not a Przewalski problem, it is a bib problem. You have to deal with the straps and the jersey. I plan stops better than I used to. On a long day, that is a small tax. On a short day, it is annoying. I am 67, and I am not going to pretend otherwise.

What Two Years of Washing Did

Two pairs, rotated, washed cold, hung dry. That is about 100 washes each, maybe more. The pad has held. The seams at the straps have held. The fabric at the seat has held. I have not seen a hole or a tear. I have not had a seam open on the road. That is the kind of thing I keep notes on, because a failed seam 30 miles from home is a bad day.

I keep track of the small stuff too. The care tag is still readable on both pairs. The leg openings have not gone slack. The seam at the edge of the chamois, which is the first place I expect trouble, is intact on both. Years back I had a cheap waistband short where that seam let go inside one season, and I was standing in a gas station bathroom trying to decide what to do about it. That is the comparison I am working from, and the Przewalski pair has not repeated it.

The word I would use is serviceable. That is not a compliment you put on a box, but it is the truth. The Przewalski bib shorts are not a piece of gear I show off. They are a piece of gear I forget about, which is what I want. The two pairs have made more sense for me than one fancy pair. I am not going to quote a number, because that changes. I will say that I have gotten my use out of them.

I hang them in the garage, out of the sun. I do not use fabric softener. I do not put them in the dryer. I do not wash them with anything that has a zipper or a hook. That is not a special ritual. It is how I treat anything I want to last. If you throw them in a hot wash and a dryer, I cannot tell you what will happen, because I did not do it.

Where the Przewalski Pair Falls Short

The pad is too much on short rides. The bib design is slower at bathroom stops. The fit is regular, not race tight. The shorts are a budget pair, and they feel like a budget pair in the hand. The fabric is not the softest, and the straps are not the widest. None of that has mattered on the road. All of it is worth knowing before you buy.

The straps are narrow compared with what I have seen on more expensive bibs, and on a hot day with a loaded jersey pocket I notice them. Not pain, just pressure. The fabric does not move air the way the pricier stuff does, and on a 90 degree afternoon in June I feel it across my lower back. I still wear them. I just plan my water stops a little more carefully, and if there is real heat in the forecast I look at which pair is clean before I look at anything else.

I have not had a sore that did not clear up, but if you get one, see your doctor. I am not a doctor. I am a retired shop teacher with a stiff back. I can tell you what worked for me on my routes. I cannot tell you what will work for your body. That is the honest limit of a review like this.

I also would not call these shorts a fix for saddle problems. A bad saddle is a bad saddle. The Przewalski pad helped me on long days, but it did not turn a bad saddle into a good one. If your saddle is wrong, fix the saddle. If your shorts are wrong, fix the shorts. Do not ask one piece of gear to do two jobs.

What I Noticed on Climbs and Descents

I do most of my climbing seated. The left knee is the weak link, and standing for long stretches does not help. The bib shorts do not change that. What they do is stay put when I shift around. I have not had to tug at the legs or pull the pad back into place on a climb. That sounds small. On a 20 minute climb, it is not small.

On descents, I am not a fast descender. I ride the rim brakes and I keep it under control. The shorts have not given me any trouble in that position. The pad does not fold under me when I get low. The straps do not dig into my shoulders. I have a stiff lower back, and I notice pressure there before I notice it anywhere else. The straps are wide enough and flat enough that I forget them.

I have not tested these shorts in a race, a century at pace, or a multi-day tour. I have tested them on my routes, at my speed, with my breaks. That is the review. If you ride faster or longer, your experience may differ. I can only tell you what I know from my own bench and my own roads.

The best thing I can say about a bib short is that I stopped thinking about it by mile 30. The Przewalski pair did that on my first long ride, and it is still doing it two years later.

Who This Is For

This is for the rider who does 50 to 70 mile days and wants a bib short that works without spending a lot. It is for the rider who is not racing, who washes cold and hangs dry, and who understands that a budget pair has limits. It is for the rider who wants a pad that is there on hour four, not a pad that feels fast on a 20 mile loop. If you are 50 or older, or you ride like a 50 or older rider, this is a sensible pair.

It is also for the rider who has been using plain padded shorts with a waistband and is tired of the waistband. The bib design is a real change. It takes a little getting used to, and then you stop noticing it. That was my experience. I bought two pairs because I wanted one in the wash and one on the hook. I would do that again.

Who Should Skip It

Skip it if your rides are short and you want less pad. Skip it if you want a race fit, because this is a regular fit. Skip it if bathroom stops on a long day are already a problem you do not want to make slower. Skip it if you only own one pair and you wash on a schedule that does not allow line drying. Skip it if you want the lightest, most technical bib short on the shelf. This is not that.

Also skip it if you are looking for a pad that will fix a saddle that does not fit you. The Przewalski bib shorts are a good budget pair, not a cure. I would rather tell you that now than have you find out at mile 50.