Van Rysel Road Cycling Bib Shorts Racer 2 review

Van Rysel, Decathlon’s in-house performance cycling brand, is looking to take on the bigger players with its value-packed Racer line.

The Road Cycling Bib Shorts Racer 2s certainly pack in a fair amount of features for their modest asking price, including an Elastic Interface chamois pad and a meshed back for better ventilation

My first ride suggested Van Rysel may have been onto something, but since the first wash, these shorts have been uncomfortable and are therefore hard to recommend.

Van Rysel Road Cycling Bib Shorts Racer 2 construction

Sitting below the Road Cycling Bib Shorts Proracer (£89.99), Van Rysel says these Racer 2 shorts are designed for comfort over both short and long distances.

The brand says it wanted to create bib shorts with “perfect compression while still leaving maximum freedom to move around on your bike”.

Following user feedback on the previous Racer bib shorts, the brand says the legs were designed slightly longer for improved aerodynamics and the bib straps were remodelled to provide better support.

A revised mesh on the back of the shorts is claimed to cool you down in warmer weather and the thighs have a straight edge, that's intended to provide better support.

There’s a new Endurance 2.5 HD Pad, which has been designed for men, with very high-density foam and is claimed to keep you comfortable for rides up to seven hours.

There’s an Elastic Interface logo on the pad, suggesting it's a collaboration between the two brands.

The pad on my sample is red – Van Rysel changed to this colour due to a shortage of the blue pad advertised on its website.

Van Rysel says the shorts are meant to be a tight fit and recommends opting for one size larger if you’re looking for a more comfortable fit.

The shorts are available in sizes small to 2XL and in two colours – black or navy blue.

Van Rysel Road Cycling Bib Shorts Racer 2 performance

I’ve been testing these bib shorts, in a size large, for the last couple of months over short and long distances, including some gravel riding.

The shorts were tested on four saddles – a Specialized Power Pro Elaston, a Fabric Scoop, a Bjorn Setka and a Forza Stratos.

I found the fit of the Racer 2s strangely disproportionate – baggy just underneath the crotch, yet reassuringly tight on the bib straps and legs. I also found the pad to be the wrong shape and it didn’t quite fit properly.

Tellingly, it’s something contributor Katherine Moore also experienced in her review of the brand’s EDR Women’s Quick Zip Cycling Bib Shorts.

Despite the odd fit, I was very pleasantly surprised by the Racer 2s' performance on their first ride – a hilly and warm 55-mile club run. I had no complaints whatsoever.

Unfortunately, after a first wash following Van Rysel’s instructions with the shorts turned inside out, I found they shrank considerably.

Van Rysel’s instructions include nothing out of the ordinary, with the usual warnings not to bleach, tumble dry, iron or dry clean the shorts.

The following rides were uncomfortable throughout, especially on longer-distance rides up to five hours.

One notable example was on a ride that saw me scale the Cat and Fiddle climb in the Peak District national park, with an average gradient of three per cent over 10km.

I felt a disconnect between the pad, skin and saddle throughout the climb and felt quite numb towards the end due to the friction and lack of support.

On steeper sections, I also felt the left seam on the inside upper thigh press into my groin.

This ride was on my Specialized Power Pro with Elaston saddle, a favourite of mine that I’ve used with many different brands of bib shorts and it’s my preferred saddle for long audax rides.

On a shorter gravel ride, although the shorts were more comfortable, the material was very slippery across the top of my Fabric Scoop saddle.

Although some shorts and saddles don’t interact well, it’s not an issue I’ve encountered with many other shorts on this saddle.

I’ve ridden in a range of Elastic Interface chamois pads over the years, but this one was markedly wide at the front and seemed to be located slightly incorrectly.

I’d have preferred the pad to not come up as high on the front and offer more coverage to the rear.

The bib straps are unremarkable but get the job done and the modest silicone grippers at the legs didn’t degrade over the test period.

However, although the Racer 2 shorts are priced very competitively, it’s irrelevant if they’re uncomfortable after the first ride.

Van Rysel Road Cycling Bib Shorts Racer 2 bottom line

It’s a shame Van Rysel’s competitively priced shorts don’t hit the mark.

The chamois pad was uncomfortable throughout testing and they were an odd and disproportionate fit. They also shrank after their first wash, despite sticking to the washing instructions.

Further work is required to make these bib shorts worth consideration.