Cuore Virtue Gold Bib Shorts

Cuore set out to create an airy, light fit and it has largely succeeded. This is a racer’s bib, light and thin with low-profile chamois padding. If you’re after a long-haul, cushy set of bibs, look elsewhere. The Gold bibs are for those chasing a spot on the podium.

Seamless lay-flat straps are some of the most comfortable we’ve tested, though they’re spare. They are laser-cut and feature no seams or stitching, which means they lay comfortably against your skin with little possibility for chafing. They’re super-smooth, which is great for comfort, though they can creep a bit toward the outside of your shoulders.

Welded seams lay flat and comfortable against your skin, and the sleek lowers stayed in place even during intense pedaling. It’s clear Cuore was thinking about hot-weather comfort here. The construction leads to a barely-there fit and feel, which we loved especially during hard efforts.

The chamois was designed to be thin enough that it essentially disappears while you’re riding, which is both good and bad. It’s good because that means it’s comfortably low-profile, but it’s bad because by the end of a long day, you might wish for something a bit more supportive.

If you’re looking for a pair of bibs that you’ll forget all about once you start riding, the comfortable, compressive fit of the Gold bibs offer exactly that.