White Bibshorts. Why not?

I've never owned a pair of white bibshorts. I never did because I was told you simply never should. 

But why not?

I question every rule thrown my way. Most of the time, rules make a lot of sense. But sometimes, you come across a rule that doesn't make any sense (at first) and you just have to test it. The Velominati's Rule #14 specifically states that shorts should be black as much as possible. This rule does seem a little outdated in 2020 especially when you consider Mathieu van der Poel's choice of kit at the 2019 Amstel Gold Race :

Tighty Whities - a winner's choice?

I was sold on the idea of white bibshorts after watching MVDP's win. If he can rock it, so can I.

I called up my manufacturer and asked him to make me a pair of tighty whities. To make it classy, I had him print the logos in a tasteful silver colour. This being a white bibshort that can get translucent when wet, I used a lycra that was 10% thicker than the lycra in my standard long distance bibshorts.

I didn't particularly enjoy the thicker lycra, but I doubt my wife would have let me leave the house if it wasn't as thick.

I was nervous on my first ride. I sweat A LOT. Singapore is ridiculously humid as well. My skin is also a deep delicious brown. A combination of factors that shouldn't work at all with White Bibshorts.

But...it did.

This image was taken after a 60km ride in the late morning. Apart from a little road grime, it looks fine!

This white bibshort is fast becoming my favourite piece of kit. I love pairing it with the loudest jerseys in my wardrobe and being an object on the road that drivers simply can't ignore. I also really like the classy silver "RW" logo on my thigh. My only gripe is the thicker lycra that makes the bibshort a bit too compressive. I am learning to live with it and it is motivating me to lose some weight from my generous hips.

I know that there is a tiny community of white bibshort lovers out there in the world. An under-represented and under-served community that might have been secretly hoping for a quality pair of white bibshorts.

Perhaps in late 2020, I will produce a white version of The BIB for this community.

Do you like white bibshorts and secretly wish more companies would produce them? Are white bibshorts a hard pass for you? I'd love to hear from both sides of the spectrum on this. Leave a comment below!