Sometimes it’s best to keep things simple, and that is exactly what Castelli’s Espresso Bib Tight does. They don’t offer any fancy panelling, exotic materials or a stratospheric price tag, but what they do provide is warmth, comfort and great freedom of movement on all but the coldest of days.
The Espresso range is billed as being "the first kit you reach for any time you go to ride and are not pinning on a number," according to Steve Chapin, Director of Brand Strategy at Castelli, with a more minimalist aesthetic and smaller branding than some of their other kit. I've already been impressed with a couple of pieces from the range, and love the look and colour palette - so it was with the Espresso Bib Tight too.
Weight-wise, they are more in the realm of a Roubaix shorts/legwarmer combo replacement than for tackling full-on Arctic conditions, making them ideal for year-round use so long as the temperatures don’t get too frosty. Castelli’s 4°C to 15°C rating seems nicely judged, although you'd have to be putting in some hard work to feel warm in them at 4°C I reckon.
There are seven sizes and seven colours available for men - black, blue, grey, red wine, natural grey, dark steel green - while the women’s equivalent comes in XS to XL in black and blue.
Construction
Castelli has kept things simple with the Espresso Bib Tight. There are no ankle zips, fewer seams than normal, and just a single fabric used throughout the garment. Fortunately, that fabric is their very cosy and stretchy Thermoflex, which they use to good effect in their leg and arm warmers. The shoulder straps are broad and airy, with a full-height yoke up the back between them, and classy Castelli branding imprinted vertically on the front.
The bottom of the legs are raw cut, which adds to the minimalist aesthetic and helps them sit neatly under overshoes whilst the tonal Castelli badging on the left calf is nicely subtle. Tiny reflective tabs along the seam on the back of the thigh might help catch a driver’s eye, but I wouldn’t rely on them for my safety.
The chamois is the multi-layer Progetto X2 Air Seamless seat pad from the top of their range. This features a stretchy, seamless, bacteriostatic layer that sits against the skin, a variable thickness ‘Integrated Cushioning’ layer for padding and additional ‘Viscous Comfort Inserts’ strategically positioned under the ischial and perineum. This is the same pad used in their £250 Premio Black Bibshort.
The Ride
Sometimes you put a piece of clothing on and it just feels right; you know you are going to enjoying riding in it and this is how it was with the Espresso Bib Tight. Without as many of the seams and panels as often found on bib tights, the Espressos were noticeably less restrictive. Equally, it was nice not to have the double constrictions of short hems and leg warmer grippers, and of course, no potential for unsightly sausage leg. The size Large, same as I take in Castelli shorts, fitted me (186cm/73kg) perfectly so there was no need to size up as I have found with some bib tights. Furthermore, it was nice to have a choice of non-black colours, so I really pushed the sartorial boat out and chose, er, grey.
Of course, the Thermoflex fabric provided less wind resistance and a lower level of insulation than some bib tights, but their operating window was still quite large - I wore them at 6°C quite happily, although it was a tempo effort rather than a pootle, and at 15°C too. They don’t purport to provide any water resistance, so rain or road spray can penetrate quite easily, but in cool, dry conditions they were excellent, providing a very free and easy pedal stroke and sufficient protection against any chill.
The Progetto X2 Air Seamless seat pad is a perennial (perineal?) favourite, and features in all Castelli’s top-end shorts. It is comfortable and noticeably good at moisture management in my experience, whilst the super-stretchy Thermoflex fabric allowed the pad to hold things in place better than some thicker materials.
Being on the tall and slim side, I have often found bib tights straps a bit restrictive when not bent over the handlebars, but the Espresso straps were great with plenty of length and stretch. The mesh straps are also quite wide so any pressure is well-distributed. The women’s version gets a slightly different strap configuration that allows the seat to be dropped for toilet breaks without needing to take them down.
Conclusion and value
As you can probably tell, I was immensely impressed with the Espresso Bib Tight. On days when you don’t want to commit to full winter bibs, but worry that leg warmers won’t quite cut it, they are a no-brainer. They are warm, comfortable and a pleasure to wear.
Equally, they are very good value as you are likely to wear them on many days throughout the year thanks to their broad temperature window and restriction-free fit. I think that there are a lot of occasions I will reach for these rather than leg warmers for a little more warmth and less hassle.
