Erin Trail

Wild Rye Baddie Bib Initial Impressions

The fabric is super soft and maybe a little too stretchy.  The bib straps are overly designed, with an extra high waistband and a complicated back.  But the chamois pad – the thing that REALLY matters –  looks well designed and great for longer efforts.

Detailed Review

The Baddie Bibs is Wild Rye’s first go at cycling bib.  The company focuses on cycling and snow sports, and is owned and operated by women, so they really get the needs of active women.  

I love this brand’s mountain biking gear and ski baselayers, so I was really excited to try their new gravel line.  I wore the Baddie Bib on several gravel rides, usually 2 hours in duration (both outside and on the trainer).

Fit and Fabric

The fit of this jersey is slim (described as “next-to -skin” on their website), and I found it to be a bit saggy.  Saggy to the point where I was concerned about rideability, as you WANT your bibs to be skintight and wrinkle free.  The bibs feel a bit loose on the backside and around the leg grippers.  I ordered my usual Wild Rye size (I have many different tops + bottoms from them, including the VERY skin tight Gem Distance Gravel Jersey), and I was perplexed at how the fit could be so different from the other items of the same size from this company. 

The fabric is easily the most stretchy fabric I’ve worn in a bike chamois, so perhaps the extra room is attributed to the fabric used. If you want a tighter, more compressive fit, size down. I debated exchanging for a smaller size but decided to give it a wear.  I was actually surprised that the bibs felt great while riding.  I didn’t experience any fabric bunching or moving during any of my rides.

 caption: front and back detailed view of Wild Rye’s Baddie Bibs

Bib Features

The upper several inches of the main bibs at the waistline and the straps are a breathable mesh.  The strap placement was fine – no tugging or feeling tight.  The design of the straps seems unnecessarily “extra”.  On the front, the mesh extends several inches above the navel, which (on me) left a gap of skin of about 2” long between the top of the mesh and bottom of my sports bra.  This made that belly skin pooch out, which isn’t flattering.  Wearing a baselayer (not currently offered by Wild Rye) smoothed out this issue, but it could be eliminated entirely with a lower waistline design.  The back straps, very plainly, left me confused.  They look like they would offer easy access for bathroom breaks (i.e. pulling down the back without needing to remove layers), but the bibs don’t actually work that way. The gap in the back of the bibs seems to be only for aesthetic purposes (or perhaps extra breathability) but I found it to be fussy and odd looking.

The chamois pad is well designed. It’s a large chamois, with the outer edges extending down the inside of the wearer’s leg.  I find that chamois that go down the inside of my leg are wonderful for longer rides.  This design eliminates the typical seam at the leg crease, a seam which commonly results in discomfort and/or saddle sores. I found the thickness of the chamois pad to be perfectly comfortable on my test rides.

interior view of the Wild Rye Baddie Bib chamois pad

Riding Performance

Given how loose the Baddie Bibs felt while wearing them inside the house, I was fairly concerned how they would fare on my test rides.  My fears were for naught – these bibs are actually VERY comfortable. Yes, they do fit a bit on the looser side, but the looseness offered comfort. I personally would suggest wearing these on more social or medium range bike rides.  (I prefer more leg compression on longer or faster rides).  The black fabric didn’t feel hot during 80 degree rides and I didn’t find the straps to feel tight or restrictive. 

I ended up grabbing these bibs over my other options for my cruisy gravel rides this fall, mainly because of how comfortable the chamois pad felt and for the softness of the fabric.  

 caption: Baddie Bibs zooming away on a gravel ride

Overall Impression

The Baddie Bibs are soft with a comfortable chamois pad.  The fit is on the looser side than what I was expecting, but the looseness did not affect comfort while out on my bike. My main criticism of the Baddie Bibs has to do with the upper mesh straps.  They seem overly complicated, especially in the back. The chamois pad was GREAT and well designed, especially for longer efforts.

Overall, this is a good chamois option for those who want to be comfortable on long or casual road or gravel rides. 

Engearment reviewer Erin Trail enjoying a casual gravel ride in the Wild Rye Baddie Bibs

Erin Trail