Over the past several years, compression apparel has taken the tri-world by storm. We were all scratching our heads only a few short years ago when we saw the first person running down Ali'I Dr looking more ready to play soccer than racing an Ironman. Fast-forward to today, it seems every apparel company has some type of compression line in their catalog and what we once thought of as a fad is only growing!

We were giving the opportunity to test out SLS3's latest Compression Bike Bib Short. The first thing we noticed was the use of three different materials in the garment. This does a variety of things making the product unique. It provides compression where you want it, on the main, large muscle groups used for cycling, while providing flexibility and breathability where you don't need compression making the bib shorts very comfortable to wear and keeping you cool on those long hot rides.

I put these bib shorts to the test, on my road bike, time trial bike and I even borrowed a mountain bike since mine is 3,500 miles away at the moment. First and foremost, these shorts stay put. The chamois is always where you need it to be and extremely comfortable. The bumps and cracks in the road are dampened very well which leads to a very nice, smooth ride. After several hours in the saddle I realized I still hadn't felt the seams around the chamois either, flatlock stitching did its job! For the chamois alone, these are a great pair of bib shorts.

Now lets talk about the compression. The bib shorts were a bit of a struggle to get on at first, but that is the sign that there is actually compression features built in to the garment. If you have never put a piece of compression wear on, it is a bit of a different sensation, it feels tight and your first thought is usually, this is going to get uncomfortable after a while, well it doesn't. From the first pedal stroke with the SLS3 Compression Bike Bib Shorts, I could feel a difference. I live about 6 miles south of the base of Torrey Pines in San Diego, so pretty much every ride along the coast has a bit of an uphill to tackle early on. With these bib shorts, I never felt better climbing. The normal burn that hits about halfway up the climb was held off until the very top, needless to say, I was impressed. As the miles ticked by the fatigue was delayed, my power output was maintained much longer than normal and I felt fresher longer. These bib shorts worked exactly as promised. I have been a fan of compression shorts since the first time I tried them and these are the cream of the crop.

At a retail price of $220, they are not a small investment. I would suggest skipping that $250 dollar investment on the latest and greatest the bike industry has to offer that will save you a couple grams and take a look at these bib shorts. First of all, you will be able to train longer with less fatigue - much more beneficial than a couple of grams off your bike weight. Second, with more training you will lose POUNDS off your body weight, not grams.

SLS3 Compression Bike Bib Shorts are available here: http://slstri.com/Compression-Bike-Bib-Short or check out their dealer locator to find a shop near you.