I'm trying to find some new bibs with a "narrow" chamois. I own several bibs (Castelli Y-pro, Free, Descente Optima; size S) which work well for me: the chamois is about 5-6cm wide in the crotch area. However, these are getting old and I bought two new bibs: Descente Aero-X and Castelli Body Paint: the chamois in both is too wide for me: about 15cm (even though the thicker part is only 6cm).

http://www.vxrs.org/picts/CastelliKISS2008-2.jpg KISS Chamois

http://www.vxrs.org/picts/DescenteOptima1.jpg Optima Chamois

http://www.vxrs.org/picts/CastelliBodyPaint3.jpg Body Paint Chamois

Does anyone know bibs that at narrow in the crotch area (and preferrably not too thick)?

(I hope the picture references work.)

I have no new suggestions; but I also get finicky about chamois, and it seems like the Castelli KISS chamois is pretty optimum for me too. Why no just stick with a known good one ? I see Castelli bibs on sale quite a bit lately. In fact I just bought two Knicks and one bib short (Nero models).

i own a pair of 2009 free aero race bib shorts and they have the first pad you posted and as rick said there are lots on sale at the moment. ive bought a set of Velocissimo due shorts which have the kiss 3 pad which is 50mm at the narrowest and have less channel's which gives less flexabilty than the 08/09. the padding extends past the grooves in the middle by about 10mm iver side you can see the second curve on the outside of the two lines in the middle of the pad.
these are kiss3


id recomend the Castelli bib shorts Endurance they look to have what your after.

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I would like to stick with a known good bib but I have problem finding or identifying them.

For example, I like the Descente Optima best, but they aren't sold anymore. I found an online description that the Descente Aero-X uses the same chamois so I bought one (the only place was ebay for that). Well, it turns out that the chamois changed and only the previous generation of the Aero-X (now called "Classic") uses the narrow chamois (and I can't find that version in size S).

For Castelli I can only find bib shorts with the new Kiss3 chamois. Any pointers (or URLs :-) welcome! It seems my search skills are not good enough.

PS: I also have tried
- Capo, Campagnolo: too wide and too thick
- Cannondale, DeMarchi, Giordana (some cheap models I got on sale so I could try them): those just don't feel right (fit, fabric, ...)
- Santini: good fit, but wears out very fast (sags after one season).

Santini NAT chamois.....

Yeah their lycra is lightweight, but have a look at that chamois, narrow, not too thick and confirmed good for at least 5+ hours... ventilated, gel pad at sit bone... blah blah....

Aside from that i am an Assos advocate so to recommend these isn't the norm, but credit where credits due....

Vermarc apparently have pretty narrow chamois according to this post on rkp:

http://redkiteprayer.com/2012/05/the-fit-model/

Post contains some other pretty useful info on different bib sizing too if needed.

Thanks for the tip about Santini NAT chamois: I downloaded their catalogue and the chamois looked too big in the crotch area. Nevertheless, I ordered a pair (from a online shop that has a good return policy).

When I took the bibs out of the tin box, I thought "These are heavy!". They weigh 227g, while the old Castelli Free weigh 167g and the Descente Optima weigh 147g. The gel core in the NAT chamois is rather heavy.

On a test ride the Santini "Smart" bibs feel fine despite the wide chamois in the crotch area. It seems to be due to the thinner chamois in that area, similar to the old "Kiss" chamois from Castelli, which has two different fabrics in that area (see picture in earlier posting: narrow, red chamois, surrounded by wider, thin black fabric.)

Here's an interesting article. The writer has basically the opposite requirements as you, so maybe what he didnt like, you will like. The 3rd to last comment (CW) is me and I left a bit about mavic bibs which I found to have quite narrow chamois width.

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