If you can’t be fast, you can still look good, so I enjoy picking up cool/interesting bike kits, primarily online (actually, what other excuse would a middle aged man have to wear Lycra in public?)
I stumbled across www.bike-mall.com, they have kits from maybe 100 different pro and semi pro teams with prices that are obscenely low. A pair of bibs and jersey run $49.99 ($44.99 for regular shorts) plus shipping,
Yes, the stuff comes out of China but at these prices I thought it would be worth a test purchase which was:
http://www.bike-mall.com/2012-team-saxo-bank-danmark-champion-cycling-jersey-and-shorts-kit.html
My package arrived this morning, and I took it for a 35 mile test ride (the kit, not the package)
I can reports as follows:
The kit looks gorgeous, colors are bright and vibrant with sharp edges, material quality is good and the colors held up in washing (Lucky too, I threw them in with a pair of my wife’s white jeans, would have been hell to pay if they had turned pink)
The pad is very substantial and seems on par with any of my other bike shorts. No issues on the ride.
They warn you that sizes run small, so I went up one size and that worked fine thought the shorts are a touch shorter in the leg and with a little less rise than I am used to, though still within expected variability.
It did take them 4 weeks to ship, though actual shipping was less than a week. Payment is though Paypal, so no risk there.
Overall, a real bargain, though my standards may not be as high as others and I will shop there again.