When we design cycling apparel for ultra-distance riders, we don't start with a mood board. We start with people like Nathalie.
Finding the right women's bib short for long-distance cycling is harder than it should be. Most options are designed for fast criteriums or Sunday morning club rides, not for 800-kilometer overnighters where your chamois needs to earn its keep through rain, cold, and 40-hour stints in the saddle. That's exactly the gap the VELOR BIB FLOW was built to fill. And to make sure it actually did, we put it in the hands of someone who would break it.
Nathalie Baillon is a gravel and ultra-endurance cyclist based in the Rhône-Alpes region. She doesn't race to podiums. She rides to explore, to push limits, and to discover what happens to a person (and their gear) when the kilometres stop being countable. She's the kind of rider we listen to. Not because she fits a marketing brief, but because her feedback shapes better products.
We sat down with Nathalie to talk bib shorts, long-distance comfort, and what she really looks for when she's going to be in the saddle for days at a time.
Nathalie, can you introduce yourself and tell us what draws you to gravel and ultra-distance cycling?
I'm above all a cycling enthusiast. What motivates me isn't just performance or the kilometres themselves. It's everything that bike travel makes possible: discovery, self-sufficiency, encounters, and the emotions you feel when you're moving forward on your own energy alone.
Gravel attracts me for the freedom it brings. I love leaving busy roads behind, exploring new terrain, finding landscapes you'd never reach any other way. It blends performance and discovery, which is exactly what I look for. And ultra-cycling is probably the best expression of my idea of adventure: setting off into the unknown, accepting uncertainty, pushing your limits and living intense moments. After hours and then days in the saddle, cycling becomes something much bigger than a sport. It's a personal development experience that demands patience, adaptation, and resilience.
What makes a great women's bib short when you're spending multiple days on the bike?
A great bib short is one you forget you're wearing once you're in the saddle. It's the balance between support, freedom of movement, breathability, and comfort after many hours or days of pedalling.
The chamois is obviously essential. It can't create pressure points, and it has to hold its qualities as the kilometres pile up. But the cut and materials matter too. The bib short needs to stay perfectly in place, follow the cyclist's movements naturally, and avoid friction. For long-distance riding specifically, practical features make a real difference: pockets to keep essentials within reach, and detachable straps for toilet breaks.
In what conditions did you test the BIB FLOW, and what were your first impressions?
I had the opportunity to test the BIB FLOW from the prototyping phase, which let me give early real-world feedback, particularly on the detachable straps, which I consider essential for my kind of riding. I then tested it in varied conditions: both on road and on gravel routes, from a few hours to full days in the saddle.
Most significantly, I wore it during the Ultr'Arverne, an ultra-distance road event of nearly 800 kilometres that I completed in around 40 hours, in very demanding weather conditions. That's the kind of context where the comfort and reliability of your kit becomes everything. My first impressions were very positive. The bib short is comfortable to wear, and the chamois delivers good comfort without any feeling of excess thickness.
Was there one feature that stood out most?
What stood out was its ability to maintain the same level of comfort regardless of how many kilometres I'd covered. The chamois remained comfortable even after very long hours of pedalling, no friction, no pressure points. That's exactly what I expect from ultra-distance kit: something I can trust and stop thinking about.
If a friend asked whether she should invest in the BIB FLOW for her next cycling adventures, what would you tell her?
I'd tell her it's a model that perfectly matches what I look for in my riding: consistent comfort over the kilometres, good support, and practical features like the detachable straps and cargo pockets. Of course, choosing a bib short is very personal and no model suits every rider. But the BIB FLOW has real qualities that make it, in my view, a serious option for women who love spending long hours in the saddle.
And choosing this bib short also means supporting a small, independent brand genuinely committed to reducing its environmental impact. That matters to me too.
Why We Work with Riders Like Nathalie
At VELOR, we don't send products to athletes for social media reach. We work with riders like Nathalie because they put our gear through conditions we can't simulate in a lab: 40 hours of rain, cold, fatigue, and thousands of pedal strokes. Her feedback on the BIB FLOW's detachable straps shaped the final version. That's what we mean when we say our products are tested in the field.
When a rider who has just completed 800 kilometres tells you the chamois still felt good at hour 40, that's not a marketing claim. It's a result.
The BIB FLOW: Key Features
Designed for women who ride long, the BIB FLOW brings together everything Nathalie describes: consistent chamois comfort over hours and days, a cut that moves with you without friction, and the practical details that make a real difference on long rides.
- Detachable straps for toilet stops without a full kit change, a feature Nathalie flagged from the very first prototype
- Cargo pockets to keep nutrition, a phone, or essentials within reach without a jersey pocket
- High-performance chamois that holds its comfort properties across extended hours in the saddle
- European manufacturing from recycled materials, part of VELOR's commitment to circular cycling apparel
Because the best women's bib short isn't the one that looks good in photos. It's the one that's still performing at kilometre 600.
