Interesting discussion - I just asked this myself too. DH has gotten me an Assos Cycling Bib for a present but I just don't seem to like it enough for the price. They feel bulky at the front. He loves his Assos Cycling shorts and thinks they are well worth the money...

From my understanding, if you have a fitting saddle - so you are sitting on your sitbones - the padding in the front doesn't make much sense, does it? The chamois in the front does makes me feel hot and uncomfortable.

Maybe the chamois-design comes from a wrong understanding where women ought to sit on a saddle?