Assos - worth it?

[Wobblers]

Thanks for your replies.

I'd heard mixed things before about the longevity of Assos shorts - it sounds like they need to be looked after properly. Just like a lot of things, really...

I can complain about other peoples bibs going see through! Not a pleasant sight at all! e&oe of course

Urgh. Mind bleach, please!

 

[Tynan]

I wash mine with the rest of my kit and sometimes sundry shirts and jeans and stuff at 30 degrees and no fabric conditioner and then tumble dry

one year old and counting and all A1 other than the hole in the right arse I made on the first day I wore them, thanks to colliding with will from here in the first 10 miles of the Dunwich

 

[fossyant]

I use Lusso and Altura (Altura reflective bits anywhere fall off after a couple of washes - so I pull them off at this stage). Lusso are a Manchester company, and their stuff is very good...

Altura Airstream bib-shorts for every day, the Lusso Coolmax Pro bib's for weekends...- about £40 and £60 ish respectively..... but buy in a 'sale'.......

 

[LazyLoki]

I've been using the Mavic stuff lately and while it's a bit more expensive than Gore etc its still a whole lot cheaper than Assos and I think it's really nice. Their bib shorts at about £100-ish (cant remember the name) are the most comfortable I've ever tried.

 

[yello]

Got to admit, I really like the look of the Mavic stuff. My wife has some Mavic shoes and they look the business. She really likes them, saying they're way more comfortable and solid feeling than her previous Shimanos.

It is expensive, true, but I reckon my next purchase could well be from their range; either bibs or a windproof - the helium perhaps??

 

[LazyLoki]

Tried the helium jacket and, while it is nice and looks awesome, it's *very* light and pretty much useless at keeping out any kind of rain. I suppose if I was being pro-mavic I'd say that it was a very technical piece of clothing - perfect for what it's designed for (super light jacket to put on in the wind and fast long descents) but thats about it.

 

[Wobblers]

To be honest, no jacket can guarantee dryness in the rain - if it's waterproof, sweat will get you but if it's breathable, it'll soak through sooner or later. Even eVent or Goretex don't breath well enough to cope. (Saying that, my goretex paclite jacket worked well on both the FNRttC's that I've done. It must be said we were going slowly enough to not get hot and sweaty though.)

It might be better just to accept you're going to get wet and wear something warm: a merino baselayer I found out in the February FNRttC is a godsend in that situation. Merino keeps its warmth even when wet.

 

[yello]

It might be better just to accept you're going to get wet and wear something warm: a merino baselayer I found out in the February FNRttC is a godsend in that situation. Merino keeps its warmth even when wet.

I'd agree with that. And with the previous comments on waterproof v breathable. In my admittedly limited experience, I have still to find anything waterproof that I don't get too hot in. So I prefer to get rain wet than sweat wet!

LazyLoki: thanks for the comments on the Helium jacket. It sounds close to what I'm looking for. Something lightweight, stuff-in-a-pocketable and windproof. I had a CC one (Endura?) and that was pretty good, though still a little lacking in breathability. I say "was" because sadly it was a tad tight across my back/shoulders and I've given it to the misses rather than risk popping stiches... that's my excuse for getting a new jacket anyway!