Swiss cycle clothing brand Assos has expanded its Equipe collection – aimed at racers and other high-intensity riders – with new designs for autumn/spring. The clothing maintains a race-style fit with the jersey and jacket featuring an interesting new 'valve' system designed to keep you feeling comfortable when riding in cool conditions.
Assos Equipe RS Spring Fall Aero SS Jersey £240
The Equipe RS Spring Fall Aero Short Sleeve Jersey (worn with armwarmers in the pics) is a thermal option for the cooler weather, although it's still lightweight.
The most interesting feature is what Assos calls its exclusive 'valve' system, designed to provide climate control. There's a small gap between the two layers of fabric at the front of the shoulders; the layers overlap one another but they're not stitched together here. The idea is that this draws cool air from the outside and channels it between the jersey’s layers.
"When riding on the limit, preserving a tucked profile yet still needing a touch of body-cooling ventilation, unzipping isn’t always an option," says Assos. "This design solves the issue of regulating core body temperature without sacrificing aerodynamics."
Assos came visiting road.cc last month and showed us the jersey. We've not tried it (although we are currently testing a couple of other items in the range) so we can't comment on the performance, but we can tell you that the overall quality looks excellent.
Assos Equipe RS Spring Fall Jacket £260
This is designed to sit somewhere between a thermal long sleeve jacket and a low volume softshell.
"Our Equipe RS Spring Fall Jacket locks out the cold and creates a pocket of insulating air between the layers, while remaining extremely breathable even when riding full-gas on race day," says Assos.
Like the Equipe RS Spring Fall Aero Short Sleeve Jersey (above), the jacket features Assos' two 'valves' at the front of the shoulders to control the internal climate without the need to unzip.
Unlike the jersey, this one is currently in for test here at road.cc. Our man Liam has been using it for the past month so standby for a review.
Assos Equipe Spring Fall Bib Shorts S9 £200
The Equipe Spring Fall Bib Shorts S9 are designed for those times when it's too cool for summer bib shorts but not cold enough for three-quarters or long tights.
These are based on Assos' existing Equipe RS S9 shorts but they're made with insulating materials.
Again, Liam has been using these for the past month so we'll have a review on road.cc soon.
Assos Equipe RS Spring Fall Aero Gilet £200
"Unlike your standard paper-thin emergency wind vest, the Aero Gilet is specifically tuned for the unique demands of full-gas efforts in constantly changing weather conditions," says Assos.
It features a technical, three-layer softshell fabric at the front and a lighter, more breathable fabric at the back which is designed to block winds and road spray while retaining your body heat.
The new collection also includes colour and feature updates to the current Equipe RS Rain Jacket that Dave reviewed earlier in the year.
The collection is available now. Get more info at www.assos.com/equipe-rs-23
but tomorrow they and the other shitrags masquerading as newspapers will be back to screaming about cyclists, immigrants, benefit scroungers and...
Oxfordshire councils are quite capable of letting you down too!...
Why not have a 5mph speed limit as part of the ETRO? Only a dick would ride fast through an otherwise pedestrianised street.
'each spoke' (single) and 'leaf spring' (made of many leaves) seems contradictory.
I guess Morrissey could claim it.
I do see a lot of delivery riders (on illegal e-motorbikes) with their faces covered...
Stuff like this seems more relevant than ever after the Trump victory. sorry not a funny
Someone was really worked up about e-scooters.
More likely the telling phrase is " In 2015, it was sold to private equity firm TZP Group" Hedge fund bell-ends with more lawyers than sense...
Certainly can't be as bad as those carbon monoxide alarms - I always get a headache from their loud beeping