Silly question, but just wondering. I am a hard core Fred and own tons of this stuff. Love it.

Assos Element = Great jacket that melts onto your body once you ride. Warm but lets in just enough breeze to cool you off. Great for fall and slightly crisp nights. Add different baselayers and this will handle cooler temperatures nicely. (great with a zippered base layer)

Assos 851 jacket= Really stops the wind without making you hot. (it still breathes) Very nice jacket that will handle most of my Virginia winter with varying base layers.

Assos Fugojack= Amazing how warm this gets you with very little material. I might need to sell it---I don't see it getting cold enough to use where I live.(at least not often) Its gotta be below freezing to take this out. The built in face mask really keeps the sting off you face and NO air is getting in.. TOASTY warm....

Rapha Winter tights= Very warm and very comfortable. I've got winter bib tights from Hincapie, Cannondale, and Pearl and none of them come anywhere close to Rapha. Worth every penny. Put them on and forget about them.

Assos Bib tights Mille S5= Holy crap. Nothing touches these things and I own many shorts. Expensive but like silk. In my opinion these are a must have. Worth every penny.

Assos Jersey= SS .13 (x2 Red and Titanium). OK, these are just incredible. I bought one and liked it so much I got another. I havent tried the Rapha jersey yet, (next purchase) but these are gonna be hard to beat. Feels weird when you try them on, but you'll understand the magic once your on a bike. Hand washed with Assos cleaner, but so far they still look brand new after many washes.

Assos SS= (cheap jersey from Assos) Not bad, but nothing like the SS.13. For the money, I'd buy somethng else.


Assos Arm warmers=. OK. Assos failed in my opinion. I hate the arm warmers and the leg warmers. Either too tight or they start falling. Maybe its me, but I like the cheap wool stuff better.

Assos Booties? (sock thing that cover shoe) Not sure what they are called, but theyre OK. With winter socks and these things my feet stay warm. A real hassle to put on and take off though....

Assos base layers. Decided against. Under Armour is so much cheaper and really does the trick for me. Anyone tried them?


I figured I'd invest in my clothes and get it right the first time Any other brand names to consider? Has anyone tried the Rapha jerseys?

When not riding for a club or team, I'd rather wear Assos and Rapha gear than a jersey with patches from sponsors that don't actually sponsor me. Too bad that it's so expensive. My buddy had his Rapha cold gear on this week. He says it worked very well, and I must say, he looked sharp in it.

For what it's worth, Under Armor compression gear makes some great base layers. Their "cold gear" line makes for great pull-over shirts that breath for cooler days or track warmups (I ride track).

Man, I hear you. I love the compression Under Armour and the cold winter gear. In fact, When it gets real cold I layer them up. Cold winter on top of the compression. This is another reason I'm considering selling the Assos Fugojack. You can stay pretty warm with anything given the right base layers. (although I rarely need to stack base layers)

I'm still curious to hear what people have to say about the Assos base layers though.... Maybe I'll try the cold winter version for the hell of it.

Why spend that kind of money on cycling gear? it's outrageous and you can find stuff that is just as good for half or even a quarter or less of the price.

Agreed.

The company that can make ubiquitous-logo-free gear that is well tailored (read: makes me look good), works well, and doesn't cost a fortune will make a killing.

Subtle is the key.

Rapha makes some nice looking stuff. I find it hard to believe that a company can't make similarly good looking clothing without the boutique prices. It's well known that every cyclist doesn't want to look like a racer.

Many will shout me down, but Performance is that company. One simple logo, great products, they used to make all the national team gear and the prices are fantastic compared to most companies and definitely ones like Assos and Rapha.

Yes, they are on the right track. But, I've personally had some issues with the quality of their gear (threads breaking, uncomfortable chamois, poor fit). The thing is, Nike, Reebok, Adidas*, and Under Armor and the like are all so far ahead of Performance in terms of quality. Further, they are in a position to leverage some sort of economies of scale to make things a bit less expensive. The performance stuff seems to be fine for the beginner or casual cyclist that puts in a ride or so per week. But, I'm riding up to 6 days a week for hours at a time.

*I know Adidas does make cycling gear, but it's sort of difficult to find and is still pricey. My absolute favorite bib shorts are Adidas. The are black with 3 gray stripes. Perfect. I bought every pair I could find. It's a pity that there was no matching black top to be found.

I love Adidas cycling clothing. I think they are supplying Sky. Maybe consumers will have more available.

Waht a great troll thread. Good job OP

How is this a troll thread? Seems the OP gave some good information on likes ad dislikes of various cold weather gear. Maybe you've seen so many other pull out the troll card, that you figured you'd try it?

Zing!

Hmm, not sure this is a troll thread so here goes ....

All of my Rapha gear is well made and fits me well. I can't comment on the quality vs Assos but their stuff is not cheaply made. The Winter Tights are awesome! Keep me warm down into the 20s. I also have two jerseys; I have an Orange Country jersey and a Winter Jersey.

I like not looking like a billboard when I ride and the Rapha fits the bill with quality gear. I'll probably buy more when the need arises.

ignorance is bliss.

Its just like anything else, why buy a Ferrari when your honda Civic does the same thing, get from point A to point B.

The OP wants to spend his money on nice clothes. If I were in his financial situation, I too would buy nice clothes.

anyone who thinks that performance kit is on the same level as assos is clearly clueless.

Assos gear is works extremely well across their line up. Their range of bibb shorts/tights and jackets work amazingly well across the full range of temperatures. The downside is that it is expensive. But it is worth it if you can afford it. My strategy is just to buy less and add to it gradually over time.

You get what you pay for.

Cyclists...go to Manhattan and look around.

See those people wearing Levis and Russell Athletic teeshirts? Now go over to Fifth Avenue and look at the people wearing Prada and Armani.

As Botto tells us, "ignorance is bliss" and "anyone who thinks that [Levis] are on the same level as [Armani] is clearly clueless"

^ - So, is a nod to the quality of Assos and Rapha cycling specific clothing?

..

ps - the old man is apparently as clueless about NYC street fashion as he is about bike clothes.

Anybody who compares Rapha to Assos because of the same price points does not know what quality is.

Are you saying one is poor quality?

I have assos tights my teammate has rapha

I got the Rapha winter tights back in the summer when they were selling for the same price as any other winter tights (~$125 IIRC). They do the job for me, dry very quickly and are too warm once you get to the mid-40s or so, but I don't have any other winter tights to compare them to. I also have a very nice Castelli jacket made completely out of Windstopper material (purchased on ebay) that I haven't even bothered to use so far this winter because a wool jersey and an e-vent wiggle.co.uk-branded windbreaker is enough to get me down to the low 20's, and probably lower judging by how I've felt on some seriously windy days this winter.

Assos and Rapha stuff isn't necessarily expensive unless you're the kind of person who walks into their LBS, lays their credit card on the counter, and starts trying stuff on. In that case, hopefully money isn't your first concern. I don't bother with a lot of the cheaper clothing because I can get the top-of-the-line stuff for not much more if I shop around or buy stuff out of season.