Assos Bib Shorts
05-26-12, 09:37 AM
#26
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YES, they are better. I own many products by Assos, socks, hats, jersey's, gloves. Their quality, materials, manufacturing is top shelve. Is there a law of diminishing returns..........yes, my Castelli stuff and Descent is high end also but w/o the $$$ tag.
05-27-12, 06:15 AM
#27
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05-27-12, 07:26 AM
#28
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For socks, I prefer P.I. Cheaper than Assos and last longer. For bibs, jersey's it is hard to beat Assos
05-27-12, 11:13 AM
#29
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I didn't find Assos any more comfortable than my other bibs which costed not quite as much. Granted, I had the "F1 Uno" which is their lowest model, but it's still slightly more expensive than comparable bibs, and a lot more expensive than Performance brand ultras. I definitely would not say that it's a clearly superior ride/pad at least for the F1 Uno. Probably slightly better at best, and questionably so, even.
Where I can say with confidence that Assos was superior was in the materials, make, and construction. I never thought I'd care about that stuff, but it's stunningly obvious when you pick up an Assos bib and compare it to a Performance Ultra Bib (which costs 2/3rds or even 1/2 the price.) The assos bib has intricate stitching in areas, a nice crisp nonfloppy but still supple material, and everything shows detailed attention to design and placement. Even after numerous washes without any special care, it's like brand new. My Performance bib hasn't broken down with similar use, but the material is a lot floppier, there are no detailed signs of worksmanship, and the material is starting to discolor a bit after nearly a hundred washes.
Still, ride quality is the most important factor for me, and at least for me, I'd only give Assos a 5-10% edge over the Performance ultra, if even that.
Where I can say with confidence that Assos was superior was in the materials, make, and construction. I never thought I'd care about that stuff, but it's stunningly obvious when you pick up an Assos bib and compare it to a Performance Ultra Bib (which costs 2/3rds or even 1/2 the price.) The assos bib has intricate stitching in areas, a nice crisp nonfloppy but still supple material, and everything shows detailed attention to design and placement. Even after numerous washes without any special care, it's like brand new. My Performance bib hasn't broken down with similar use, but the material is a lot floppier, there are no detailed signs of worksmanship, and the material is starting to discolor a bit after nearly a hundred washes.
Still, ride quality is the most important factor for me, and at least for me, I'd only give Assos a 5-10% edge over the Performance ultra, if even that.
I have to say the my performance ultra's fit fine and I never have a problem with them on centuries.
05-27-12, 12:58 PM
#30
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6 hours today in my Assos Mille bib short. I can't imagine anything better.
05-27-12, 02:06 PM
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This is true not only for bike shorts but ANY high end piece of equipment, in any field, with dramatically diminishing returns for a big cost. 2x cost for <5% performance at the high end is pretty normal.
05-27-12, 03:56 PM
#32
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I still think you are paying a lot for the name and little else. The Performance Ultra is well made and very comfortable and I am sure is true of a lot of other brands. If Assos had a special design the other companies would copy it.
05-27-12, 04:26 PM
#33
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Right now I have 6 pairs of Volers, 1 PI, 1 Champ-Sys, 2 Canari, 1 Nike, 1 Performance Ultra, 1 Sugoi and 2 Assos. The Volers are good up to 100. If I plan on doing more than that, I wear the Assos. The others I wear for commuting and under 40 mile rides.
05-27-12, 04:42 PM
#34
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I have pearl, sugoi, garneau, giorgana, and assos mille. The assos are far superior to the others. I buy the high end in my cycling gear. I enjoy using high quality gear every time I my hands on it or my ass in it. Yesterday I rode 115 miles and felt great at the end. The others are ok for anywhere from 40-70 miles depending on the brand. I save the assos for the long rides. The quality of the material is better in every way and the feel great on.
My buddy wore a hole in his from rubbing on the velcro of his food pouch. It was totally his fault and he only wanted a piece of the fabric so a tailor could make an acceptable patch. Assos sent him a replacement pair and fixed the damaged pair. Try that with your bargain brands and let me know how it works out for you. Assos are worth the money when you are at the end of a ride and your butt wishes you had spent the money or when you need excellent customer assisatance.
If your butt can do hundreds of miles in your cheaper shorts without a problem, you are fortunate. If your problem with expensive things is that they are expensive then that is a rather limiting point of view and not very helpful in answering the original question.
My buddy wore a hole in his from rubbing on the velcro of his food pouch. It was totally his fault and he only wanted a piece of the fabric so a tailor could make an acceptable patch. Assos sent him a replacement pair and fixed the damaged pair. Try that with your bargain brands and let me know how it works out for you. Assos are worth the money when you are at the end of a ride and your butt wishes you had spent the money or when you need excellent customer assisatance.
If your butt can do hundreds of miles in your cheaper shorts without a problem, you are fortunate. If your problem with expensive things is that they are expensive then that is a rather limiting point of view and not very helpful in answering the original question.
05-27-12, 06:10 PM
#35
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Assos definitely does have a special design and used special fabrics. Have you ever even seen an FI.13 bib short? My guess would be no. There are at least 4 different fabrics and several panels. Your PB specials don't even come close. Other companies probably would copy it if they could and still keep costs down. Eventually when the technology becomes more common it trickes down into the common stuff. Even Pearl Izumi PRO shorts ain't that cheap.
05-27-12, 06:18 PM
#36
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Really? I sent a pair back with the exact problem. It's only been a couple weeks; we'll see what happens.
05-27-12, 06:40 PM
#37
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05-27-12, 07:02 PM
#38
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I have pearl, sugoi, garneau, giorgana, and assos mille. The assos are far superior to the others. I buy the high end in my cycling gear. I enjoy using high quality gear every time I my hands on it or my ass in it. Yesterday I rode 115 miles and felt great at the end. The others are ok for anywhere from 40-70 miles depending on the brand. I save the assos for the long rides. The quality of the material is better in every way and the feel great on.
My buddy wore a hole in his from rubbing on the velcro of his food pouch. It was totally his fault and he only wanted a piece of the fabric so a tailor could make an acceptable patch. Assos sent him a replacement pair and fixed the damaged pair. Try that with your bargain brands and let me know how it works out for you. Assos are worth the money when you are at the end of a ride and your butt wishes you had spent the money or when you need excellent customer assisatance.
If your butt can do hundreds of miles in your cheaper shorts without a problem, you are fortunate. If your problem with expensive things is that they are expensive then that is a rather limiting point of view and not very helpful in answering the original question.
My buddy wore a hole in his from rubbing on the velcro of his food pouch. It was totally his fault and he only wanted a piece of the fabric so a tailor could make an acceptable patch. Assos sent him a replacement pair and fixed the damaged pair. Try that with your bargain brands and let me know how it works out for you. Assos are worth the money when you are at the end of a ride and your butt wishes you had spent the money or when you need excellent customer assisatance.
If your butt can do hundreds of miles in your cheaper shorts without a problem, you are fortunate. If your problem with expensive things is that they are expensive then that is a rather limiting point of view and not very helpful in answering the original question.
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05-27-12, 08:25 PM
#39
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I couldn't tell someone ASSOS are better or not it's kind of a personal preference as with anything else bike related.
Justifying the extra cost is personal issue also but I did not pay full price for the ASSOS I picked up the FI.13 S5's for $189 and the FI.UNOS5 for $141. I might add that I did have an issue with the FI.13 S5 material in a spot and they replaced it when they were 1.5 years old with about 2500 miles on them Customer service was great thats worth a hole lot to me.
But I can say I do have 2 ASSOS bibs with other cycling shorts Voler, P.I. and Performance
The Voler and Performance are OK I use them mostly on the trainer or very short rides the FI.13 S5's the P.I shorts do fill good also.
But I can tell when I put on the ASSOS bibs, they just fill better and breath very nicely thats from the fabrics they use I think.
I have a pair of ASSOS FI.13 S5 bibs and FI.UNOS5 the elastic leg gripper’s in both are great.
Even with these 2 styles I can tell a difference the FI.13 S5 multiple fabrics that breath the chamois in these are fantastic fit and fill is top notch and the chamois is pre shaped in the FI.13 S5 and when in the saddle is so comfortable.
The FI.UNOS5 also fits well but you can tell the difference over the FI.13 S5 the chamois in the FI.UNOS5 fills like the other brand shorts I have but the fit is superior.
Either set of the ASSOS fill great to me but for longer rides I always use the FI.13 S5.
I think the material, stitching and design helps them overall I like them others may not.
Justifying the extra cost is personal issue also but I did not pay full price for the ASSOS I picked up the FI.13 S5's for $189 and the FI.UNOS5 for $141. I might add that I did have an issue with the FI.13 S5 material in a spot and they replaced it when they were 1.5 years old with about 2500 miles on them Customer service was great thats worth a hole lot to me.
But I can say I do have 2 ASSOS bibs with other cycling shorts Voler, P.I. and Performance
The Voler and Performance are OK I use them mostly on the trainer or very short rides the FI.13 S5's the P.I shorts do fill good also.
But I can tell when I put on the ASSOS bibs, they just fill better and breath very nicely thats from the fabrics they use I think.
I have a pair of ASSOS FI.13 S5 bibs and FI.UNOS5 the elastic leg gripper’s in both are great.
Even with these 2 styles I can tell a difference the FI.13 S5 multiple fabrics that breath the chamois in these are fantastic fit and fill is top notch and the chamois is pre shaped in the FI.13 S5 and when in the saddle is so comfortable.
The FI.UNOS5 also fits well but you can tell the difference over the FI.13 S5 the chamois in the FI.UNOS5 fills like the other brand shorts I have but the fit is superior.
Either set of the ASSOS fill great to me but for longer rides I always use the FI.13 S5.
I think the material, stitching and design helps them overall I like them others may not.
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