Care & Repair

How to look after your ASSOS equipment

By some margin, the worst part of any bike ride is the post-ride laundry. We don’t all have the luxury of pro cyclists to simply toss our kit into a net bag and leave it for the bus driver or the soigneur to wash, fold, and deliver to our hotel room in pristine condition.

As cyclists who spend a portion of every day pedalling, we exist in a perpetual cycle of laundry, and we’re sure that you do too.

Since ASSOS first began in 1976, we’ve been committed to developing the most high-tech pieces within cycling. It’s one of the reasons we refer to our apparel as equipment, not clothing. Providing you look after it correctly, much the same way you tend to your bike after each ride, our equipment will hold up to years of hard riding. The better you look after it, the longer it’ll stick by you and the more consistently it’ll perform.

Your quantity of laundry varies wildly depending on the weather: warm days normally mean a pair of bib shorts, a jersey, and socks, but a little bit of bad weather and the quantity can soon escalate.

By following our guidance outlined below, we are confident that your apparel will be in it for the long haul.

Shorts: It’s better to rinse ASSOS shorts immediately after riding, rather than leave for several hours before putting into the washing machine. If you can’t rinse them, at least allow them to air.

ALWAYS

Begin by rinsing mud off in cold water

Wash inside-out

At 30 degrees

With liquid soap (ASSOS Active Wash — 2 caps per cycle)

Zips done up

Delicate spin of 600 (800 max)

Dry shorts inside-out

Hang dry

NEVER

Use fabric softener

Leave the zips open — they can damage the products

Dry in direct sunlight

Dry on top of radiators

Wash with heavy fabrics or Velcro

Hand washing

Use cold water (if it feels cold, it is cold)

Go sparingly on the soap (a ¼ of a cap of ASSOS Active Wash will suffice)

Wash your skinFoil baselayer first

Wash socks last to maximise the water

Run out of Active Wash? Use shampoo

Gently squeeze each item — avoid wringing

Hang to drip-dry in the shower

Special products* — Trust us, these are ones to look after because they’ll look after you when you need them most

When needed, rinse membrane-equipped products such as the Equipe RS Rain Jacket, sturmPrinz, rainCap, rainGlove, etc. in cold water. These are highly technical pieces that merit a little bit of TLC. Wash with ASSOS Active Wash when they’re really dirty and you’ll extend their lifespan.

To reactivate the water-repellent treatment on certain products* after washing, use a hairdryer in a circular movement, no closer than 10 cm away, and avoid the decals.

*Rain jackets are the key concern here. But don’t overlook legWarmers, armWarmers, Equipe RS S/F Jacket and Equipe RS S/F shorts (to name but a few).