After wearing £20 shorts for 15 years I finally blew £145 on some Assos T FI Mille S5 Bibs last week. They're comfy & all, but after only two rides and about 75 miles, the lycra beneath the chammoix (ie, the bit that is in contact with the saddle – no baggies here) has gone all fluffy & is wearing thin. Give it another few rides and I'm fairly sure it'll be full of holes. I'm somewhat speechless (well clearly not) at how much these things cost, and how fragile they appear to be. They'll be going back pronto, but I'm wondering if anyone else has any similar experience with Assos…?

Quite the opposite. Lashed out 100 stirlings for some F1 Uno shorts and they just wont die. Have come off on the road and they didnt rip. comfiest shorts I have. Bought assos arm and knee warmers again after having some arm warmers that went on forever even though longevity is not their selling point.

Yeah, sounds completely unlike my experiences, although mine are an old vintage too, someone on here reckons the quality has gone downhill recently, not sure why though.

Mine have lasted and lasted, although there is now a hole where I ripped the labels out, silly boy…

Yep I am frankly amazed that they're wearing out like this after thinking these would be the holy grail of shorts. Not sure where to look next now for long distance comfort shorts.

Check your saddle sounds like there is something clicking the lycra. Cracks in the surface or a abrasive material will do this.

Had F1 Unos and they were bullet proof, although I didn't test them with real bullets.

Very comfy, but not £70 better than £50 bibs.

I've got a pair which are nearly 10 years old and are starting to feel a bit tired but are still fine. Either take them back to the shop or try emailing assos with your concerns – if our experience is anything to go by they'll do what they can to sort you out – unlike castelli who've washed their hands when the stitching on my winter jacket started to unravel after 6 months.

Hmm I'm using a WTB Pure V saddle, which does have a bit of stitching on the surface. I guess this could be causing the friction. Surely they should be stronger than this though.

I had some Assos 3/4 bib tights that fitted superbly, like a second skin, but they fell apart after about 15 rides, the padding came unstitched. Mrs PP sewed them up but they didn't last long and I binned them. The padding was waaaaay to thick too, like a nappy. I stick to Pearl Izumi now.

I wear Sugoi RS

http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=5757

bought two pairs in 2005, just bought two new pairs last week. They seem to last alright.

Kev

I have Uno's which wear well, I think Mille's although more expensive are lighter weight material aren't they? That being said they shouldn't be wearing very fast – they are prone to damage from rough saddle stitching and catching on saddle bags though if you have either. If you don't then sounds like a warranty return to me, not had to do it myself but from what I've read they do offer a good returns/repair service…

Here's a pic of the wear. This is after just two rides on a £145 pair of shorts…

Crikey, mine dont look like that after 4 years…. 😕

Put up a pick of yer saddle… surely there must be something wrong there?

Man who go for ride with itchy bottom come home with smelly finger (and worn shorts 😉 )

Are you sure your not wearing them inside out and haven't told us you shave your bum for embarrassment and that is what two days growth does?

The shorts must be rubbing on the stitching of the saddle. Talk about fragile though, never had problems like this before with super cheap shorts. They should clearly come with some kind of warning that you can only use absolutely smooth saddles.

Christ, that's not normal!

someone on here reckons the quality has gone downhill recently, not sure why though.

I've said that. The stitching on them has got a bit inconsistent, I've seen several pairs of F.I.13 S5s with panels stitched asymmetrically, seams on the piss etc, sadly that's coincided with the crazy price rises, the F.I.13 S2s which were about £130 were still the best they've made IMO. The Unos have too much padding and it's in the wrong place I reckon! The stitching on the pads has always been a bit of an issue, I've worn that through on a couple of pairs, and a friend of mine used to do it pretty quickly.

Never seen wear like that though, that's got to be your saddle! I've got 8 year old tights with less wear than that. They do say that damage caused by saddle stitching isn't a warranty issue, but I'd be sending them back if I were you!

yeah, saddle stitching or no, when paying this kind of money for a pair of shorts I wouldn't expect them to be so fragile, and if they are, they need to have an accompanying warning about which saddles you can & cannot use.

No, like I say, that's not normal! We used to sell tonnes of pairs, and I never saw a pair do that.

must be my radioactive knackers then 😀

What is a "war•ran•ty"?

1. A guarantee on purchased goods that they are of the quality represented and will be replaced or repaired if found detective.
That is what the dictionary says. At ASSOS we prefer to keep things simple and say: "Any manufacturing defect you note on your garment within the first 300 km / 200 miles on the bike. No questions asked; we simply exchange it."

Sounds reassuring. Bought from Winstanleys so hopefully they'll step up & look after me.

I emailed the pic to Winstanleys this morning & they've already emailed me back requesting I send the shorts back to them. Good stuff.

Brian and Phil at Yellow are good lads and I'm sure they will look after you!…assuming Winstanleys manage to send em back ok 😉 I use Assos a lot both on road and off as liners for Fox baggies…my ancient unos dont look as bad as that!….don't let this put you off em!

Thing is, I don't really fancy changing my saddle as that WTB is the best I've yet found for long days. Having said that, I do have a virtually new Brooks Swift Ti sitting here that I really should try breaking in. hmmm.

I've got two pairs, they look like *new* after three years, seriously. Amazing bits of kit. DEFINITELY send them back. Assos will probably be horrified to think that someone's out there calling their stuff fragile, so I'm sure you'll get some more double-quick.

Out of interest, how did you wash them?

I once had a pair of Lowe Alpine walking trousers that bobbled up all over – it was a bad batch of fabric apparently. Only heard from someone who worked in a shop about it several years later after I'd consigned them to the bottom of a drawer, and I got a refund no questions.

I've only washed them once, after the damage was done. Washed them at 30 degrees in their little mesh bag with a few capfuls of the Assos liquid stuff. I wonder if it's simply an incompatibility with these WTB saddles or I've got one from a bad batch. Considering how popular they (WTB) are, there must be loads of others out there riding with the same combination.

Bad batch, I reckon.

not a fan myself – over priced n over hyped – used them myself in the past – wouldnt again even at trade prices

paul

Karma for making the public see you in lycra

Are Castelli rubbish then?

I think they are fab, I would buy them again if mine exploded tomorrow.

Assos F1 Uno, my most disappointing bike purchase ever and I've bought X-Lite products.

I ride a saddle like that and a pair of shorts should not pill like that.

My Assos shorts were the best that I've used.Great fit,supremely comfortable and lasted for years.
Sadly can't afford them anymore.

I bought a new pair of F1 Mille last week, the old ones didn't seem to bad (just over a year old) but the new ones showed how tired the padding in the old ones had got. Only paid £135 at Ribble too.
I can't complain as I wash my shorts and (cool)tumbledry them after every ride, so the old shorts must have done 200 cycles.