It all began in a Zurich wind tunnel in 1976. Toni Maier-Moussa, engineer and Shimano's first Swiss dealer since 1967, tested his prototype there: an aerodynamic carbon frame with teardrop-shaped tubes and bullhorn handlebars. Together with engineers from ETH Zurich, he built the world's first aerodynamic carbon bicycle. The result could have marked the beginning of a career in frame construction. Instead, it marked the birth of a clothing brand.
The discovery in the wind tunnel
What Maier-Moussa discovered in the wind tunnel was both surprising and momentous. His carbon tubes were actually aerodynamically superior to the round steel tubes of the bikes of the time. But the much bigger brake was not the frame - it was the rider himself. More precisely: his clothing. The woolen jerseys and leather pants, which were as much a part of cycling at the time as tubulars and steel frames, generated enormous air resistance.
Maier-Moussa also had fabrics tested in the wind tunnel. Wool performed disastrously. Lycra, a material that the Swiss national ski team had just discovered for their racing suits, was a different story. Maier-Moussa contacted DuPont in the USA, who held the Lycra patent, and began to adapt the material for cycling.
In the summer of 1976, Assos presented the first cycling shorts made of Lycra. Cycling was still wearing wool. Assos wore the future.
From the basement to the world stage
The beginnings were modest. A seamstress made the shorts in the basement of the Maier-Moussa house. But as word of the quality spread among the professional teams, riders bought the pants out of their own pockets - unusual in a sport where the team provides the equipment.
The next breakthrough came in 1978. At the Munich Olympic velodrome, Swiss track rider Daniel Gisiger competed in the world championships in the first anatomical skinsuit - a one-piece Lycra suit with long sleeves and integrated hand loops that completely covered the skin. Gisiger didn't win, but his suit dominated the headlines. He looked like he was from another planet. Two years later, at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, every track rider wore a skinsuit. In most cases, one from Assos.
In 1981, Gisiger won the Grand Prix des Nations in an Assos skinsuit. By this time at the latest, the technology had arrived in professional cycling. And Assos was no longer the crazy Swiss with the carbon frame, but the supplier that the best riders in the world wanted.
Swiss engineering, not a marketing promise
Assos is one of those brands where the cliché of Swiss precision is actually true. The headquarters are located in San Pietro di Stabio in Ticino - not a random address, but deliberately close to the Italian textile tradition and at the same time firmly on Swiss soil. All research and development is based here. Production takes place in the company's own factory in Bulgaria and in Greece. Assos has never outsourced production to the Far East.
The company has registered over 25 patents in almost five decades. More than 400 Olympic and world championship medals have been won in Assos clothing. These are not marketing figures - this is a technical record.
The product philosophy: two lines, clear logic
Assos structures its range into two main lines, which are even more clearly separated since the current S11 generation:
Equipe is the racing line. Equipe RS is at the top of the range - what WorldTour teams wear. The Equipe R takes technologies from the RS, but offers them in a more accessible package. A-Lock Engineering, a design principle that supports the body in movement rather than restricting it, runs through both versions.
Mille GT is the endurance line. Comfort-oriented, but no less well thought-out. The S11 generation has reduced the weight of the Mille GT jersey by 25%, with the new AirCell textile - an ultra-light circular knit with an open hexagon pattern that cools just as well in the heat as the Equipe RS.
The seat pads deserve their own mention. Assos' Golden Gate technology allows the chamois to float between the legs instead of being sewn flat. This reduces friction with every pedal stroke. The RS version works with a three-layer, 9 mm thick pad, with each layer taking on a different task: shock absorption, support, skin comfort.
Assos today: professional sport and new partnerships
In 2015 the Maier-Moussa family sold the majority to a group of investors led by Philip N. Duff and the New York private equity firm TZP Group. Roche Maier-Moussa, the son of the founders, remained in the company as a shareholder and creative director.
In professional sport, Assos currently outfits the WorldTour team EF Education-EasyPost - a multi-year partnership from 2026, replacing Rapha. Assos previously supplied Fabian Cancellara's Tudor Pro Cycling from 2023 to 2025. For 2026 Sportful took over there.
Away from racing, the collaboration with BOSS has resulted in a collection that combines Assos technology with BOSS aesthetics - 24 pieces for men and women who take the transition from cycling to everyday life seriously.
Why we carry Assos
There is cheaper cycling clothing. There are other brands that make good pants. But Assos invented many of them - the Lycra shorts, the skinsuit, the anatomical seat pad. Almost fifty years of development have gone into every part. And you can feel it from the first kilometer.
At Kilometro, we stock Assos because we prefer brands that back up their promises with technology rather than advertising. Assos is one of the few brands in cycling that delivers both: a story you can verify and products that make a difference on the road.