With the 160-gram Equipe RSR Bib Shorts S9, Assos started from scratch and re-engineered the platform as a whole—and came away with the lightest, most comfortable race-spec bib shorts to ever leave their laboratory. These bibs are made with Type 701kompressor material that delivers the perfect combination of compressive hold, durability, soft hand-feel, and the lowest weight possible. In other words, the material becomes your second skin, delivering phenomenal structural hold, breathability, and a silky smooth, uninterrupted wrap along the low back and thighs.

Assos' new bracing system works together to stabilize the shorts and secure the insert in place. The S9 generation incorporates just two panels, with a primary “butterfly” panel fully wrapping the legs and converging in the rear to form the ergoBox structure. This design effectively frames the insert in place and provides you with an ultra-comfortable wrap that works in conjunction with Type 701 material for the best fit ever produced. The bib straps have also been redesigned using calibrated stretch throughout, with the rear section using a single section of elastic material—folded over on itself—forming an A-frame in the back. It delivers limited vertical stretch in order to add further stability. In the front, the straps are made of a more flexible material, with an antibacterial carbon weave, to lay flat and wick moisture. Assos also focused on a single insert platform, which allowed the freedom to reassess what is most crucial to a streamlined, race-spec insert. They reduced the overall footprint to shed additional weight, employed superAir microShock foam with 3D waffle, incorporated the kraterCooler system to increase airflow up front, and took additional measures to anchor the insert at the rear with a patented horizontal stabilizer. The result? Total ASSOS comfort you’ve come to know and trust, stabilized more than ever.