make them last

We know cycling gear lives a hard life. Forty degree heat. Salt. Sunscreen. Road grit kicked up from the wheel in front. Most kit doesn't die. It gets killed.

Our goal is to give you the best lifespan available on the market: our pieces are built from sublimation-printed lycra and elastomer-rich technical knits, fabrics that reward care and punish neglect. The print sits inside the fibre, not on top of it, which means the colour doesn't crack. But the weave around it can be stretched, pilled, scorched, and chlorinated into early retirement.

What follows is the only care protocol we recommend and it's short on purpose. Three products, one method, a handful of rules that don't bend.

the skinsuit

putting it on

Sit down and roll it up from the legs, not the shoulders. Ease the fabric into place rather than yanking: race-fit pieces unlock their shape by being coaxed, not stretched. Zip it last, slowly, with the slider seated properly before you pull.

Goes without saying: no underwear, the chamois is there for a reason. Doubling up creates friction and ruins both.

after the ride

Wash it within the hour. Sweat is acidic and salt is sharp: the longer they sit in elastomer fibres, the faster the weave loses its memory. A skinsuit left in a kit bag overnight has already started its early retirement.

storing it

Fully dry, folded flat, drawer-side. Never hung by the shoulders for long periods: gravity is patient, and the weight of a damp chamois will pull the shoulders out of shape over a season.

the aero socks

before you wear them

Turn them inside out, shake out grit, then turn them back. A pebble inside an aero sock at the start of a five-hour ride is a problem you can avoid in three seconds.

Have a look at our article here for more details on how to wear them effectively.

after the ride

Inside out, into the wash. The inside is where the sweat lives. Skip the wash bag with anything that has velcro, hooks, or zips on it; a single bib strap can pull a fine knit apart.

the thing that kills socks

Heat. The dryer is the enemy. Tumble-drying breaks the elastane in two or three cycles: what you'll notice first is the cuff giving up, sliding down the calf mid-ride. Air-dry, flat, away from sun and radiators.

pro tip: keep them on a rotation

Rotate two or three pairs through the week rather than wearing the same set day after day: elastane needs 24 hours to recover its stretch. Sock longevity is mostly a rotation problem.

the shoecovers

putting them on

Put them on like aero socks and be careful: fingertips, not nails, the lycra is thin where it needs to be aerodynamic, and a fingernail through a fresh shoecover is a stupid way to end its life on day one.

Once the sock side is one, wear your shoe and slip the shoecover over it by the cleat hole. That's it, you're done and good to go.

after the ride

Rinse off road salt and gravel before they sit in the seams. Salt is the thing that destroys the stretch panels at the heel. A quick cold rinse, then a proper wash with the rest of the kit.

what not to do

Don't walk in them. Don't store them stretched over your shoes between rides. Don't dry them on a radiator: it will fuse the lycra fibres and you'll see it as shiny patches that no longer flex.

storing them

Folded flat once dry. Store them in a drawer, away from anything sharp. If you race in them, keep a separate pair for training: shoecovers are the single most replaceable item in the kit, and the racing pair lasts longest when it's only used for racing.

wash & dry. same rules for every piece