The Athletic Bike Parts & Accessories

The Athletic is a U.S.-based maker of apparel and accessories for cyclists. Alongside an astonishingly broad array of socks, the company creates jerseys and shorts, hats, gloves, packs, water bottles and more. Everything is available from the company's own brick-and-mortar store, online, or from one of its select few retailers.

Founded in 2014, the company's first pair of socks was an homage to the iconic PDX carpeting at Portland International Airport. The unintentional timing was perfect: shortly afterward plans were announced to replace the carpet with new flooring, a tremendous amount of press ensued, and the socks took off like wildfire. Capitalizing on this success, The Athletic produced a range of new items, opened its own retail store, and surfed to its new position: a big player in the world of cycling socks.

The socks are by far the most extensive range of apparel from the company. Styles vary considerably: mountain peaks, abstract art, classic chevrons and stripes in non-classic colors. Amongst the plethora of cycling socks are a few others, including hiking socks and all-round sport socks, the last possibly the only one in the catalogue to come in subtle colors. Construction is top-notch, with materials chosen appropriate to purpose: the Mammoth summer socks incorporate Coolmax fabric, the hikers Merino wool, the lightweight racing socks polyamide and lycra.

Apparel spans from casual to serious. Tees and sweatshirts are quieter than the sock line, often in muted grays. Sporting togs include full outfits for basketball, running, or cycling. A number of collections are available; one of the finer sets is La Cubiste, its geometric patterns across a full set of cycling togs, from cap to socks. The socks are quite a sight; while one pair is color-matched to the rest of the lineup, the other pairs don't even match each other.

The Athletic makes great riding, hiking, and general athletic socks, and a fine collection of other pieces for a riding wardrobe. Worth a look.