Fitness tracker: Assos and Whoop present the smart cycling shorts Mille GT Whoop C2

The new generation of Mille GT cycling shorts from Assos serves as the basis for the Whoop Wearable. These road bike shorts are designed for long rides and combine a thick seat pad with a stretchy outer material. Compared to the previous model, the new bike bib has fewer seams, which, together with the seamless X-braces, ensures an excellent feel against the skin. The Swiss company has also opted for a slightly thicker seat pad, which our test rider found to be a good compromise between comfort and stability. We would recommend the Assos Mille GT more to amateur athletes and leisure cyclists whose sit bones are less resistant than those of frequent riders.

Assos Mille GT Whoop C2 cycling shorts: facts & figures

• Equipment: comfortable padding, seamless X straps, compatible with Whoop 4.0
• Weight: 195 grams (weighed weight, size M)
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL
• Price: 165 Euro >> available here for 145 Euro
• Country of manufacture: Bulgaria

The whoop tracker is inserted into a small compartment sewn into the left side of the seat. Assos tested a total of five different positions for the sensor during the development phase. The small, 27 gram tracker is barely noticeable in the saddle. To record biometric data such as heart rate, breathing rate or skin temperature, the optical sensor is placed directly on the skin. However, this is not absolutely necessary: in our practical tests, data recording also worked perfectly with a thin vest. Whoop automatically recognises the type of sport based on the heart rate profile. Alternatively, you can select the activity manually from a list of over 60 different sports.

Unlike smartwatches, Whoop is a pure fitness tracker without a display. The focus is on stress management, whereby the parameters of stress, recovery and sleep are monitored. The heart rate serves as the basis and algorithms are used to calculate the blood oxygen content, among other things. The device can also be fed with up to 140 habits via a so-called logbook. Daily queries in the German-language app can indicate, for example, whether you read in bed before going to sleep, whether alcohol was consumed or when your last meal was eaten.

Fitness tracker Whoop 4.0: facts & figures

• Functions: Fitness tracker, virtual AI coach
• Measured values: e.g. resting heart rate, heart rate variability
• Waterproof: up to a depth of 10 metres
• Artificial intelligence: GPT-4 from OpenAI
• Data analysis: via smartphone app
• Weight: 27 grams (weighed weight)
• Subscription prices: 264 euros (1 year), 444 euros (2 years)

The more information is shared with the Whoop fitness tracker, the more precise the recommendations for rest and sleep phases and the predictions for exercise capacity become. Although our tester severely limited the queries, the effort still remains relatively high. For professional athletes, constant tracking may be part of everyday life, but amateur athletes could quickly feel like "transparent athletes". The new generation also offers a coaching function that is supported by artificial intelligence (chat GPT). The so-called Whoop Coach can, for example, create personalised training plans.

The Assos Mille GT Whoop C2 cycling shorts are available for 165 euros, which is 20 euros more than the "normal" version without the Whoop pocket. The Swiss company also offers a women's model, the Uma GT Whoop C2. The Whoop fitness tracker is only available as a subscription model: A one-year membership costs 264 euros, while two years are offered for 444 euros. A 30-day membership is free of charge. Anyone already using Whoop should note that the bike bibs are only compatible with the current 4.0 generation of the tracker.