Cyclist
Best aero socks 2025 for easy gains
Who’d have thought it? The best aero cycling socks provide more than a marginal gain, with claims of ten watts or more saved over standard cycling socks at racing speeds.
While the best cycling socks usually prioritise foot comfort and, for winter cycling socks, warmth, aero cycling socks are geared at providing free speed. The best are aero-tested, with detailed results for watts saved. Although they can be pricy, aero cycling socks may offer the cheapest aero gain in terms of claimed watts saved for their price, far undercutting the best aero road bike wheels and other fancy aero bits.
Read on for our pick of the best aero cycling socks, or look further down for our guide to how to choose aero socks.
Cyclist’s pick of the best aero cycling socks
- Assos RSR Speed Socks S11: RRP £45
- Canyon Light Aero Cycling Socks: RRP £18.95
- Castelli Fast Feet 3 Socks: RRP £37
- Huub Aero Cycling Socks: RRP £29.99
- Le Col Pro Aero Socks: RRP £30
- Nopinz Hypersonic Socks: RRP £29.99
- Rapha Pro Team Aero Socks: RRP £50
- Rule 28 One Aero Socks: RRP £40
- Silca Aero Socks – Tall: RRP £30
- Spatz Aero Sokz: RRP £29.99
- Specialized Hydrogen Aero Tall Road Socks: RRP £20
- Swiss Side Aero Socks: RRP £51
Why trust Cyclist‘s advice?
Aero cycling kit is everywhere and, here at Cyclist, we’re out testing the best aero bikes, aero helmets and other aero cycling kit, bringing you the cream of the crop for our coverage in Cyclist magazine. The best cycling shoes and the socks to go with them are part of the deal.
We’re not paid for our coverage or to place products, so you can rely on Cyclist for unbiased advice.
Best aero cycling socks 2025
Our pick of the best aero cycling socks you can buy.
Assos RSR Speed Socks S11
£45.00 | View offer
Assos says it has used WorldTour feedback in developing its UCI legal aero socks, which have a seamless ribbed calf section. The brand claims high breathability and wicking from the foot section to help keep your feet cool too.
Available in white only, there are three sizes to fit feet from size 35 to size 46.
- Buy now from Condor Cycles (£45)
Canyon Light Aero Cycling Socks
£18.95 | View offer
Canyon claims its aero socks offer marginal gains, although watts saved are not specified. There’s a ribbed upper structure and the socks are a mix of 96% polyamide with 4% elastane. Silicone grippers help to keep the socks in place.
You can buy Canyon’s aero socks in four sizes for feet from size 36 to 48 and in white or black.
- Buy now from Canyon (£18.95)
Castelli Fast Feet 3 Socks
£37.00 | View offer
Castelli says that the grooved lycra in the legs of its Fast Feet 3 socks is engineered to help detach airflow for aero gains. They’re designed for warmer rides up to 38°C and Castelli has aero tested its socks on a moving lower leg as well as on real riders. It reckons that the socks will save you 2 watts at 50kmh, a fairly conservative number compared to some competitors.
Sizes available are S/M, L/XL and XXL for feet from size 35 to 48 and the four colour options include white, black, blue and yellow.
- Buy now from Amazon (£33.03)
Huub Aero Cycling Socks
£29.99 | View offer
Better known for triathlon kit, particularly focussed on the swim leg, Huub has moved into the cycling world too, with a full range of cycle clothing for triathletes and road cyclists, including aero kit. Its UCI legal socks were designed by Dan Bigham and are claimed to save between 5 and 10 watts.
Sizes S, M and L fit feet from size 38 to size 46 and the socks are available in black or white.
- Buy now from Huub (£29.99)
Le Col Pro Aero Socks
£33 | View offer
While most brands claim that their aero socks save energy via trip layers, Le Col says that its aero socks smooth airflow. The brand doesn’t quote any watts saved but says that the socks are wind tunnel tested and claims high breathability for the foot section, while the channelled calf fabric is designed to provide the aero gains.
Le Col sells its aero socks in just two sizes: S/M and L/XL to fit feet from 39 to 46+ and in either black with white accents or white with black accents.
- Buy the Le Col Pro Aero Socks from Le Col (£33.00)
Nopinz Hypersonic socks
£29.99 | View offer
The hypersonic tag may be a bit of an exaggeration, but Nopinz claims gains of up to seven watts at speeds between 40 and 55kmh, which it reckons, based on its testing at the Silverstone wind-tunnel, will save you seven seconds in a ten-mile time-trial or even more if you can maintain 55kmh. Ridges are claimed to trip the boundary layer, with silicone grippers to make sure the socks stay put.
The Nopinz Hypersonic socks come in sizes from XS to XL and in white, black or navy blue and are UCI compliant.
- Buy now from Nopinz (from £17.99)
Rapha Pro Team Aero Socks
£50 | View offer
Made from polyester with elastane for stretch, Rapha’s Pro Team Aero socks are claimed to save you 4 watts at 40kmh, based on Rapha’s wind-tunnel tests. There’s a mix of layers designed to promote turbulent airflow, a high cuff, a breathable mesh upper section to keep you cool and wicking fabric. Developed alongside Rapha’s sponsored EF Education pro teams, they’re UCI legal.
Rapha sells its aero socks in sizes from XS to XL to fit feet from 35 to 46+ and in black or white.
- Buy now from Rapha (£50)
Rule 28 One Aero Socks
£40 | View offer
Rule 28 claims a saving of 10.45 watts at 45kmh for its One aero socks over its previous generation of the same socks. It claims the fabric is the same as used by elite athletes and is lighter and gripper than its predecessor. For even greater claimed gains, choose the £100 Neo socks.
Four sizes cover feet from size 36 through to 47 and there’s a choice of white or black.
- Buy now from Rule 28 (£40)
Silca Aero Socks – Tall
£30 | View offer
If you want colour in your aero socks, Silca has you covered. While white and black are the usual options, Silca’s socks are available in seven colours, as well as four sizes, to cater for riders with feet from 35 to 48 in size. Silca says that its aero testing at 30 to 45kmh shows aero gains of between four and eight watts compared to standard socks.
You also get antimicrobial, odour-resistant fabric and a design without a toe seam and Silca claims great foot comfort alongside the aero gains. The socks are UCI legal too.
- Buy now from Silca (£30)
Spatz Aero Sokz
£29.99 | View offer
SpatzWear says that its striated fabric keeps the air attached to the leg and the seam at the rear doesn’t interact with the airflow. It claims its two grippers help keep the socks in place. No aero testing claims and no watt savings specified.
SpatzWear sells its aero socks in sizes 39-44 and 45-49 and in black or white.
- Buy now from Merlin Cycles (£28.40)
Specialized Hydrogen Aero Tall Road socks
£20 | View offer
Specialized claims that the ribbing in its aero socks makes them faster, although it doesn’t provide any numbers. It uses soft, lightweight yarns, which the brand claims offer moisture transfer and arch support, while a mesh toe panel helps with ventilation.
Available in sizes S to XL and black, white or navy to fit feet from 36 to 46+.
- Buy now from Specialized (£20)
SwissSide Aero Socks
£51 | View offer
SwissSide spent 24 months developing its aero socks, alongside it calf sleeves for triathletes. It even built its own wind tunnel to test its designs – we’ve outlined its testing in our buyer’s guide lower down this page. The results suggest that at 45kmh riders can achieve aero gains of between 3 and 6.5 watts.
SwissSide sells its socks in white only in three sizes covering feet from size 35 to 46. Unlike the calf sleeves, the aero socks are UCI legal.
- Buy now from Swiss Side (£51)
How to choose the best aero cycling socks for you
How do aero cycling socks work?
Sock aerodynamics are improved in aero cycling socks by using features such as surface ribbing and rougher fabrics. According to a white paper published by SwissSide, these make the airflow around the sock turbulent. This in turn increases the depth of the boundary layer of air between the rider’s leg and the laminar incident airflow and delays the flow separation of the air from the leg and so reduces aero drag.
Swiss Side points out that for a cylinder, which a rider’s lower leg approximates to in shape, a reduction in aero drag of over 50% can be achieved by small changes in airflow or cylinder diameter.
How much of an aero gain is achieved depends chiefly on the rider’s speed and the girth of their lower legs, but aero cycling sock designers try to maximise gains for all riders regardless of conditions. This is achieved by tripping the boundary layer so that it becomes turbulent and Swiss Side’s wind tunnel tests showed that the most aero fabric it tested could reduce the Coefficient of Aerodynamic Drag (CdA) of a 100mm diameter cylinder by 60 percent.
Swiss Side didn’t just test its sock fabrics on cylinders either. It also tested on real life lower leg shapes, fixed leg mannequins, athletes in its wind tunnel and athletes riding on the road.
Other brands have also aero tested their socks, either on static or moving mannequins and some have also performed rider-plus-bike wind tunnel or outdoor testing. Although some brands have published detailed results, others haven’t shown any data to support their aero claims.
UCI legal?
The UCI’s sock rule states, ‘Socks and overshoes used in competition may not rise above the height defined by half the distance between the middle of the lateral malleolus and the middle of the fibula head” (Article 1.3.003 BIS). The UCI sock police can disqualify a rider from competition whose socks don’t comply.
In practice, most riders wearing aero socks aren’t likely to be competing in UCI sanctioned races, but most aero cycling socks nevertheless comply with the rule. You may get some added aero benefits from choosing longer non-UCI compliant socks though. It’s different in triathlon, where riders can choose to wear leg sleeves which extend to the knee and are, in general, even more aero.
Temperature
All the aero cycling socks above are designed for riding in warm to hot weather. For wet or cooler weather, aero cycling overshoes are available which offer similar claimed aero benefits. They too are subject to the UCI’s sock rule.
Washing
In general, aero cycling socks are made of synthetic fabrics with lycra/spandex content to keep them close to your skin, so they have a maximum wash temperature of 30deg C to preserve their stretch. Dark colours are likely to be easier to keep looking pristine than whites when washed in technical wash products at low temperatures.
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