100 years of Gonso: From women's underwear manufacturer to cycling trousers specialist

Three days of pop-up exhibition, film premiere, live podcast and joint rides in the heart of Berlin: Gonso celebrated its 100th anniversary in May with the "Museum of Cycling" and transformed Torstraße 66 into a tribute to cycling culture. As part of the three-day pop-up gallery, guests embarked on a journey through a century of eventful brand history. From the beginnings in the 1920s to the development of the first cycling shorts with a synthetic seat pad to today's extensive range of functional cycling clothing for all requirements and disciplines. The exhibition not only showed Olympic victories and world championship titles, but also shed light on the cultural transformation of cycling and its significance far beyond the sport.

Gonso exhibition and exit

The official opening took place on Friday evening. The crew from the "Besenwagen" podcast travelled to Berlin to talk about the history of Gonso, personal memories and the brand's influence on international cycling. On Saturday morning, around 30 cycling enthusiasts gathered at the location in perfect weather to ride together on one of Berlin's most beautiful local laps towards Wannsee and back. Afterwards, coffee and cake awaited the participants. A special eye-catcher of the exhibition was an original BDR jersey from the 1990s, which was presented frozen in a block of ice for the entire three days.

The company was founded in 1926 by Johannes Gonser as a textile factory for women's underwear, stockings and nightgowns. Subsequently, the company also produced functional clothing such as tracksuits and cross-country skiing clothing. The brand name Gonso is an acronym made up of the first letters of the surname (Gonser) and the former company headquarters (Onstmettingen, today a district of Albstadt). Today, the company is based in Köngen. The specialisation in cycling clothing did not take place until the early 1980s, triggered by a health restriction of the company boss.

Osteoarthritis leads to the first Gonso cycling shorts with padding

Hans Gonser, grandson of the company founder, suffered from severe osteoarthritis in 1979. The cyclist had to complete his training sessions on a trim bike. The long sessions led to injuries that made riding difficult. Gonser had his development team sew a seat pad made of deerskin into his cycling shorts. At the same time, he realised that although professional cyclists were equipped by sponsors, there was no bike collection for recreational cyclists.

The collaboration with the Bayer company brought the breakthrough in 1980. Gonso produced the first collection of functional cycling clothing in Germany and offered the first cycling shorts with a synthetic seat pad. Since then, the company has focussed on functional cycling clothing.

In-house development of seat cushions and cuts

Gonso develops its own seat pads and has them customised. In-house pattern directors design every single pattern for all cycling trouser models. The Sitivo cycling shorts line takes into account different seat pressure points depending on the area of use. The company analyses customers' body shapes and wearing habits to coordinate material, fit, function and design.

The ergonomic cut includes 40 different men's and women's sizes as well as several short and long sizes. The sizing system is designed to ensure that the clothing does not pinch, rub or pinch on all body shapes.

Full range for all cycling disciplines

The product range includes cycling shorts, cycling jackets, cycling jerseys, functional underwear and rainwear. The collection covers the needs of cycle commuters, cycle touring, mountain biking and road cycling. Accessories such as overshoes, helmet caps, arm and leg warmers complete the range. The Gonso seat cream is also part of the range.

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