The first thing I noticed about the Gore Bike Wear Oxygen IV jacket was the styling. This is a jacket I could wear as a light jacket for other things besides cycling. The colors (Red, Orange/Silver Grey and Black) looked very nice and worked well with my assortment of black bib shorts, bib knickers and full length bibs. Then I noticed the back tail that is designed to keep your backside dry on those rainy day rides and I thought it might not be something I would wear on my next hot date!

The other thing I noticed was how light weight the jacket was. I thought no way this thing is going to keep me warm on a 30 degree Fahrenheit day. Boy I was wrong! After adding a light weight moisture wicking base layer under the jacket I used it in some extreme conditions, snow, rain, high winds and low temperatures (33*). It performed well in everything I rode in, I was dry in the rain, warm and dry in the snow and warm in chilly high winds. I used it both on the road and while mountain biking.

The mechanical features on the jacket worked well on my rides. The zipper up the front was easy to use and had an extra long tab attached to it for additional performance. There are Velcro straps on the wrists designed for a snug fit to keep the wind and rain out, they worked very well. There was ample Velcro to ensure the straps stayed snug to the wrist and were easy to use as they were designed to pull away from the wrist.

I was disappointed in that the jacket did not have pockets for things a cyclist likes to take on a ride like a cell phone, energy packs or bars, home keys, bike/car keys and camera.

The jacket comes with a small bag designed to carry the jacket in a small space like the pockets of most cycling jerseys. It worked well on those days when rain or snow was predicted but was not falling when I started my ride. If conditions changed all I had to do was reach for my rear jersey pocket and the jacket was there in an easy to control condition for a quick throw on.

The Gore Bike Wear Oxygen IV jacket is an excellent jacket for both road cycling and mountain biking. I would definitely recommend it to any cyclist needing a cool weather cycling jacket. If you like to know more about the technical features of Gore cycling products visit www.gorebikewear.com.

USA: Click here to buy the Gore Oxygen IV jacket in our bike store.
Europe: Click here to buy the Gore Oxygen IV jacket.