Review of the Ozon Bib Cycling Shorts by GORE BIKE WEAR

If you are serious about comfort and fit, you'll like the Ozon bib shorts by GORE BIKE WEAR™

These bib shorts offer a lot of features without pretension of being anything other than rock-solid cycling wear. With an 8-panel cut, the Ozon bib shorts fit well and provide snug fit and sleek support.

With Lycra, you know you're going to get good wicking action, and the mesh insert in the back and the airy front panels are a thoughtful touch to let even more of the evaporation and cooling action happen. Body heat and perspiration dissapate before they even have a chance to build up.

GORE BIKE WEAR has done a good job with the seam work on the Ozon bibs. Flat, embedded seams give a sleek look and provide fewer opportunities for friction and chafing. Other nice touches: reflective piping at center back of lower leg and a reflective logo on lower left leg to help with visibility, as well as elastic leg grippers fortified with what look like glue dots inlaid into the fabric to help keep the shorts in place and comfortable with no riding up your legs or bagginess around the thighs.

For Riding, Not for Standing Around

The Ozon bib shorts shown with available white trim.

(c) GORE BIKE WEAR

In their ad text, GORE BIKE WEAR describes the Ozon bib shorts as being "special cut for cyclist posture," and there is a lot of truth to that. If you think about how you sit on a road bike, slightly hunched over, then you can picture how the Ozon bib shorts are cut. They are designed to fit you best when you're in that position. That means that they may feel perhaps a bit snug in the crotch (even with a generous 9.5 inch inseam) and shoulders if you wear them out to go marching around the mall. But that's okay, because the Ozon bibs feel awesome when you're riding. It's all about the posture. The snugness I felt in the crotch and straps standing upright went away as soon as I got in the saddle, and I certainly didn't have any of the looseness or extra fabric that you can sometimes have with the bib shorts that are cut only as if a person was going to stand upright in them.

The Ozon bib shorts feature a gel foam insert pad that holds course with the rest of the components. I found that it offered plenty of comfort while not being bulky or mushy. Also, I liked the fact that the pad performed impressively in terms of carrying moisture away and drying quickly.

All in all, I liked these bib shorts a great deal. And at a suggested retail price of $149.99, they are not going to be entry level for this market, but with bike shorts, like most other things, you get what you pay for. And here, what you're getting should serve you well for a long time, offering that comfort and performance on the bike that you're looking for if you are in fact considering shorts in this range.