Review: GOREWEAR Cycling Kits Cover All the Bases

Like every cycling clothing brand, GOREWEAR updates their styles and model names every season or two. Mostly, this makes it hard to write clothing reviews that stand the test of time, but in this case, I’ve been testing their stuff for enough seasons to notice trends that carry over from year to year. And they’re all good.

For this review, we brought a collection of their Spinshift, Endure, Distance, and Spirit lines to Japan. Between them, they covered more than two weeks of road cycling and bikepacking in rain and shine. We mixed and matched, so most images have a variety of these styles in them.

We also brought their Endure mountain bike rain jacket, which makes for a great all-purpose raincoat, too. Here’s a look at the items we tested and notes on their features that carry over year to year and make Gore stand out as one of my favorites for quite some time…

GOREWEAR bibshorts & jerseys

GOREWEAR’s most recent collection is Spinshift, and it includes bibshorts, jerseys, and a road rain jacket. For the jersey and jacket, the front jersey zippers close to create their logo at the top, which is a cool touch.

Above that is their Distance collection, where materials feel a bit more premium, cuts are a little more fitted, there are fewer seams,

Both are excellent, and compared to top-shelf competitors, they’re comparatively featured but very also fairly priced. For hot weather, I prefer the Distance Bib Shorts because they have a lighter-weight mesh strap with less overall material. That said, all of Gore’s bibs use wide but soft straps that are supremely comfortable and stay in place.

It also introduces Gore’s first-ever cargo bibshorts, which have a clever left-side pocket flap that helps keeps things inside the pocket without adding any extra tension. It easily fit my iPhone 15 Pro (standard, not Plus-sized), sized just right to keep it upright.

The right leg pocket has no flap, making it quick and easy to stash wrappers while securing valuables in the flapped left-side pocket.

Conveniently, Gore’s palette is complementary throughout the styles, so it’s easy to pair across price points. Or match it up like the Spinshift Orbit Blue jersey and Distance 2.0 bibs above.

Or their Spirit Organic Camo design with… anything? It also came in purple:

…which is the challenge of putting any clothes through the wringer for a proper test: Styles come and go, and not every color you see here is still available. So, big picture, focus on the features. Speaking of the wringer…

Durability & Pockets

…we’d suggest washing these separately the first time. I know we weren’t this dirty, and *gasp* we’re not triathletes, but a single pair of shorts tainted the tub water when we did an early trip wash. The upside is that Gore’s colors are deep and rich, and they’ve held up really well to many subsequent machine washing.

Importantly, they’ve also held up to the high-heat combo washer/dryer units often found in Japanese hotels. That said, we usually hang dry these things at home. They’ve even held up to a few scuffs…

Regardless of which jersey we wore, all of them have great pockets. Steve showed off his tuck-and-roll skills on a low-speed tumble and ended up scuffing a few holes in his pocket. Despite continuing to stuff it full and through future wearings, those tears haven’t really spread or grown.

The three main pockets are deep enough to hold a lot of stuff, like weird vending machine snacks, action cameras on selfie sticks, phones, jackets, and more. But they’re not so deep that we couldn’t easily fish a gel or bar out of them either.

They all also have a fourth zipper pocket for cash and cards, even on their budget jerseys, which is a great feature.

We also really liked Gore’s leg openings. They’re seamless and use a simple repeating “+” plus sign pattern of silicone grippers. It’s minimal, so it won’t leave a deep ring around your leg, but effective – our shorts never rode up or shifted out of place.

Not shown, most of their bibshorts have an additional “modesty panel” above the front of the chamois pad, which helps smooth over any bumps and conceal dribbles…you know, I mean, I hear some people worry about that I guess. Anyway, it’s a nice feature, and it also blocks a bit of wind in the winter without being hot in the summer.

The last thing to note is sleeve length. They’re not the longest, and not the shortest. For my son and I (both ~6’2″), they hit is mid-arm. For Steve, they came a little closer to his elbow. Personally, I prefer longer sleeves for more sun coverage, but these are a good middle ground that stayed comfortable and should fit most riders well.

Jackets & shell shorts

For the road cycling tour, Steve and I both used the new Spinshift Gore-Tex Jacket. It’s ultralight, as breathable as anything else in the category, and drys very quickly. If you miss Gore’s Shakedry jackets (RIP), these are close and probably more durable.

The fit well, just snug enough to minimize drag and flapping, but with enough room to move, even when they’re zipped all the way up. I typically have to size up on jackets to get the arm length and shoulder room, but here I was able to stick with a Large (US, Men’s) for a more aero fit.

They also fit over a jersey full of stuffed pockets in the back, too, and has it’s own zippered pocket that can be used for stuff, or…

…it stuffs into it’s own pocket for compact storage. Once compressed it fits easily in their jersey’s pockets, but I also just shoved it down into a jersey pocket without storing it, too.

Two other noteworthy features: The sleeves are long enough to cover the tops of your gloves, so there’s no awkward gap there, and the front zipper is easy to adjust while riding. I was also able to pull the jacket on and off while riding, but you should attempt that only at your own risk.

For the bikepacking leg, we switched to the Endure Gore-Tex Jacket, their top-level mountain bike jacket. This jacket is also incredibly lightweight, packs down small, and dries very quickly, but has more room to move.

We wanted something more casual since we’d be riding slower and stopping at a lot of spots, cafes, shops, etc. So, we sized up because we wanted to be able to layer under it for off-the-bike adventures. This made it a bit big for pure cycling, but I’ve used it for mountain biking, hiking, and just walking around and it’s great.

I went with an XL on this and can easily layer a hoodie or sweater underneath when temps drop. I love its versatility, and since it’s $280, it’s a really nice jacket that might be hard to justify purely for MTB use anywhere outside of the Pacific Northwest or UK.

We noted that the material does appear to “wet out” on the forearms and where it’s rubbed by things like pack straps, but we concluded that it doesn’t seem to let moisture in. Some sweat will accumulate and feel wet inside, but opening the zipper to let fresh air in or turning it inside out once we stopped (and the rain stopped) allowed it to dry almost instantly. All in all, it’s one of the best rain jackets I’ve used.

We also brought along the Endure Gore-Tex Shorts, which are a wind- and water-proof shell short with simple elastic waist band. They’re ultralight, are quick and easy to put on and take off as conditions change, and long enough to provide excellent coverage. Sitting right at the knee, they kept our bibs from getting wet in the rain, so we had dry clothes underneath once the clouds cleared. These are a great option for MTB, commuters, touring, or just playing outside on rainy days!

Gore cycling gloves

For some reason, we only took pics of Steve’s Gore C3 cycling gloves, which he liked. They have a single-layer palm with very light padding and a simple stretch backhand.

Harrison and I wore Zone full finger (slim, no padding) and C5 short finger (gel + foam padding) gloves. Both offered great grip on the handlebar tape during downpours and were comfortable throughout the long days. I wore an XL and found that the bits between the fingers could have had just a bit more room (they dug in slightly, but not enough to cause pain), but otherwise they’re a great compliment to Gore’s excellent cycling kits.

Gore Wear for the win

Over the past 16 years of testing cycling kits, Gore has consistently delivered on quality, smart features, and great comfort. More recently, they’ve got a lot better about their fit, too, with more consistency across models and seasons.

I typically wear a Large in road kits, and everything I ordered for this trip fit perfectly. Steve typically wears Medium, but went with Small bibshorts (mediums were too big) and Medium jerseys, and he commented that their online sizing guide suggested XS, so maybe just go start with what you normally wear and go from there.

I also really appreciate that they offer great features, material, and design all the way down to their lowest price points. Minimalist grippers, wide shoulder bands, reflective hits, and zippered jersey pockets…all these things are on every model they offer. We highly recommend checking them out next time you’re shopping for cycling kits.

GoreWear.com