When it’s too mild for a winter jacket but too chilly for a short sleeve jersey, the Assos iJ.tiburu_evo7 long-sleeve jacket is a really good pick. It’s luxuriously soft against the skin, has an excellent fit and provides ideal insulation for spring and early summer riding. It does, however, lack the wind and rain protection of a growing number of long-sleeve jerseys.
Assos has years of experience when it comes to textile design and putting together the right mix of materials into a garment, and this shows in the iJ.tiburu_evo7. There are 14 panels using four different fabrics, but the takeaway is just how seamlessly it all blends together, creating a supremely comfortable long-sleeve top.
The majority of the jersey is made from a fleecy RX fabric with a lighter weight RXQ fabric for the back panels, providing more insulation and protection where it’s most needed and extra breathability out back. The brushed fleece fabric is lovely next to the skin, it really feels like you’re pulling on a premium garment and that feeling continues when you hit the road. It’s simply a lovely top to ride in.
Even though it’s listed as a jacket, it has the fit and feel of a jersey. It’s best viewed as a long-sleeve jersey as well, a step up from a jersey and arm warmer combination for those brisk rides when it’s unlikely you’ll be peeling away the warmers.
It’s a warm and insulating jacket, ideal for spring and autumn, and even summer as well. It’s great at this time of year: early morning spring rides are perfect with just a short-sleeve base layer underneath it provides adequate insulation to keep the nip of the cold air at bay. I’ve paired it with a long-sleeve Assos skinFoil base layer and it’s coped with temperatures nudging uncomfortably close to zero.
It can cope with a reasonably high-temperature range well into the mid-teens. You can tailor the base layer to add more insulation or adapt it for mild rides, where the excellent breathability ensures you don’t rapidly get uncomfortably hot when it warms up during a long ride.
The only real downside is when the weather gets crazy and unpredictable, the iJ.tiburu_evo7 doesn’t offer the same level of protection from the elements as tops made from wind- and water-resistant fabrics such as Gore’s Windstopper and Sportful’s Fiandre. That makes it less useful for the constantly shifting weather that makes riding in the UK so tricky to dress for.
For a jersey designed primarily for spring and autumn use, when the weather is at its most unpredictable, this could be a key factor for some people. So you might have to consider taking an emergency gilet or lightweight shell if the weather is looking a bit iffy.
As you’d expect from a company with a background in racing and high-performance, the jersey is tailored to provide a close fit. The jersey hugs every contour of the body but there’s no tightness in the shoulders or arms and neither is there any excess material to flap in the wind. The aero game is strong with this one.
Assos clothing normally comes up rather small, but I found the sizing good. It’s worth paying particularly close attention to the sizing guide or better still popping into your nearest Assos stockist to check the sizing. There’s a good length to the arms with no sign of the cuffs coming short at the wrists, even on the size small tested, and the high collar provides a snug feeling without being overly tight when the full-length zip is done right up.
To prevent loaded pockets sagging down Assos has developed what it calls a rear stabiliser panel with reduced vertical stretch in the fabric to keep everything nicely in place. It works. Even loading the pockets with enough food for a 200km ride doesn’t see the pockets sagging unduly. The addition of a zipped pocket is a nice thing, a safe place to stash the house keys. Reflective details add a bit of extra visibility for late evening rides.
I’m impressed with the iJ.tiburu_evo7. It’s insanely comfortable with a great fit, good understated looks with the bold colour panel design, nice attention to details, and adequate insulation on colder rides. The lack of serious wind and rain protection is the only thing going against it, and limits its usefulness for the a lot of typical British weather compared to jerseys made from windproof and water-resistant fabrics.
New for 2017 are the addition of three new colours, reOrange, blackSeries and voltYellow.
Verdict
Warm, comfortable and great fitting jacket but lacks bad weather protection
All the deals displayed on our review pages are pulled from a constantly updating database feed of the best affiliate deals available. The criteria for deciding on what are the best deals is who is offering the lowest, delivered price. In most cases we will be showing the very best deal available online, but sometimes you may be able to find an item cheaper. If you can please feel free to post a link in the comments box below. To find out more about affiliate links on road.cc click here.
road.cc test report
Make and model: Assos iJ.tiburu_evo7 jacket
Size tested: small,
Tell us what the product is for, and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
iJ.tibuRu is your second layer outer shell garment, engineered to function perfectly within your ALS (Assos Layering System). Use it in cooler riding conditions when you want a heavy longsleeve jersey. The tibuRu operates best when used in combination with the next-to-skin ASSOS interactive body insulator underneath.
The tibuRu features 14 patterns, 4 different textiles and 12 components
Welcome to stealth, welcome to our Black Series colour scheme. When you want to disappear into the crowd yet retain elegance, this is the perfect garment. And we’ve added two more colourways to our collection: voltYellow and reOrange
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
· Second layer outer shell garment for use in cooler riding conditions
· Features 14 patterns, 4 different textiles and 12 components
· Front and upper arms feature ASSOS fleecy RX fabric, rear fabric is made out of RXQ which is slightly lighter than RX
· Rear stabilizer panel design which reduces vertical stretch – very useful for when pockets are full
· Three rear pockets, zipped safety pocket, rear reflective visibility stripes
Excellent construction details
Provided it’s dry it provides ample insulation on chilly spring rides, but it lacks the wind protection of other long sleeve jerseys which loses it a few points on versatility.
Durability has been superb so far.
It wears like a long sleeve jersey rather than a heavy jacket.
The soft fabric and great fit ensures it scores highly on the comfort front.
It performs well in the dry and cold and offers excellent fit and comfort.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
For a two or three season top the iJ.tiburu_evo7 has a lot going for it.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Great fit, lovely soft fabric and nice details. Looks good too.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Lacks wind and rain protection for that added dose of versatility.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Maybe
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Maybe
Use this box to explain your score
I’m impressed with the iJ.tiburu_evo7. Great fit, comfort and attention to detail, with some nice features like the stabilised pocket design, and it copes well with a ride range of temperatures making it an ideal bridging garment from winter to summer. But for this sort of money there are plenty of jersey/jackets that fend off the wet and wind as well as keeping you warm, and that deficiency loses the iJ.tiburu_evo7 points.
About the tester
Age: 31 Height: 180cm Weight: 67kg
I usually ride: My best bike is:
I’ve been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, mtb,
11 thoughts on “Assos iJ.tiburu_evo7 jacket”
It’s more of an insulator to
It’s more of an insulator to wear under a jacket. I have the ‘old’ one and it is very comfy and nice against the skin but you do need an outer shell. I think Assos use ‘Jacket ‘as we in the UK would use ‘Long Sleeve Jersey’ in most instances?
I thought it was the same
I thought it was the same just a bit of rebranding… speaking of price I see that CRC have the ‘old’ one in all colours at £ 115.99 with a tenner off as a clearance item.
That mark seems a bit harsh,
That mark seems a bit harsh, I have the non-evo version and it’s great for a wide range of temperatures and keeps me warm even when wet. Obviously it is not as weatherproof as other jackets but the breathability, fit and comfort are better and the pockets are great. Mine gets plenty of use at this time of year.
Anthony.C wrote:
Agreed. The problem with marks now is that we mark according to the existence of other things. That’s not unfair per se, but sometimes you just want a nice fleecy jersey. And this hits the spot. On the Evo point, that’s simply the new branding. There’s little to no difference with the older version other than being a) quite a bit cheaper now (and discounted could get into the £120’s) and b) losing the arm pattern. The latter is a bit of a shame.
What’s quite interesting about Assos at the moment is a quite bit of re-positioning on price. Mille Intermediate about £60 cheaper than the S7. This about £60 cheaper than the ‘old’ model. New Mille shorts still under £100.
I have the
I have the Milleintermediatejacket_evo7 which seems very similar to this but has a windproof front panel. It is in the same ‘season’ range (tiburu – spring/autumn) and bizarrely is cheaper than this one. Possibly as all their ‘Mille’ cut stuff seems to be a little cheaper.
I find it fantastic – close fitting, comfortable and the thin windproof front is pretty effective. It’s proabably the reason I don’t own a gilet. Also (said it before) the guys in the shop in London were incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.
abrooks wrote:
They’re quite different. The Mille has a windproof front which isn’t thermal and the rest of the material is much thinner (and non roubaix) than the tiburu. The tiburu is very toasty.
The Mille is superb mind. I have loads of use out of it. I don’t like the look quite as much as the ‘old’ Intermediate S7 (which still exists) but it’s just as good for £60-£70 less.
I do have a gilet to go with it mind. The Falkenzahn is a bit expensive so I got the F1 braded one. I don’t do F1 but I like it a lot. https://roubaixcycling.cc/2017/03/21/assos-ig-works_teamvest_evo8/
[/quote]
“They’re quite different. The Mille has a windproof front which isn’t thermal and the rest of the material is much thinner (and non roubaix) than the tiburu. The tiburu is very toasty”.
Gotcha, thanks. There is no substitute for picking the stuff up and trying it on. Out of interest, does your gilet pack into a pocket? I read that the Falkenzahn might be too substantial to do that.
abrooks wrote:
Here you go!
https://goo.gl/photos/6r2msY8ne3LikwqY6
My NEW Assos shorts s are the
My NEW Assos shorts s are the same fit, but new lycras have too much streth and feel cheaper.
Quick investigation revealed that thery are now made in Romania and suffer for it. No longer the benchmark.
Freddy56 wrote:
Mine are all made in Bulgaria. Are you sure?
Freddy – Can you explain a
Freddy – Can you explain a bit? What are your ‘old’ ASSOS shorts which your ‘New’ ASSOS shorts are the same fit as?
Comments are closed.