Many thanks to user openroad, the outdoor category lead, for adding this item to the Epinions database.
Yes, dry pavement and decent riding weather are a rarity in the Chicago area between December and early March, but it’s been known to happen.
I’ve used Nashbar for years as a quality, cost effective provider of bicycle clothing, supplies and accessories, and I’ve generally been happy with the quality of their private label items. While I can use liner gloves under regular bicycle gloves in chilly weather, sometimes it’s too cold for that.
I got this glove from Nashbar because I thought it had good features for the money. Specifically, it has:
- a padded palm
- a goat leather palm, making for good gripping’
- a terrycloth area on the thumb, good for wiping (ahem) moisture off the face
- a knit cuff which expands out under a tight (Nashbar calls it gauntlet) wrist so that sleeves and glove can interact without exposing the wrist to cold
- Nylon outer shell and thinsulate inner mean this is waterproof, windproof and breathable.
As I recall, I paid about $25 for it. Currently, Nashbar has it for 24.99.
I chose it over more expensive 5-finger gloves because it had the best features for the price. There are also “lobster” gloves available that have fewer fingers and I figured that it might be tough to navigate the shifter and brakes, even though Nashbar says it’s not a problem.
These gloves have performed very well. I haven’t had a lot of rides, and the rides have been short, but I have been warm enough in the hands, I’ve been able to use my hands as I usually do to absorb a little shock from the road and I have had no trouble braking or shifting. The size (XL) fit just slightly smaller than their regular gloves, making for a tight, comfortable fit. So, they have done what I expected them to.
However, a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t find them immediately, so I just put on standard winter thinsulate gloves. There wasn’t that much of a difference. Those gloves had an abrasive palm for gripping, probably synthetic, and the thinsulate inner provides modest padding. Those gloves did not have the expanding cuff and the terry thumb. The padding was not that great. I felt my hands getting tired.
So, after I came home, I got to thinking. What about wearing tight summer padded cycling gloves under regular winter gloves to get the padding and save a buck or two? I just tried it with my summer gloves and I think it would work for the padding. That wouldn’t help with the lack of terry thumb or the cuff, but it might be ok for some.
This is a solid glove, worth what is charged and I will recommend it. However, you might be able to accomplish the same thing by wearing a summer bicycle glove under a standard winter glove.
The Nashbar Cold Weather cycling glove is the ultimate in protection from the cold, so you can ride in the middle of the winter while maintaining the ...More at Bike Nashbar
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