Favorite Gloves??

Ok Girls, I need your help here.. Tell me what your favorite gloves are.
Personally I LOVE the Spenco's. They last forever, have gel in just the right places, and are comfy on my man hands.
After years of dealing with the poor craftsmanship of the PI's I finally found the Spenco's. But now I need to stock the store, and I don't want to carry just one brand.
So please tell me, what is your favorite brand? And if Pearl Izumi is yours, please tell me how yours last? Mine always seemed to fall apart in short order. But maybe they have improved??

What clothes to do intend to carry and do they have gloves in their line?
My LBS sells Castelli clothes and also their gloves. I just bought a pair - haven't worn them yet, so can't report....but they do have a nifty pull-tab at the fingers to get them off easily. The LBS is also a Trek dealer and they carry Trek gloves as well. DH has 2 pair of them, and likes them a lot.
I have 2 pairs of Nike's that I like, but I understand Nike is getting out of the bike clothes line.
Sorry if this isn't terribly helpful...but it's a thought (and helps your customers color-coordinate their new cycling outfits!).

..... far I've only found two that fit well.

PI Gel Lite used to make an XS. They don't now but their small fits me well. Fox gel (sorry gals, have to go off and look up model) makes an XS and so far is the only one I've found.

These are not Women specific, just Small, X-tra small.

I like gloves with the velcro wrist strap, not the slip-on kind. These can be used as a quick and dirty theft deterant/lock type thing or just hooked together so fewer orphan gloves.

For full finger gloves my favorite is Avenir. Lightly padded, reflective strip on the side. But sometimes I just use a Smartwool glove liner over regular gloves and take that off when I get warmed up.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=10375

I guess you only asked for opinions from the girls, but here is my 2 cents. Descente gloves are my work horses, good fit, quality, price. I've not had too much trouble with PI, but they change designs all the time, so it's diffcult to buy something again once you find one you like. Anything Assos, as my early winter gloves are great. The main problem I have with Spenco is they plaster Ironman on many of the gloves I might buy. I don't do tri's, so don't really want anything that says Ironman.

P.S. PI has the best warranty...

I really haven't been all that happy with the durability of the Spenco Ironman gloves. I bought a pair of the Ironman Tour model at the end of March, and by the end of May, after only about 200 miles of use, the material was tearing on the palm side by the fingers. I called Spenco, and they did replace them. But in the meantime, I bought a pair of the Pro model at the beginning of June, and I noticed a few weeks ago, after about 1,000 miles, that they're tearing in the middle on the palm side, and the material over the gel is falling apart. Maybe 1,000 miles is a lot for a pair of gloves, but I had an older pair of Spencos that lasted for more than two years. And these newer Spencos are too expensive to last for such a short period of time.

I just got a pair of Specialized Body Geometry gel gloves, but they're too new for me to form an opinion on them.

Biker jo, that is interseting about your spencos. I'm still on my original pair, been wearing them every ride (well over a thousand miles by now) since last April and they are still in perfect shape?? Lucky maybe?
Oh and the Ironman comment, funny. My husband said the same thing. I could see that turning people off.
Hmmmm.....
Someone asked about what other lines I'm going to be carrying. I will be carrying Sugoi, and they have gloves, so I may give them a try. Will also carry fox. My husband is a HUGE fox guy! And I know someone who works in their apparel division on in nor cal, sooo it's a given.

I'm not a fan of the Specialized gloves - not sure which model I have, but they have little holes on the palm for ventilation which cause blisters after about 50 miles. UGH!

My PI's have fallen apart quickly. So...I'm in the market for gloves...

I want something with a relatively thin, even layer of padding that will last! I love the pull tabs on the Castellis, so I may try those (though they're a little spendy, unless they'll last...)

I really like my Specialized Body Geometry Gel gloves. They have the little vent holes CA got blisters from, but they don't bother me. I found the women's fit quite poorly on my narrow long hands, but the men's a size down fit great.

I get the Performance branded gloves (don't know what factory makes them). They fit well and last forever. The PI's always cut in between my 3rd and 4th fingers. Cannondale gloves are nice. Fox's full finger ones are also good.

I like the Specialized Gel gloves, as far as comfort and fit.

That said, I was wearing my '05 BG Comp's (same materials as the Gel) when I crashed this fall, and I wasn't impressed. I didn't rash my hand, but I only touched my palm down pretty lightly and holed the glove. If I'd actually skidded on my hand at all, I'm pretty sure it would've been badly rashed.

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

I want something with a relatively thin, even layer of padding that will last! I love the pull tabs on the Castellis, so I may try those (though they're a little spendy, unless they'll last...)

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Both Etxe Ondo and Assos make such gloves. For Assos, look at their sport line. I adore my Assos and they've lasted well. Yellow's Etxe Ondo gloves appear to be similar.

These Hincapies are similar but without the wonderful loops.
http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=27398

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Originally Posted by Running Mommy

Someone asked about what other lines I'm going to be carrying. I will be carrying Sugoi, and they have gloves, so I may give them a try. Will also carry fox. My husband is a HUGE fox guy! And I know someone who works in their apparel division on in nor cal, sooo it's a given.

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I have several Fox long sleeve jerseys (the L/S Diva Jersey) & I love them! They're lightweight, super breathable, keep me cool, but keep the sun off my arms. Only downside is no pockets... Thought I'd mention them since you're in Arizona, I imagine the sun exposure might be a concern for some.

I have PI gloves, and don't hate them, but don't love them. When I replace them, I'll look for something different.

I like specialized, but I have thin narrow fairly small hands

I wear Specialized's Body Geometry Ridge gloves for women (full-fingered). I have small hands and the size Small fits perfectly---neither too snug nor too loose, and no excess material at the fingertips. I also like the fact that they don't have lots of padding in the palm, just a little at the base. Some people love the padding, but I find that it tends to aggravate, rather than help, the hand numbness that I sometimes get. In fact, I often ride with no gloves at all. But if I need just a little something for cool (not cold) weather, the Ridge has been great. I'm not doing long distances yet, so can't tell you how well they hold up or feel on very long rides.

For the winter I'm going to try the Gore Vulcano (available at TE), at the suggestion of a couple of TE forum vets who also have 'stubby' fingers. I own a pair of Pearl Izumis (not sure which model) that are for winter, but the fingers are too long and clunky and get in the way when I'm trying to switch gears. So I've been searching for gloves that have a sleeker fit but are still warm.

I had some Specialized that I wore for about a year, then one day I noticed that the gel disappeared. I bought some Cannondales and they did not last more then a couple of months. They came unstitched between the fingers. I recently bought the Spencos because they are guaranteed.

Of all, the only one I will never buy again is the Cannondales.

I like the specialized body geometry gel gloves because they have padding on the thumb area. Have never tried PI's fingerless gloves, they don't have enough padding for me ie. the thumb area. I do however have a pair of the PI cyclone gloves for colder weather. I like their warmth but wish they had just a little bit more padding or placed differently but none at the thumb area. I did have a pair of Nashbars that I liked, until I accidently threw them in the washer, where the padding was "heat sealed" vs. sewn, it came apart. I always hand wash my gloves.

Thanks for the suggestions SK!

What is it about winter gloves - no or little padding. Some of us ride the same distances in the winter (or at least we try), and want the padding. I don't think it would work well to put the summer gloves under the winter ones either:cool: :cool:

What do those who ride long distances in really cold temps do??

For really cold temps for the early mornings on Cycle Oregon, I got the Teo Sport Wintex Wool Lined gloves. It was in the high 20's a couple mornings, and my hands were never cold. They're really warm, and I'm a girl who runs cold. They're padded, they're warm, and I can still bend my fingers and shift in them. Love them! I usually wear a women's small, and the men's small fit me fine. They're Italian, maybe they run small.

For regular gloves I like the terry T gloves. I can't stand any padding, makes my hands hurt. These have a very small amount. I also got a pair of the castellis with the pull tab. They are very expensive, but I had a gift certificate for part of the cost. My lighter weight full fingered gloves are from Performance. I end up wearing them most of the time, even in really cold weather, with wool liners from EMS under them. Sometimes, I put a chemical heater between the liner and the glove. I do this because the other heavier pairs I have just seem to interfere with the shifting on my road bike. The gloves catch on the shifter and something weird happens. I can use the heavier fleece lined ones fine on my mountain bike (different shifters) and will use them on my road bike if I have to, but I have to pay attention to what I am doing. Last year I bought a pair of expensive Craft lobster gloves. They are warm, but I hate them. Having my fingers in different places just freaks me out and I feel like I can't reach the shifter or I have to use a different finger. I am a creature of habit, so I think I wasted my money here.

I love the Specialized. I use full fingered gloves and mine have lasted through several thousand miles and many, many washings and drying in the drier.

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

Thanks for the suggestions SK!

What is it about winter gloves - no or little padding. Some of us ride the same distances in the winter (or at least we try), and want the padding. I don't think it would work well to put the summer gloves under the winter ones either:cool: :cool:

What do those who ride long distances in really cold temps do??

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Get Fizik bargel- It's like having gloves on your handlebars! The gel makes extra glove padding unnecessary and the tape is very, very grippy- even when your hands sweat. The only reason that I wear gloves now is for the sweat-absorbing patch (summertime) or warmth (wintertime).

Anyone besides me have a crash-test report on their gloves?