Bike Reno

I finally got a good chance to put my Pearl Izumi Barrier Lobster Gloves through their paces today and I’m very happy camper.

At first glance, the gloves seem well constructed and very warm.  The palm has a soft yet grippy finish and the back of the thumb section is covered with  soft fleece for easy nose wiping.  The gloves don’t have any cycling-specific padding, so they can be used for other purposes without the possible inconvenience of a bulky palm.  Even though it’s a lobster glove, each finger has its own interior pocket.

On my test ride, the temperature was about 32 degrees with overcast skies.  At first, I thought the gloves might be too warm.  They’re on the bulky side and soft; they feel like my Burton ski mittens.  I didn’t notice any issues that were the result of the gloves not having any cycling-specific padding.  I rode for almost an hour and for most of the time, my hands felt warm.  At the end of the ride, the tips of my fingers and thumbs felt a little cold, but I think I could have ridden another hour without any problem.

The one problem I had with the gloves was their bulk made it more difficult to shift my Shimano STI levers, specifically the smaller levers (for up-shifting on the rear or down-shifting on the front).  I’m comfortable accepting that drawback to get the warmth they provide.

Aside from snow and ice (which I don’t ride in), I really like riding in the winter.  The cold air feels great on my body as it heats up from the ride and it gives me a feeling of accomplishment to start the day.

The one problem I’ve had with winter riding is keeping my hands warm.  I’ve tried a variety of gloves and mittens, but my fingers either get cold to the point of being painful, or too hot.  So, I decided to try the Novara Rainy Pass Bike Gloves from REI.  They looked bulky enough to provide adequate warmth without being so huge that they restricted control of the bike.  They are a gauntlet style glove with an elastic cinch cord and a full leather palm.  There’s plenty of padding in the palm in the places where you expect padding in bike gloves.

My first impression after putting them on was they didn’t feel very waterproof.  The top of the hand and finger felt like regular old nylon on top of a polyester warmth insert.  But, what do I know?  So I took them out on my five mile commute last week during the little cold snap where the morning temperature was in the mid 30s.

A third of the way through the ride, I knew these gloves weren’t cutting it.  My fingers were already going numb and would soon be in pain from the cold.  By the end of the ride, I didn’t feel like these gloves were much better than my barely-insulated Canari wind stopper gloves.

So back to REI they went.  I picked up a pair of  Pearl Izumi Barrier Lobster gloves which I’ll review when I get a chance.