A mountain bike glove manufacturing company needs to come forth and create a riding glove that is targeted to the North Shore rider. It can be called “The Shoreâ€, or “PNW†for Pacific Northwest, or “It Effin Rains A Lot Hereâ€. I dare you to go to any store that sells cycling gloves and scour the hooks for winter riding gloves. You will likely see a large assortment of thick, puffy abominations; the claw, the lobster, the neoprene. Alas, you will probably find yourself in the same predicament as I; scratching your head wondering if there is such a thing as a thin, weatherproof glove, that will protect my precious hands from the hazards that they will encounter on my winter rides.
Based on a recommendation from a shop guy, I was introduced to the Giro Candela 2 gloves. Shop guy told me up front that they were not 100% waterproof but they were pretty decent at keeping my hands dry in the common north shore spray. I took the gloves from his hand and examined them. They were pretty much what I envisioned, minus the 100% waterproof. Low profile? Slightly insulated? Windproof? Good style? Check on all counts. I tried on a few pairs and found that they fit a bit smaller then I expected, so I purchased a size larger than what I normally do.
During the next couple of days of riding, I was really impressed with how warm they kept my hands. The guy at the shop was right, they were not waterproof, however with the insulation and windproofing it didn’t seem to matter. My hands were wet but did not transition to ice cold status when descending; the usual culprit of when I usually get frigid hands.
The low profile of the gloves was a welcoming feature. It really didn’t feel any different than wearing a downhill glove. Maintaining that tactile feel with my handlebar was not a chore. Shifting and braking was done at ease while wearing the Candela’s.
Now it should be noted, that in colder conditions, we are all effected by the slimy nose. Luckily these gloves have a soft felt fabric that runs along the side of the pointer finger. This wonderful piece of fabric worked fantastically at cleaning the goop that expelled from my nostril, without any irritation to my nose.
 
In the past I have taken many art courses and through these courses I have learned the tactful skill of constructive criticism. If you’re going to say something negative, try your best to start with something positive. So far so good. Now I have to mention the aspects of these gloves that really made them landslide from an almost perfect glove to something that should just be passed up.
Each time I was faced with the endeavour of taking these gloves off or putting them on, I cringed. These gloves hurt when you do so. Underneath the velcro strap at the wrist below the thumb, there is a seam on the inside of the glove. For whatever reason, the velcro was partially exposed at this seam and there was no way to avoid having it scratch me every time I slid it on or off (see photo). After one week of using the gloves, the base of my thumbs were raw and red; it looks as though I had lost a fight with a cat. I’m not sure if it is this way with all the gloves or perhaps I happened to have a defective pair.
 
The other thing that put me off with these gloves is that after one month of using them, the stitching blew out where the thumb meets with the rest of the glove. Thankfully I was able to get them warrantied without question and was given a store credit from where I purchased them.
The bottom line is that if it weren’t for what seemed like poor craftsmanship, these gloves could potentially make for a great shore glove to be used in the usual spitting rain kind of rides. Perhaps I’m not ready to flat out not recommend them. But be sure to try them on… and off… and on… and off many times before purchasing them to ensure that the issue with the seam isn’t going to be a problem.
MSRP: $49.95 USD
Available Colours: Black, White
The Muddbunnies encourage and welcome female riders of all experience and skill levels to join them in getting down and dirty. Come on, ride like a girl!
