Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Non-Thorn Related => Topic started by: rafiki on October 21, 2019, 10:51:32 am
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Twenty five years ago, as winter approached in UK, I bought a pair of Specialized crab-claw gloves in an online sale. Odd looking things I thought but worth a try at the price. Allegedly warmer than 10 digit gloves due to keeping two pairs of fingers together on each hand.
During the two and a half decades of wear the lining became thinner so the insulation was less effective but I was used to them and didn't want to change. I slipped a pair of woollen gloves inside to compensate probably negating the crab-claw effect but I was used to them. Last winter a hole began to wear through the cover then the lining of one of the right hand digits and they began to absorb the rain and become uncomfortable. I searched for replacements and came across the Nordic Grip-Grab 1019 crab-claws. Great, I thought, but wherever I searched in the late winter last year my size was out of stock so I carried on with the Specialized pair.
Winter hasn't arrived in southern Spain yet but I thought I'd get in early and I found my size on Amazon. They arrived today just as the rain has arrived and the temperatures are beginning to fall. Not cold enough yet but I'll give them a spin tomorrow morning.
At first try my general impression is a good fit, well made and feels as if they will do the job well. Sadly I'll put the Specialized pair aside now. RIP old friends.
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25 years is good go for bicycle gear, especially clothing, real value. I can understand that you're sad to put them aside.
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Yes, I have an Enduro winter shirt of the same vintage and I continue to ride the bike both the gloves and shirt were bought for - a Dawes Mean Street XT hybrid as well as my Sterling.
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Some years ago I got a version of what they call Crab mittens. Works quite well when cold.
https://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/clothing/clothes/gloves
I found these to work great in cool but not cold conditions, and I like them especially in rain. The mitt attachment works well in wind too. But no padding if that is important to you.
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLPXHWG17/planet-x-365-convertible-race-gloves
i always find it to be a roll of the dice when ordering clothing from another country where sizes might not fit right, returning an item is generally not worth it with shipping costs. But their price was low enough that I rolled the dice and won.
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These are the ones I have.
https://www.gripgrab.com/products/nordic
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Tired of peeling frostbite on my fingertips, I sprung for some Shimano All-Conditions Gloves several years ago, choosing their warmest (coldest rated) glove from that line. I liked them so much, I bought three pairs. I found them true to their -10C/14F rating and below that (to -16C, 3F), I pair them with some lobster-claw Gore-Tex overmitts I made back in 1984. They work nicely with my phone so I can still monitor the Forum when I'm out on the bike in cold weather. :D Photos below were taken when new, but the palms are holding up nicely after a couple full winters' use.
Best,
Dan.
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Now if we want to talk about cold, outer scale is Fahrenheit, inner Celsius. Had a cold snap this past winter and I decided to document it with a photo.
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I'm in shock that it is possible to have a pair of gloves longer than two years, without losing them. It just does not compute.
Looking at that frostbite brings a shudder. When I was 18, just back from my two years in Africa, I went running as I did every day those days. It was cold. I don't know how cold but dang cold - Canadian style cold. My chin apparently had frozen. I looked like Jay Leno for about two weeks and it killed two of my teeth, where I had to get metal stakes put in.
I now live in North Carolina, and thoroughly enjoy complaining about the hot humid summers.