Sep 192011
My favorite thing about these Ana Nichoola gloves designed by a woman who races bikes--besides how pretty they are--is the loops between the fingers that make them so easy to pull off, instead of peeling off the way I do my other gloves. I'll look for this feature on every pair of gloves I get in the future.

Speaking of bike gloves (which you’ll want if you happen to fall down or if your nose runs), get a pair. Fingerless (half-finger, really) work well for summer.

If you’re riding into the fall you’ll want ones with full fingers. Once you realize how fun this is and keep riding well into the frosty days you may want some lobster claw (Vulcan hand sign) gloves too, or perhaps a pair of liners to wear under your full-fingered ones.

Reasons you want gloves:

  • People fall down sometimes. Even grown-ups. If you fall and manage to get a hand out to break the impact a bit, you’re going to scrape your palms.
  • Your nose runs when you bike. Heck, mine runs even on a hot summer day–something about the nice breeze I make for myself. Good bike gloves come with a little soft patch for nose wiping. If this sounds gross, contemplate the alternative.
  • The padding on the palms helps cushion road buzz and the jouncing when you hit a pothole or crack in the pavement.
  • Most bike gloves have a reflective logo and/or piping that adds an extra bit of visibility. I’m all about the bling: The more my bike, my clothing, and my accessories reflect when the headlights hit, the more visible I am to the driver.
  • Duh–your hands get cold. As you know if you ski or engage in other outdoor winter pursuits, frozen fingers really hurt. This is one place where you don’t want to skimp or skip. You need to be able to shift and brake so those hands have to work.
  • They can provide a touch of color for accessorizing, if you’re into that. I just got the beautiful white crocheted Ana Nichoola gloves in time for the last of the autumn warmth and I love their classy look!*

I was going to make this a blogspedition to see what others have to say about gloves, but the reality is that they just take them for granted as part of your standard gear. They don’t actually blog much about gloves themselves unless it’s a review of one particular brand and I was looking for more general information.

When I search the Big List of Women’s Bike Blogs for “gloves” I find dozens of posts that make passing references to warm gloves, gloves that weren’t heavy enough for the weather conditions on a nippy day, pretty gloves (which are really hard to find), and the seasonal change from half-finger to full-finger or from full-finger to lobster claw.

Hence this round-up of posts that show fun photos that show gloves along with a review comparing some for winter. Not so coincidentally, the fashion blogs also show you women riding in all kinds of clothing and weather conditions.

*I managed to score the last of this season’s Ana Nichoola gloves (shown above) to sell through Bike Style. I have a few pair each in S/M/L for $45 +tax/shipping. They run small, so the small is genuinely for petite hands. Email info AT bikestylespokane.com ASAP if you want a pair.

—————–

Posts in our 30 Days of Biking Blogging Inspiration & How-to Series for Sept. 2011 30 Days of Biking

  1. 30 Days of Bike Commuting: You Can Do It!
  2. Why We Ride/Resolve to Ride–A Blogspedition
  3. Preparing to Commute by Bike: Get the Worry out of the Way
  4. Buying a Bike for Commuting: Some Questions and a Blogspedition
  5. How to Bike Commute: Getting the Gear Together
  6. Bike Commuting 101: Carrying Stuff
  7. On a Roll with Wilma Flanagan
  8. 30 Days of Biking: Week One Report
  9. Ride with your Community: SpokeFest Rocks!
  10. There and Back Again: How to Pick your Bike Commute Route
  11. Intro to Bike Commuting: Route Selection Part 2
  12. More Bike Commuting Route Selection Tips: Part 3
  13. Thinking Like a Driver vs. Thinking Like a Bicyclist
  14. Biking as Downtime and other Musings on Overproductivity
  15. 30 Days of Biking: Week Two Report
  16. On a Roll with Katherine Widing
  17. I Shouldn’t Assume
  18. Falling Down on Your Bike. It Happens. To Grown-Ups.
  19. Pretty Handy, Gloves. The Blogspedition Assumes You’ll Get ‘Em.
  20. What to Wear for Your Bike Commute? Clothes.
  21. How to Get a Dropped Bike Chain Back On, Grease-Free
  22. 30 Days of Biking: Week Three!
  23. It’s All in the Attitude
  24. Things I Now Do on My Bike Without Having to Think About It
  25. Mental Essentials for Bike Commuting: Risk and Trust
  26. More Mental Essentials for Bike Commuting: Friendliness and Openness
  27. Even More Mental Essentials for Bike Commuting: Tolerance, Humor, and Persistence
  28. Bicycling Rites of Passage, Spokane Style
  29. Dear Reader, I Chicked Him
  30. 30 Days of Biking: Final Report!

Your Turn

  • What features do you like about your current gloves?
  • Any tips on what to look for or avoid in choosing gloves?
Sharing is karma--pass it along!

Reader Comments

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  2. Great post! I’ve only worn the fingerless leather gloves with lots of fuzzy on the back for nose-wiping (certainly a must!). Never tried to cycle in the winter here in Spokane yet — never even seen a lobster claw glove! I want some Ana Nichoola gloves — do they come with a pink bow, too (and a nose wipe)? Followed blogger Sarah Chan’s “Back to School” post and randomly clicked over the “Biking in Heels” blog she links to — this blogger has the coolest vintage fishing creel for a handlebar basket! Gotta check it out here http://bikinginheels-cycler.blogspot.com/2011/09/happiness.html I’m on the lookout for one of those now!

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