Specialized 03 BG Pro Glove

Price Paid:  $29.00 at Cupertino Bike Shop

Favorite Ride:
skyline

Bike Setup:
Specialized Roubaix Comp and Specialized Sequoya Expert.

Summary:
This is in reference to the 04 Pro Glove, black. When I bought these globes, they fit very well. The padding was very comfortable at first, but tended to bunch up a bit, but not too bad. My main complaint with these gloves is that after a few sweaty hours on my bike, the black dye leaked! My palms turned black and took several minutes to scrub off my hands. They also are not the easiest to get off ones hot, sweaty hands and the slip-on design does not seem to work out as well as velcro for me.

Strengths:
Pretty comfortable, cool.

Weaknesses:
Hard to get off (hey, I mean the gloves!). Black gloves leaked dye on my palms after a few hours of riding.

Similar Products Used:
dozens of nameless ones

Price Paid:  $25.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
Out to Oracle

Bike Setup:
03 Zurich

Summary:
The gel material in the palm wadded up after only a month.
The cuff opening stretched out.
I still use them for very short rides or on the trainer.

Strengths:
Felt great first couple of rides, the padding seemed to be doing it's job.

Weaknesses:
Cuff opening stretched out.
Palm padding wadded up.
They are difficult to get off.

Similar Products Used:
PI
Fox
LG-garbage

Price Paid:  $30.00 at Jax

Favorite Ride:
San Diego Creek to Newport Back bay

Bike Setup:
Trek 7100 Hybrid. Bontrager Race ATB bar, weyless stem, Michelin CX jet tires, SI Prolink

Summary:
Not a bad glove for the money. Feels better than my friend's Pearl Izumi.

Strengths:
The mesh knitting allow free ventilation and keep my hands dry and cool. Gel pads on the correct position. Comfy!

Weaknesses:
In contrast to the last reviewer, my gloves shrinked a little after first washing (by hand please :) ) And the snug fit felt too snug at first, but loosened itself later.

Similar Products Used:
Pearl Izumi

Price Paid:  $30.00 at Specialized S-Store

Favorite Ride:
Smooth pavement

Bike Setup:
Trek 5200 Pearl Black Carbon 54 cm, Full Ultegra dbl., Tacx Tao cages, SI MaxFlite TransAm GelFlow saddle, LOOK PP 337 pedals, Sigma Sport BC 1400 comp.

Summary:
This is a followup review to one I posted in May. These gloves fit well at first, but after several rides and one washing the fit is no more. The palms are loose now (there are no velcro tabs on the wrists), and the edges of the fingers have curled up causing pressure points where there were none before. I can't stand having the palm move around while I'm trying to change positions. The ventilation is good on top, but the palm is too hot. One would think that ventilation would be a priority in designing a glove, but maybe I'm expecting too much from gloves. Nothing seems to ventilate well here during La.'s summers. I think I jumped the gun on my first review. Spec.'s gloves are usually pretty good, but this one needs more work. Now I give it a 2 for value (too expensive) and a 2 for overall.

Strengths:
Good ventilation on top, good looks.

Weaknesses:
Price, too hot, no ventilation on palms, loses shape very quick and fit gets worse.

Similar Products Used:
PI Pittards, Spec. 03 BG Comp, 02 BG Pro and Comp., PI White Line II (01 model).

Price Paid:  $30.00 at S-Store

Favorite Ride:
Anything paved!

Bike Setup:
GT ZR 3.0 Lotto colors, Shimano 105, Profile bar and stem, Mavic wheels, Kinesis carbon fork, and Michelin Axial Carbon tires.

Summary:
I decided to get some gloves with a Pittards palm. Having heard a lot about the comfort, I thought this is worth trying. I'd been buying a lot of gloves with the usual materials for the palm. Well, I should have started with these. I wore these tonight on a quick 20 miler, and they fit like they were painted on my hands. Specialized gloves have always fit me well, but the padding has been a little lacking. Whoever designed these gloves got it right finally. They have a really nifty pull-on tab on the underside near the wrist which takes the place of a wrist closure. They fit really well without being too tight, too. Being a newby roadie I'm slowly getting used to minimal padding and the Pro's padding is just enough and not too bulky. So far I'm really pleased and so are my hands. They are comfy while riding the hoods, too. For me, that was the biggest factor. If my hands hurt while riding the hoods, then the gloves aren't doing their job. They have a nice stretchy mesh top, that ventilates well. I won't give them a 5 because they are $30, and I think gloves are just too expensive anyway. So they get a 4 from me on value, but a 5 overall.

Strengths:
Fit, fit, fit! Cool mesh top for ventilation, reflective strips on BOTH right and left side of each glove.

Weaknesses:
None so far, but will post a followup review in a few weeks.

Similar Products Used:
PI White Line II, Trek Moby Gel (too bulky), Spec. 02 Comp and Pro (comfy for short rides but needs more padding).