Ixion FAQ

What kind of gloves do you recommend?

There's a mini-review in the April MCI that's very positive about the Frank Thomas Anti Artic gloves. To quote, "the man-made Cordura outer, leather palm and inner waterproof lining retain the heat and repel water like no other glove I've worn." Just under 40 pds.

Gotta be Frank Thomas H2O Aqua gloves. 40 odd quid, totally waterproof, and reasonably warm.

>  Has anyone ever had a bike with those plastic hand guards on ? (That you get on
>  a trial bike) Can you buy them cheaply ? Do they keep the rain off your hands ?

I've had a couple of bikes with these on - they're OK, but nowhere near as good as handlebar muffs. They can be got to fit just about any trail bike, or you can buy "generic" ones to hack and fit.

>  Gotta be Frank Thomas H2O Aqua gloves.  40 odd quid, totally
>  waterproof, and reasonably warm.
> 
>  If they are only "reasonably" warm then cotton/thermal glove liners
>  should do the trick.I got mine for skiing and they made such a
>  difference I'd recommend them for anything although I don't whether
>  they'd be available in bike shops - a winter sports shop may have to
>  be ventured into
> 
>    Ian 
>

The only thing I have found to keep hands dry, is a pair of overmits. The best performance/price compromise is the Hein Gericke ones, I think. They are long enough to come up your sleeves, and are elasticated round the cuffs. Also they have non-slip things on the palms. Being proofed nylon, they aren't _too_ difficult to get over wet leather (Rukka-type stuff sticks and won't slide on...) Price was about #8 I think.

You can save a few quid by going to a camping shop, but their overmits are usually too small to go over bike gloves easily, and aren't so long, aren't elasticated, and don't have the non-slip bits... Hein Gericke do mail order; 'phone 192 and ask for them at Blossom Street, York (sorry, don't have their number to hand).

Liquid Nikwax works well on leather for short periods - OK round town, but for hours on a motorway forget it! Don't use solid Nikwax, you'll find it leaves muck on the surface of the gloves, and the next time you wipe your visor you can't see a damn thing! And it takes some serious cleaning to get the stuff off - it's nearly impervious to saop and water...

I just got some lightweight gloves, well groovy.

They're Weise "Gladiator" (who thinks up these crap names???). Fowlers of Bristol, the distributors, sell them for #35. Local bike place got them for me for #29. Leather is good, very comfortable, BIKE rated them equalbest in their glove destruction test.

(I think the BIKE test was crap - glove strapped on a block of wood, strapped onto someone's boot, pressed against the road whilst hanging out the back of a Transit. A good glove could fail such an unrealistic test. However it was SO drastic, a glove that survived it is probably good!).

I haven't seen any other glove that's anywhere near as nice for under about #60, so I thought you might like to know about them! Most of the similar priced ones, eg Frank Thomas, are badly designed - single stitching, unprotected thumb seams, etc... And the Sportex #20 that BIKE also thought were excellent, have been discontinued!

Snag? I think only multi-coloured ones are available.

Tim Stickland writes:

> Liquid Nikwax works well on leather for short periods - OK round town, but
> for hours on a motorway forget it!

Agreed.

> Don't use solid Nikwax, you'll find
> it leaves muck on the surface of the gloves, and the next time you wipe
> your visor you can't see a damn thing!  And it takes some serious cleaning
> to get the stuff off - it's nearly impervious to saop and water...

That's why I use it on my gloves. It IS nearly impervious to water, and will keep out serious motorway rain for hours. Just don't wipe your visor with your gloves!

Chris Malcolm

This page last updated 18/09/02

faq@ixion.org.uk