I know, I know. Another social media network to follow. But find me there as GearChic, and I'll show you my favorite outfits as well as collections of gear that suit different body types, riding lifestyles and budgets. You can create photo albums that you can share with others too. When you click on the photo it takes you to a website where you can buy the product or read my review :-).
And another one bites the dust. Last year the most amazing riding gloves I've ever worn were discontinued for women, the High Ends by Racer. As soon as I found out, I went out and grabbed the last pair in my size. Now, they're discontinuing my Multitops. :-(
This time however, I'm going to pursue an alternative brand, Held.
My next "winter" glove purchase is going to be the Warm n Dry by Held from Germany. The quality is great and something pretty cool that's unique to is that they offer some of their gloves in Long for added finger length. They even offer one pair in short, the Steve IIs. These start at size XS, in size 6 and work really well for women too.
The Warm n Drys (pictured above) are not only lined with GORE-TEX but have goatskin palms and cowhide construction. They're not bulky because they don't have any kind of insulated, cushy layer. So as a result, they're not the best winter glove in terms of warmth. But they're perfect for heated grips, which is how I make it through the winter. And they should be perfect for SF Bay Area riding.
Typically you have to trade off tactile-ness and feel for warmth. But with these and heated grips you have the best of both worlds! They start at a size 7 (by measuring the circumference of your hand right below the knuckles) which is generally a small. I can't wait til we get another one in stock so I can try them out. The first day we started carrying them, almost all of them sold out.
The only downside is that these aren't specifically women's. But, they do start at a small size, so I'm very hopeful that they'll fit well enough after trying an 8. Fingers crossed.
For $89.95, these heated glove liners are sure to make your holiday giftee extremely happy.
What's really nice about Gerbing is their microwire technology means that all their heated gear instantly heats up, no wait time! Ok, maybe 5-10 seconds, but that's nothing compared to the 1-2 minute warmup you may experience with other brands.
At only 12v, they won't take much power to run off most bikes. You can never go wrong with heated!
(Photo credit: HFL.com)
I love reader emails. I got this lovely note from a reader recently and had to share this article he mentioned. Thanks TH!
Hi Joanne,
Love your segments on Wheelnerds and Pace podcasts. Please keep up the very informative + timely info.
Anyways, thought you may like this article from HFL and maybe reference it next time on the Pace (perhaps even a link on your site)
I liked it 'cause you rarely see such a detailed review of gear and how it worked after rolling along the tarmac.
http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2012/02/this-is-the-city-gear-that-saved-my-life/
(make sure you view their article in Full Site mode if you're on a mobile phone, as the article is blocked unless you view the full site)
This is indeed a very good article about how even basic street gear can save your body parts from serious injury. Normally, HFL closes articles after a certain period of time (12 hours) unless you're a paid subscriber. But luckily, they decided to keep this one open permanently, given how important the message is.
