Rapha, nice but a bit pricey?

More new items...

I guess an interesting twist to Assos/Castelli's neoprene rain glove that's been out for a few years... The Rapha one has merino liner on the inside... and the price is surprisingly.... low compared to their other glove offerings.

PTSS seems to be selling out too, seems like there must be some new stuff coming for winter. That or they weren't expecting the weather to be so bad so early.

Sausage fingers

I used a pair of Endura neoprene gloves for a winter. Wasn't that impressed. Fine between 6-12 degrees but rubbish outwith that. Also awful if you need to take them off and put them back on again.

Small

In the unliklihood of Rpahaha fixing my city jacket lining despite what I discover is a surprisingly generous repair policy, what's the difference between the older hardshell jacket and the new rain jackets?

You'll use the hardshell once or twice a year at most.

I found the hardshell too specialist and too hot. It's an amazing jacket but for weather more extreme than the majority of what the UK can deliver.

An alternative viewpoint from my end is that I wore my hardshell a lot over winter when out on Z2 type longer rides. Anything high-intensity and you will boil, but when you are (for e.g.) racking up miles for the Festive 500 and it's around zero then it's great.

Neoprene glove are generally designed for when it's raining. They act like a wetsuit and trap a (warm) layer of water between your skin and the gloves.

If it wasn't raining for the whole of your winter then you probably made the wrong choice in wearing them.

I bought a pair of neoprene gloves years ago but have only used them a couple of times in really cold conditions.

My palms start to sweat so badly in them right after 5min of use so even though they block the cold really well at some point your moist hands start to freeze(in maybe -15°c) so maybe useful in short distance riding in town.

Would not buy. For rainy days there's other, more reasonable options.

Ha, I'd say differently. I've got some thin Endura neoprene gloves which do sweat on longer rides, but keep your hands warm at least. They were pretty good for the biblical Ride London last year. And for colder conditions, the Sealskins thicker neoprene gloves are not bad, and not sweaty. Still looking for the perfect glove though.

I bought some mad warm ski gloves.

I won't be able to control the bike in dodgy sub zero conditions. But I'd almost rather crash than suffer the agony of frozen fingers defrosting again. Last time suffered a bit on a ride. Headed home. Popped up to kiss the kids goodnight and suddenly had to leave the room to roll around the toilet floor. Couldnt let the kids see me.

The pogies on the snowbike are the only thing that's worked so far.

I have some rapha merino which I will start using on dry rides about now.

maybe -15°cc

^ that's your problem right there.

forgot to mention that i don't suffer from cold hands so use e.g. sealskinz ultra grips in sub zero temperatures for hours. so maybe for british hands the neoprene is ok in rain.

such thing as a perfect glove does not exist, that's why I own way over 10 pairs of gloves for different conditions.

maybe -15°cc
^ that's your problem right there.

since then switched to actual winter gloves, ones that block the wind and coldness but still breathe.

It'd possibly be good for very gentle commuting too. Last Festive 500 it was mainly dry so I didn't use it at all.

Although I found the softshell similarly specialist, even with the vents. I've cut my winter wardrobe down to an l/s jersey or a Pro-Team Jacket and a Rain Jacket depending on the conditions.

England tends to be a lot warmer and quite wet.

I don't own any waterproof gloves and have no problem keeping my digits warm all winter. In scotland or the grim north I might have to rethink that.

if you want to try neoprene gloves out you could do worse than getting these

http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/neoprene-wetsuit-gloves.html

I took this photo when wearing a Hardshell jacket, I believe it was the correct choice of garment for the ride in question:

the ground looks pretty dry to me :-)

I don't think I've ever been as hot on the bike as I have been in a hardshell.
Totally useless for me in UK temperatures. I ended up so hot that I was completely drenched in sweat and freezing cold any time I wasn't pedaling. This was at 0 degrees.

Living on the west coast of Scotland, it gets pretty wet for sure. Still not a fan.

I agree, tried 2 or 3 serious rides in my Hardshell, and realised I'd wasted £200+ on a jacket I can't use.
I now use it for trips to the pub on my "pub bike" (which cost less than the jacket)

You need to be wearing a shitty cheap thin pair of woolen gloves underneath the neoprene gloves for best results...they help trap the sweat & warmth
mine were £1 from the poundshop

I have a hardshell i've only used twice for wet commutes. I've never used it for more than about 3miles at once though, i was hoping it might be a bit more usable in the winter, but it doesn't sound like it!