General Cycling Discussion - Recommendations for cheap full-fingered gloves?

My knuckles... they get cold. I need gloves. I'm kinda poor. Help me.

Mechanics glove from your auto/hardware store.

Yes, mechanics gloves like these (http://www.youngstownequipment.com/store/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=283). They are about 12 bucks in the auto parts store. I have used them for a year and they are still in good shape. minimal padding in the palms and an extra layer of light padding over the knuckles. They're not waterproof.

Funds lacking and cold hands? Been there, done that. Many times.

Mechanics gloves are nice. But warmer, cheaper, and more sturdy leather gloves are available at your nearest hardware store. I use leather work gloves all the time for all sorts of things. 5-7 bucks for medium duty leather gloves. Warm enough, and great for riding. Just make sure you look at the sizes and get the best one.

yep. leather work gloves. put some (any) liners underneath for even greater warmth.

http://www.gungfu.com/pics_general/pics_gloves/gloves_everlast_youth_boxing_gloves_a83033.jpg

Buy a pack of cloth gardening gloves. By a pair of cheap extra large mittens. Use, and lose, the gardening gloves as needed. If it gets really cold use the gloves with the mittens.

My knuckles... they get cold. I need gloves. I'm kinda poor. Help me.

Your local X-mart discount store? Wally world should have inexpensive gloves for hunters in the sporting goods department. Look for some that have good wind resistance.

Or, perhaps a local thrift store?

I just bought a pair of gloves at a hardware store for 5 and a half dollars, and they are excellent.
They are grey nylon stretch material and the palm side is coated with polyurethane.
They are labled as "weed pulling gloves".

Sounds like any glove will work... so is there anything special in a cycling glove compared to a mechanics glove or work glove?

I put on the cheap, brown-jersey work gloves over my regular bike gloves. About $3 a pair. I still have padding where I need it, and if my hands overheat I can take off the extra layer.

You are comparing an MTB glove, designed to protect the hands from impacts with objects along the trail wih a gardening glove.

The OP is concerned about protection from cold. I often ride in winter with fleece hiking gloves. while they don't have the gel padding in the palms, they work fine. The main criteria is that the gloves provide some wind resistance and some insulation.

The OP also indicated that he didn't have much money. So, a pair of bike-specific MTB gloves are probably not within his budget. So, some compromises might need to be made so he can have warm fingers.

BTW, those gardening gloves might work pretty well in moderate temperatures. the dots are similar to some that I have seen on cycling gloves and should provide good grip on the bars. They certainly look breathable. Not too good for rain, but then, neither are the MTB gloves shown.

Performance Bike used to sell (maybe they still do but I haven't looked) some light fleece biking gloves with a faux-leather palm area. I think I got a pair for $5-$7. Off the bike, they looked like any other fleece glove. I think I finally lost mine on a ski trip to Italy.

What made them nice from a biker's standpoint is that the palm area protection was in the spots where you need it to protect from wear from gripping the handlebars. I've had some non-biking gloves that looked almost the same except they would catch and wear on the edge of the palm protection, and the seams against the hand, especially in the thumb-to-palm V, would be uncomfortable and I could see them causing blisters over the long term.

My point being, if you plan on using the gloves on the bike for extended periods make sure that there are not some drawbacks due to the glove being designed for something else. I'm sure that many of the suggestions made above will work fine, but just thought I would ad my experience so you don't purchase something that won't work well for your intended use.

I've discovered layering for hands.

I have:

regular cycling gloves, smartwool glove liners, any regular long fingered glove, and Thinsulate pop top mittens. With the right combo, I can ride in any temps. Below zero I'd go with the liners under the pop tops.

btw, none of these were expensive. :)