Grampy™

Gloves. I've got both and I really like the padded leather ones best. Every once in a while I get out the Gel gloves and think they should be better.... they cost about 3 times as much.... but nope, the padded leather are more comfortable to me.
Which is best for you?

geraldatwork

I have some cheap Performance gloves with very little if any padding. After about 30 miles or so my hands feel sore. I just got some Spenco gloves. I think they are called "Iron Man" with gel, which is not really that thick (I don't like that thick padding feeling) and after a 60 miler today my hands felt pretty good. So so far so good. They really weren't that expensive at $21.00.

NOS88

Leather. Gel should only be worn on one's hair when trying to keep the locks under control. Never on one's hands or backside.

I actually perfer double tape on the bars and almost no pads in the gloves. I'm interested in protecting my palms should I meet the pavement unexpectedly, but that's about it.

Louis

I tried gel gloves once and the gel turned to a lumpy semi-solid mass after a month or two. Had to toss 'em.

I prefer padded with leather palms and crochet backs.

Digital Gee

+1, brother!

CrossChain

I've worn both kinds. I like terry cloth backing to wipe my nose with. Gel hasn't lumped out on me...it's sort of conformed to my hands and generally calls little attention to itself. I don't like either kind if it is to stuffed or thick with padding--like making love wearing a down parka.

Hef Diego

Don't knock it, CC!

Blackberry

My hands are totally nekkid out there, and I'm loving it.

Big Paulie

I'm much to insecure in my masculinity to even say the word, "crochet!"

Monoborracho

Though I have some expensive fancy $40 padded insulated water proff gloves for winter, I usually wear the $5.00 Bell gloves that Walmart sells.....crochet back to give you those big dots on the back of your hands. They last as long as the Pearl Izumi stuff.

gizmocat

I love my padded leather gloves. They are great in the fall and early winter and even suitable in summer; they breathe, do not irritate the skin, and look great too.
The gel gloves melted in the panniers one day and I never looked back but went with leather.

gear

There is a big difference in quality from one model of gel glove to another (even within brands). The only one I found that I really liked was the Nike (sold by Trek) gloves that are the same as Lance wore last year (not really a selling point for me but it will help to identify the model). They have just the slightest amount of gel in them so you don't feel like you have a ball of gunk in your palm. Oddly they clasp on the inner side of your wrist but otherwise they are the best fingerless gloves I've ever had. I know Nike redesigns every item they sell (no matter how well it sells) every couple of years, so I purchased six pair of them.

stonecrd

Trek gloves (non Gel) $12.00. I get two pair every six months. Gloves just don't hold up to daily riding/washing so spending a lot of money on gloves is a waste for me. I use Cinelli cork tape and this gives me plenty of padding.

sauerwald

I had always worn leather padded gloves, (mainly because I am a cheap S.O.B) then last year, in the middle of a long ride (450 miles over 4 1/2 days), I had a blister developing on my hand where one of the seams of the glove was - PITA. I stopped at a bike shop and bought the only pair of gloves that they had which did not have any seams where I was sore - and they were a pair of PI gel gloves, and I spent a small forune on them (I would have paid almost anything). They are wonderfull! - They are my preferred glove for longer rides. I only have a few hundred miles on them, so no report on how they will hold up, but I will probably buy another pair when this one dies.

Grampy™

I understand the daily riding part..... but washing daily? We're suppose to wash them?

No wonder mine get so crusty..... I think I'll go do my wash now.

stonecrd

After a week or so with out washing them, wiping my face would almost knock me off the bike.

centexwoody 

+1

stapfam

Had a pair of gel gloves once. They lasted about 3 rides before the gel seeped out and left my hands, brake levers and bars covered in the gel. Cost me more in cleaner to get the stuff off than the gloves cost and they were not cheap. Never again. On the MTB I have a very comfortable pair of gloves that work. Padding in the right place and pain in the hands is easily overcome with exercise. Same gloves on the road bike and They dont work. Riding on the hoods and on the drops puts pressure in a different place and this is where the padding is non existant.

Doesn't matter what type of glove you use- they have to be comfortable on the bike you are riding.

Red Baron

Ditto- Gel sucks (for me).