Usage (time/miles): 6 weeks, 100 miles
Rating: 7/10
Price: 28 eur/32 usd/20 gbp

After summer cycling in fingerless gloves I always get a shock when I get that first really cold commute in the winter. You know the one where the temperature feels chilly but not too bad, but then you get out on the bike and it rains a little and you get gale force winds and you find out later that including wind chill factor it was 10 below freezing?

Well I decided to treat myself to some proper winter cycling gloves this year. I was looking for windproof and waterproof gloves because of Irish weather. Decent padding would be a bonus!

After browsing the gloves section of the LBS and spending hours looking online on CRC and others I finally decided to risk 30 quid on the Cannondale Windfront Glove 6G04 Winter 2006 on CRC. Cannondale claim that these gloves are:

• Water and windproof, breathable fabric on back of hand cuts through biting winds and keeps you dry and warm
• Brushed polyester palm covered with synthetic leather for handlebar grip
• Large terry wipe surface
• Soft fleece wrist gaiter for comfort and protection
• Reflective trim for extra visibility Wrist clips keep your gloves from parting company in the wash
• Machine washable

After using these for a couple of weeks, including some torrential rain, but only limited mileage I have a decent first impression.

The gloves are windproof, no question. Waterproof? I don’t think so. Do they mean water resistant? These are not very waterproof gloves. I was concerned with a slight feeling of dampness after only a few miles. These gloves are not waterproof as claimed but they will keep your hands warm in rain.

Other positives… these gloves are very, very light. You wouldn’t believe it to look at them. I didn’t see a listed weight, but my fingerless summer gloves are heavier by far.

The reflective trim… as a commuter I really appreciate this. I love giving motorists good visibility where they can properly see my hand signals and know I’ll be turning ahead of them. These gloves are great for this, the trim looks really good. Check out the photo above – that was taken in pitch black conditions with flash and you can partially see how reflective they can be. To really show the full reflectiveness I need to take a distance photo which I will do sometime, maybe when I’m updating this review post later in the season.

Update 29 Nov 2006

Two things motivated me to update this review so quickly – first of all, BruceW tells us he bought some Windfront gloves after reading my review – I sure hope they work out and I abdicate all responsibility if they don’t 🙂 Ah no, I’ll buy you a pint if you’re ever in town, fair enough? By the way, how much did they cost?

The second thing that motivated me to update was that I finally got around to taking the photo I wanted to! Without further ado:

I think this does a half-decent job of showing their reflectiveness. It’s not the best in the world, but it’s handy to have along with the other positive factors and good price it serves to make this a good choice for commuters in mild winter areas like Ireland. Snow riders apply elsewhere, you crazy people!