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Monday, March 9, 2009

Cold Riding Hands are Sluggish Riding Hands


River Road Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves Review

This December my fingers were really getting cold during my morning commutes to work. I had been wearing a pair of inexpensive leather gloves purchased at Wal-Mart that had a thin Thinsulate liner. They worked great for driving a cage and if you were out of the wind. On a cold winter’s day though, at any speed over 40 mph, the cold wind sliced right through the seams. These gloves were not designed for motorcycling. I needed a pair of cold weather gloves.

I was off for the Christmas and New Years holidays and taking some vacation time from work and decided to take my V-Star in to get the front tire replaced. So, I was browsing my local Bikers Bay store while they were mounting a new front tire on my Mistress early on a Saturday morning. I looked at the gloves rack and found the River Road Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves. The pricing was fair so I tried a pair on. They fit well despite my large hands although they sure felt bulky as all cold weather riding gloves will. I bought them and a neoprene face mask when my bikes front tire installation was complete.

The Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves by River Road got their first trial as soon as my vacation and holiday time was up and it was time to get back to work. These gloves had a reinforced leather palm with good grip traction. The back side of the glove is made of a durable looking textile material. They have a breathable windproof Hipora liner they claimed was waterproof. These gloves are also equipped with a Thinsulate layer for warmth as well. They have two hook and loop adjustable fasteners one for the wrists and another for the cuffs. This makes them very adaptable. On top of that, they have reflective piping in several places on the seams for safety.

I have now ridden with them through our short Texas winter. These gloves kept my hands and wrist warm down to about 35 degrees Fahrenheit at 60+ mph. If it gets colder than that your fingers will still start to get cold. I would recommend a thermal glove liner to go with them when riding in temperatures freezing or below. I will invest in a pair of these for next winter. The gloves do an excellent job of blocking the wind. Finally, I also had the chance to wear them in the rain. I had my doubts, but the Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves are indeed water proof. These River Road Gloves in conjunction with my frogg toggs kept me completely dry. The fact that I had dry and warm hands really impressed me.

The bulkiness of the gloves does have its cons, but the pros far outweigh them. If you have ever been caught in the cold without gloves, or just too lazy to pull over and put them on, and had to ride, you know what I mean. It takes a little adjusting to, to ride and use your motorcycles controls with the gloves on. The hardest thing to get used to for me was the starter button. However, I found that if I just kept moving my thumb around it would eventually make contact. They have held up good for the first winter riding season, although some may debate that Texas really does not have a winter season. Torch gives the River Road Cheyenne Cold Weather Gloves a M.M.M Rating of 9 on a scale of 1-10.

Ride on,
Torch
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