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Ibex Shak Two Layer Wool Glove
The Ibex Shak Two Layer Cycling Glove is my favorite cycling glove for riding in temperatures from about 40°F to 60°F. I use them for road and mountain biking. Colder than ~40°F and I use the Ibex NZM glove with an Ibex Shak glove liner.
The beauty of the Ibex Shak Two Layer Cycling Glove is that it is very comfortable inside and out, plenty warm for any reasonable temperature range, and multi-purpose: I use them for just about everything, though they see the most use cycling.
The Shak gloves are not designed as cycling gloves (not even listed under Cycling as I wrote this), but they are more comfortable and work better than any of my cycling gloves for cool temperatures. Ibex would do well to cater to cyclists with this glove, but so far they are not marketed that way.
The Pittards goat leather palm makes for a great grip, and the construction avoids any glove-squirm on the handlebar while being plenty flexible for operating shifters and brakes. The gusseted cuff seals off the cold air.
The wool Shak fabric breathes extremely well, insulates and is comfortable for nose-drip or wiping sweat off. The Shak gloves do not have padding as per some cycling gloves, but this has never been a comfort issue even on long ride, and few full-finger cycling gloves have padding either— probably a good thing (dry time). I air-dry mine when done, and they dry out quickly so they are almost always dry again for the ride the next day.
Rain downside: these gloves soak up rain. While they retain some warmth when wet, they can get soggy. Choose a composite glove for rainy conditions. But that very property is what makes them so nice for hands— the moisture abandons the hand and goes into the glove, keeping hands feeling relatively dry, so they never feel clammy like some gloves made of artificial fabrics.
The only minor criticism I’ll make is that the glove doesn’t wear as long as I’d like; my last pair wore holes through the leather after extended use, and the two-part leather/wool construction can start to tear holes after long use; gripping forces apparently generate some fatigue to the fabric in the finger areas. Perhaps Ibex can strengthen up these areas somehow.
Get the Ibex Shak Two Layer Cycling Glove @AMAZON at Amazon.
