- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
review
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
- Exceptional
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Quite good
- Average
- Not so good
- Poor
- Bad
- Appalling
If you've ever found yourself looking at your chic urban cycling outfit and sighed at the thought that your drab, mundane textile gloves are letting you down, then perhaps these are the gloves for you. Handmade in the UK from Rapha's African hair sheep leather (no we don't know what one is either), with a merino and silk mix lining, they are truly a thing of beauty.
The gloves feature a zip at the cuff, to make getting them on and off easier, and also feature ergonomically shaped palms with Pittards' military grade padding.
Haters will be moaning about the price tag at £160, but these are not your run of the mill gloves. They are designed to last for years and years (predicated on the judicious use of Rapha Glove Balm now and then) and just be, well, lovely on or off the bike. Yes, they'll look great with that evening coat too.
In use, they are extremely comfortable, very grippy indeed on the brake levers and a decent temperature for all but the coldest or warmest conditions. While they'll certainly stand up to a dose of the wet stuff now and then, they are probably best kept for drier days to preserve their good looks, snug fit and suppleness. The only niggle I had was that the zip at the wrist was a bit fiddly to undo single handed, which is strangely necessary.
Yes, they are expensive, but they really are rather fabulous.
Verdict
Expensive, but a genuine thing of beauty
road.cc test report
Make and model: Rapha Leather Town Gloves
Size tested: na
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Aimed at discerning urban riders looking for a super high quality leather cycling glove.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Handmade in UK from African hair sheep leather
Merino silk lining
Rifle grade padding
Riri Cuff Zip
Available in sizes S, M, L
Rate the product for quality of construction:
10/10
Superb quality of leather and extremely well made.
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
As a smart urban glove they perform very well. I'd have preferred a zip that was easier to undo single-handed though.
Rate the product for durability:
9/10
These will last for years as long as they are hand washed from time to time and maintained with Glove Balm to keep them supple.
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
9/10
Not really an issue but they're neither light nor heavy.
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
10/10
Superbly comfortable.
Rate the product for value:
5/10
I've rated these "average" as if you're after uber high quality they are amazing value, but if all you're after is leather city gloves then they're not! Utterly an investment in hand crafted cycling elegance.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Performed very well but I became obsessed with the weather.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Style, fit, padding, comfort, quality.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Price (obviously), slightly fiddly zip.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Maybe if I won Euromillions or cycle commuted to a job in The City.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? A wealthy and discerning one.
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
An investment in real old-school leather glove craftsmanship and elegance.
About the tester
Age: 42 Height: 1.65m Weight: 73kg
I usually ride: Boardman Hybrid Fi My best bike is: Specialized Ruby Elite
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb,
Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling.
Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other.
She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting.
Latest Comments
- stevemaiden 1 sec ago
Guys (including girls ofc) we are missing a trick here with the proposed legislative change. We should actively encourage stricter punishments for...
- Hirsute 17 min 24 sec ago
Points or a course minimum. The driver is paid to be doing this job. Gary Bloody Lineker !
- chrisonabike 19 min 50 sec ago
Clearly the poles should have priority in this situation so the cycle path is at fault. Although perhaps like redder lights maybe they have to be ...
- john_smith 33 min 19 sec ago
Converting soonness to conspicuity is far from trivial when you are using imperial units.
- OldRidgeback 1 hour 21 min ago
He's doing such a great job
- brooksby 3 hours 45 min ago
You don't?
- chrisonabike 4 hours 5 min ago
Good thing he didn't paint a bike shed on that...
- Hirsute 4 hours 30 min ago
Given you have to go on a £146 course to hang baskets off lamp posts, I wonder what electrical safety testing will be required and what checks and...
- john_smith 4 hours 35 min ago
Which "experiments mentioned"? A mathematical model isn't an experiment. It's a model someone has dreamt up....
- Chrissk 5 hours 15 min ago
I'm from Grimsby and the Councillor mentioned is a pointless waste of space. In fact the majority of them are as they've had opportunities to...
Add new comment
46 comments
I just don't like them, for a luxury glove, it's not outrageously priced.
I would be disappointed if they were made in a low wage economy though.
Did I say I just don't like them?
Rapha just isn't for me.
Can't all the "by 'eck when I were a lad and eggs were tuppence a loaf" brigade give it a rest. Whilst I cannot afford such gloves I have no issue with those who can, and I wouldn't mind trying some just to see how good they are before making any comments about value.
Erm what planet am I on?
Hair sheep is a breed of sheep with straight hair rather than curly wool.
I know a man who swears by Rapha in the glove department...says they kept his father's 'Iron Fist' very cosy....
in fact I'm sure he 'owns' Rapha...at least that's what i read in his local newspaper
KJU gloves.jpg
Has rapha shares in Road CC or Road CC shares in Rapha.
Such lovely gloves. I was hoping against hope they'd be a lot cheaper in the recent sales, but they were still about £120 I think.
I don't need them, but my, how I want them. They'd last years, and would work out at being a fairly cost-efficient purchase in the long run I think.
Buy cheap, buy twice, three times.... buy expensive (and wisely) and you'll get far more use out of them. There's normally a sweet spot to be found, and I suspect these gloves are a tiny bit more expensive than that... but still. Want.
Rapha customer service is not all it's cracked up to be on here. I was given a jersey (sportwool something or other) After washing according to the instructions it shrunk slightly and began to bobble on the chest/shoulders. I contacted Rapha who said there was nothing they could do but as a "goodwill" gesture they'd give me 10% off a new jersey. Didn't seem like the best offer - "spend 82 quid on another potentially ropey jersey".
I find that a bit strange to say the least. I have a few of their sportswool items and they are really quite good. Been in the wash plenty of times and it looks like new. No shrinking and no bobble.
If you can't handle sports wool then you should try buying the fully synthetic ones because all those are under the repair service and nothing of merino.
Anything wool you can't put it in the dryer and needs to be washed at 30C not sure how yours managed to shrink.
I guess strange things do happen. After handling the sportwool into the washing machine I've always washed it with merino base layers from icebreaker or planet x, which are fine and don't seem to be too tricky to handle, and I don't own a dryer. Thanks for the wool washing advice though, if only they put the same on the garment somewhere! A little tag would probably do it.
I managed to get a pair in the sample sale, I have to say I was doubtful but they are standing up very well to commuting abuse.
And yes they amazingly do not smell bad!
If anyone is considering buying these I wonder if they might also be interested in buying some magic beans that I have for sale? A bargain at only £1000 each.
Do they not get sweaty and smelly after a while ?
And I just know I'd lose one before I'd had my £160's worth. And no Reflectiveness ?
Mine surprisingly doesn't snell bad at all. I have had mine for half a year and with out a wash. It did cross my mind that I should give it a good wash but when I smell it it actually still have that great leather smell.
I think reflectives will not be suited for a leather glove with the classic look.
A long as you have reflectives of the arm it should be fine.
Fair review. Reckon there is more reviews as they produce more products, that deserve a mention. Another pair of shorts...so what?!
Have no real issue with the price, yes they are expensive, but most premium brands are and the gloves do look great! I own a substantial amount of rapha items and they are fantastic, I do question Raphas customer service though, I recently bought one of their bags and on it's 2nd use the zip broke, emailed them and the advice was to try and fix it myself! admittedly they did say if this did not work to get back in touch, but was still a bit surprised as I'd always heard their after sales customer service was outstanding.
Well I have called them plenty for many issues. Overall they are outstanding which is why I am very willing to continue to buy from them.
I've read this many many times and have no reason to disbelieve it's not the case, which is why I was surprised to have a fairly sub standard reply, but they did say to get back in touch if my own repair did not work (I've not tried yet) but I was disappointed and not impressed to say the least.
Well I have called them plenty for many issues. Overall they are outstanding which is why I am very willing to continue to buy from them.
I think these are actually quite expensive by the standards of UK made hairsheep leather gloves.
The obvious comparable is Dents driving gloves (concession in Selfridges). They seem to come out a good few bob cheaper. Link here: http://www.dents.co.uk/shop/heritage-gloves/
If you want to upgrade from hairsheep to peccary, that is a lot pricier.
You want boutique gloves? You pay for them. Vivienne Westwood leather gloves: £190. Moncler wool gloves: £175. Gucci leather town gloves: £200. They're pricing them in the company they want to keep. So what's the problem?
£160 for a pair of gloves? That look a bit... mincy? Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Some people will buy anything won't they just?
I prefer to think of it as £16 per finger. Which is about the same price as a manicure*....and that only lasts for like a week**...whereas these will last a lifetime. Bargain.
* i have no idea how much a manicure costs
** or how long they last
Is it £160 for the pair, or each glove?
How much of an aid to masturbation is the dimply palm- cos plainly Rapha buyers don't get off any other way?
Just to be clear- not my questions- I love their stuff. Just a couple of extra suggestions for abudhabiChris's list.
At £160 you'd walk around like Dr No for fear of marking them.
They probably do a 'special lotion' to keep the palms 'supple' too.
Those who can afford it I doubt they will be in fear of wearing them. No offense if you don't think its worth your price then don't think about it and why even bother to comment.
And yes they do have lotions you can buy to keep them supple. All leather things needs to be looked after as well not just for Rapha. You would most likely want to keep them supple because they are ultra soft.
I've own a pair Rapha leather full fingered cycling gloves and they are really that great especially if you can pick them up on sale. Also if you ever own Rapha anything you will know that people buy it because not only the quality is great, but for other things such as the full repair service plus amazing service team who is very helpful (I think its the best I've come across) and make sure you are happy.
Of course not all things Rapha is that great or worth the price. I remember buying their summer short fingered glove and it was painful even just to wear it but with free returns it wasn't even an issue. So reviews like this really helps before I buy.
Although Rapha is not the only brand with quality items but I can't find any other brand so far that can match or even offer Rapha's top customer service and their repair system for their many things other than merino and shoes.
Take Assos for example, I can't find anyone who can help if something goes wrong with their garment and after a few hiccups I don't buy their stuff anymore.
I own a fair few Rapha garments. I think you must have lost your sense of humour
LV bag cost how much? Every brand have their own followings and people who are willing to pay for. If they don't have it then they would have gone out of business by now but instead they are flourishing. Good for them too. Shows just how much good quality plus good marketing can make such a huge success.
£160 for quality and brand and life time repair is not really a bad deal.
They keep censuring my messages. The editor is a cunt. Edit that out or are you out with rapha's head of Whale leather research getting it up the arse?
They'll do a keyboard Pashmina protector for that, probably at a very reasonable price.
Pages