Rapha Womens Grand Tour Gloves

And there is of course that immutable law of physics that the more something costs the more likely it is to get lost/left behind.

Bought the future Mrs B a very fancy silk nightie years back - within a week it got left behind in an Arizona motel . On the other hand the winceyette number from the late lamented Woolies - still going strong after a decade or more.....

hey-ho!

lots of to-ing and fro-ing about the price of that, too. natch.

Quote:

had they been given 3 stars, I would never have posted

had they been worth 3 stars, they would have been given 3 stars.

3. No snot wipe...

Ok, I won't comment further ... these are women's gloves, so aren't suitable for me ... and my issue isn't simply the price, but the 4.5 star rating ... had they been given 3 stars, I would never have posted.

PS: If Rapha want to send me some gear to review I'll be sure to give my honest opinion.

Some design issues with those gloves...

1. Shiny palms - most cycling gloves use swede palms often with silicon prints for grip ... why are these shiny? A design oversight?

2. No protection for back of hand - most cycling mitts cover the rear of the hand for protection from sun, wind, and rain ... why are these open-backed? Cooling perhaps? or maybe cost saving on expensive leather?

These points don't seem to matter to some users posting here, but they would be of concern to me if I'd paid £100 for these. I don't doubt the quality, but seems to me the design has not been thought through...

"You could just as easily try to argue that good, cheap stuff gets a better review because of it's price. Oddly enough, no-one ever does."

I don't think anyone would argue with that...

I bought a pair when they first came out, and wore them for about three years non stop. They were black and the die leaked over my hands when they got wet, but apart from that they were very nice.
I then bought a white pair to get around the colour leaking, (and because the original pair were beginning to wear out) and have worn those for countless hours including a lot of time in the wet.
The first pair are still going strong, despite now looking a bit ragged, as are the second pair, which look fine.
So two pairs of mitts have lasted for more than 6 years, and show every sign of lasting a long time to come. They are also much nicer than any ordinary mitts.
Seems like good value to me.

What we have on here thus far, so far as I can see, is the three people that have tried the gloves saying they're really, really good. Anyone tried them and not rate them?

I wonder how much of a part psychology plays when evaluating expensive items like these gloves ... with something this expensive, and with the interesting details on materials used, isn't it possible that one could simply believe they are better than they actually are?

They could well be very good gloves ... I wouldn't know as I've never tried them, and given they are hand-made in UK, the cost doesn't seem unreasonable.

Hmmmm - another Rapha war zone ... well almost. I enjoy reading the reviews - they are very thorough, so please continue !
I was given some money for my birthday and I put it towards a pair of the Men's Grand Tour gloves - one of the best decisions I have made. Extremely comfortable, durable and look beautiful. I'm not saying that everybody should pay £100 for mitts, but I treated myself when I had the chance and I KNOW they will outlast my cheaper lycra-based ones and they are more comfortable. Thoroughly recommended if you can afford that bit (maybe a lot) extra.

You seem to want every glove on the market to be tested and lined up relative to each other. That's not practical and buying decisions are going to be based on more than just what the overall star rating was.

I don't think you're giving people enough credit for being able to interpret and use the reviews as they see fit. If you fancy treating yourself to a pair of these then you want to know if they are good or not. VFM is in the eye of the beholder. Simple.

Are we saying that 'cheaper' gloves made by other companies simply aren't as good as these? Are these the best gloves available by far? If much lower priced alternatives are as good, or almost as good, then these don't deserve that 4.5 star rating. Simple.

Generally speaking the higher the price of a piece of kit the less part its cost plays in determining the overall mark because if you are in the market for a £100 pair of gloves or a £5K bike 'value' is less likely to be one of the main criteria on which you are going to base your purchasing decision for those of us spending on a budget value is much higher on our list of priorities that's why value for money is a much bigger determinant of what a £500 bike or a £20 pair of gloves gets than of a £5,000 bike or a £100 pair of gloves. The only time value really comes in to the equation for higher end stuff is if they don't deliver in terms of performance, it's not as crude as saying that a £5,000 bike has to be 10 times better than a £500 one but it does have to be significantly better and offer you what you could at least expect from other similarly priced bikes in terms of spec, weight, build quality and ride. Ditto for gloves, accessories and other cycling kit.

With higher end consumables and clothing there is also the extra consideration that they may not only perform better but also last longer than cheaper alternatives.

For the record, Leonie probably will get to keep the gloves. It's not like Rapha will desperately want them back now she's put some miles into them. I've had plenty of free gloves that way too. And shorts, and jerseys, and socks. Believe me, the novelty wears off after a few years. Except for socks. I don't review gloves because I need more gloves. I have plenty of gloves. Leonie does too: that's the fourth pair she's tested this year.

She's 'obviously biased', nrbus? I wouldn't say that was obvious at all. I'm not sure we've had a single Rapha review on here where someone hasn't said, "you wouldn't catch me paying that", that's how it always goes. People's definition of value varies. These are handmade gloves, made in the UK out of top dollar materials. How much should they cost? I'm interested to know...

If you do a lot of miles they are worth paying the extra for, I've got the mens version and mine have done 2,500 miles in the last 2.5 months and the comfort keeps getting better as they mold to your hands. How do you justify price - value for money, performance, feel good factor? thats always going to be personal preference. If I was to write a review for my gloves I'd agree at 4.5, they'd loose half a mark for the price (but don't we want everything cheaper) but with regards to everything else they do: comfort, build quality, looks, grip, its exactly as I'd expect for a hundred quid

Even if they are good, there's no way they should get 4.5 stars at that price ... reviewer is obviously biased, and probably gets to keep the gear after the review.