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
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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
Superb quality of leather and extremely well made.
As a smart urban glove they perform very well. I'd have preferred a zip that was easier to undo single-handed though.
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.
Not really an issue but they're neither light nor heavy.
Superbly comfortable.
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,
46 thoughts on “Rapha Leather Town Gloves”
My life is complete.
My life is complete.
Reckon you guys could branch
Reckon you guys could branch out a bit and review some other brands besides rapha, vulpine and the usual crowd that disproportionately frequent the review section?
Be careful? You can call
Be careful? You can call Armstrong a prick but be critical to products on Road CC and you will find your messages disappear. As I found out yesterday when I called Rapha-items who jerk of to merino jumpers still in their box to get a life and go for a ride, and Copypine women’s jacket you can now found in the bargain basement of pound stretcher: and both messages disappeared. And when I pointed out women’s Lycra crotch area is a serious discussion point, I was told to fuck off to the Women’s Institute.
Rapha-ites. This Sinclair
Rapha-ites. This Sinclair spectrum spell check is fucked.
bfaz wrote:Reckon you guys
They are just reviewing what other people want to or would like to buy without buying it themselves first.
Vulpine products have been reviewed.
Road CC are twisting my
Road CC are twisting my mellow man. They’ve just re-added the serious discussion I started in the Culpines women’s jacks. Cunts
And Rapha-ites out there: I
And Rapha-ites out there: I used their toilet for a dump last week in Soho and when I was walking out I overhead the owner of Rapha say, probably to his lap dog: “yes I know people will buy anything with Rapha on” I didn’t catch the rest. And if Rapha is listening in: fucking sue me
why is the site showing 6
why is the site showing 6 comments, yet only 2 are visible?
If there is censorship occurring, at least make it clear that this is happening.
crikey wrote:why is the site
I guess they just imported the standard comments for all Rapha reviews.
1. How bloody much?
2. In my day we didn’t have gloves/merino jerseys/bib-shorts we just set our hands on fire/caught our own sheep/stuck a steak down some lederhosen.
3. Anyone who wears that must be a Sky-fanboy carbon-fibre tosser who bought their first bike last week and I’ll be riding past them on my Dawes Galaxy c1980.
That just about covers it doesn’t it?
abudhabiChris wrote:crikey
I guess they just imported the standard comments for all Rapha reviews.
1. How bloody much?
2. In my day we didn’t have gloves/merino jerseys/bib-shorts we just set our hands on fire/caught our own sheep/stuck a steak down some lederhosen.
3. Anyone who wears that must be a Sky-fanboy carbon-fibre tosser who bought their first bike last week and I’ll be riding past them on my Dawes Galaxy c1980.
That just about covers it doesn’t it?— crikey
Yes. You’ve rather rendered the comments section unnecessary. 🙁
abudhabiChris wrote:
I guess
abudhabiChris wrote:
You forgot:
“I can buy a 5 pack of gloves that are just as good in Lidl for a tenner”
@crikey – I’ve often noticed a mismatch between the number of comments reported by the front page and the actual number of comments displayed. Perhaps that is why road.cc is recruiting a web developer 🙂
My personal Rapha dilemma… I was bought an Imperial Works winter jersey as a present – it was reduced, in the regular sale area of the Rapha website and not the super-seekrit section for people who have more money than sense even by Rapha standards. It really is a lovely jersey, both in looks and functionality – but will the Rapha haters think I am an even bigger tool than normal for wearing it? Or are the haters gonna hate equally regardless so I should just not care?
hylozoist wrote:abudhabiChris
You should just not care. I bought an imperial works long sleeve off eBay – purely because it was all black and had long sleeves & I got it for a bargain. Win/win! You’d be hard pushed to even tell it’s IW really.
hylozoist wrote:abudhabiChris
I think you have everything upside down.
You buy or own something you prefer or like. Not based on what others think.
I actually don’t care if the whole world is rapah haters (I know only a few anyway) and I would still wear their things as long as I believe they make good products and provide good service.
I wear my raphe items because I like it not because others wear it or care what they think.
My cycling wardrobe consists of many brands though and I mixed and match whichever I think does the job best.
Recently I find DHB pro long bib very very good for the price actually and keeps me comfy during the winter so I will buy more of those. I have Assos, Rapha, Castili, Pactimo long bibs and I actually find DHB pro the one I grab every time.
Its all about the gear and not the brand and all about your own personality what you choose to wear.
hsiaolc wrote:
I think you
You’re right, and if I didn’t want to have/wear this item, I wouldn’t have dropped hints that I might quite like to get it 🙂 So I’ve already worn this and the other couple of Rapha items I own quite happily.
That said, I’m only human and it’s nice not to think that others are judging you negatively for your clothing choices, be they Rapha or Aldi – so if I was going to meet a bunch of cyclists for the first time I’m not sure I’d turn up in fancy IW gear.
Doesn’t explain the
Doesn’t explain the discrepancy though, does it love?
I know its Rapha, and you
I know its Rapha, and you expect a price tag – but I literately sprayed my coffee over the keyboard when I saw the actual price…
despite the mess, that’s the best laugh I’ve had in ages. <:P
They’ll do a keyboard
They’ll do a keyboard Pashmina protector for that, probably at a very reasonable price. 😉
They keep censuring my
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?
LV bag cost how much? Every
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.
Is it £160 for the pair, or
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.
rjfrussell wrote:Is it £160
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.
Colin Peyresourde
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.— rjfrussell
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.
hsiaolc wrote:Colin
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.— Colin Peyresourde
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.— rjfrussell
I own a fair few Rapha garments. I think you must have lost your sense of humour
I prefer to think of it as
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
£160 for a pair of gloves?
£160 for a pair of gloves? That look a bit… mincy? Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Some people will buy anything won’t they just?
You want boutique gloves?
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?
I think these are actually
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.
Have no real issue with the
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.
GMan7T2 wrote:Have no real
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
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.
GMan7T2 wrote:Have no real
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.
Fair review. Reckon there is
Fair review. Reckon there is more reviews as they produce more products, that deserve a mention. Another pair of shorts…so what?!
Do they not get sweaty and
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 ?
fenix wrote:Do they not get
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.
If anyone is considering
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.
I managed to get a pair in
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!
Rapha customer service is not
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”.
benm wrote:Rapha customer
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
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.
Such lovely gloves. I was
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.
Has rapha shares in Road CC
Has rapha shares in Road CC or Road CC shares in Rapha.
I know a man who swears by
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
Hair sheep is a breed of
Hair sheep is a breed of sheep with straight hair rather than curly wool.
Erm what planet am I on?
Erm what planet am I on?
Can’t all the “by ‘eck when I
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.
I just don’t like them, for a
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.
Comments are closed.