Just got me some fancy new gloves! MAAP Pro Race Mitts
 

As a religious glove user who has never found the holy grail of gloves, when I learned of the EIT palm tech, I was intrigued, but put off by the cost of the gloves. I couldn’t stop looking, however, and finally decided to just for it with a pair of MAAP Pro Race Mitts.

It was a little tough to figure out which of the EIT pads were being used by each manufacturer, but MAAP seemed to have not only a prime pad, but the best feature set and styling, so that’s why I chose them.

The construction and feel of these seems really nice, and that they’re different from any other glove I’ve used was apparent as soon as I pulled them on. The palm feels both contoured and moves without any restrictiveness, I guess it’s because it’s one piece, but also the elasticity of the palm material. The topside seams are all solid and well finished.

Besides the trick palm, I like the mesh panels between the fingers and the absorbent material across the thumb. It’s not terry thick, but seems a fabric more absorbent than which is used across the rest of the back. There’s also padding between the thumb and index finger, so should be nice for hanging on the hoods.

I did a short ride on a flat bar today, and the gloves were choice! There were no hotspots, and I could not feel where the padding was or was not, so it felt uniform and comfy. It was just under 80° today, so not hot enough to evaluate coolness of the gloves, bit they felt great on a short, 5 mile outing.

I know it’s too early to make pronouncements, bit I was immediately impressed by these and wanted to share my excitement. I take them out for a 100k gravel ride on Sunday, the Winnewana here in Ann Arbor, so will have a better sense of they perform from that. But, if you’ve been thinking about trying this new Elastic Interface tech out, I’d say go for it!


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...07150417e.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...dc1495903.jpeg
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Don't know about the gloves, but I like the "Lunar Pilot".

Yeah, thanks! Bulova did a great job with this re-edition; the styling is pretty much dead-on the Apollo 15 landing watch except for the date window, and the high-beat quartz movement has sweet action. They could have spiced it up with stuff like thermocompensation and Besançon certification or something, but then the pricing would have been a lot more. It’s my favorite DD/EDC/beater, and I’m even thinking about throwing down for the Ti and gold 50th anniversary edition, but I really want a track bike for this winter…

Following up on the gloves, I rode them about 4hrs today for a 65mi gravel ride on the T-Lab X3, and they were awesome! Most recently I’ve been using unpadded Supacaz Supa G and lightly padded Giro Jag gloves, both of which allowed hot spots to form, making the bars uncomfortable. These MAAP gloves completely resolved the problems, and were comfy regardless of my hand position. That I didn’t think of my hands during the longest ride I’ve done this season is a compelling, convincing performance, so I’m calling this money well spent.

chaadster when you say 'money well spent' how much money are you talking about?

$75 more or less. Not inexpensive, but rather 2x what I think is typical pricing for a pair.

The MAAP US web site says two things: (a) SOLD OUT, and (b) $110. That's just crazy right there.

Over in the C & V, the fellows periodically run a $100 challenge, where each contestant must locate and repair a bike for $100 all in, including the fair cost of parts bin parts, etc. Then each contestant must ride the candidate bike for 100 km for it to be considered for judging in the challenge.

And some pretty decent bikes result from this...

$110 for mittens? okay.

Thank you for sharing your first-hand experience with these!

As with a lot of things associated with ergonomics, this can be very personal. Something that is a "big nothing" for one person can be make-or-break for someone else, so I am never going to dismiss anyone's personal experience out of hand.

$75: https://rubbernroad.com/collections/.../pro-race-mitt

I was going to post and ask how many posts it would take before someone commented about the high cost. Now what am I going to do with the remainder of 120 min. lunch break?

Too many things in this photo to comment on.
- Gloves look nice. $75 is a lot for gloves but if they work, they work. Sounds like they resolved issues you had with other gloves so that's the best news.
- That watch looks great. I like watches and used to wear them. Unfortunately I fell into the Fitbit craze so I haven't worn a real watch in a couple years. I should try them again haha.
- I saw those handlebars in a different photo you posted but didn't comment (maybe you were talking about the SQ Lab inner bar ends in that thread). Anyways, I really like the look of those bars...what are they?

When I look at the MAAP US site, I see (a) many color/size combinations in stock, and (b) 75 USD.

These are the hand chamois from a few weeks ago.

If they work well for the OP, that’s great. At $75, that is quite a bit for most, I’ve never spent half that, but in the day and age of $10k bikes, it isn’t a big deal if it solves an issue.

By the same token, the OP should realize that there might not be an out pouring of enthusiasm for the product.

John

I've got $75 that says he doesn't care. You can mail me a check or a pair of those gloves. Size XL.

Just make sure they are red. That's the one problem I see with his purchase. Red gloves are fastest.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/14...g?v=1606981593

I might take you up on that. While the OP didn’t post pics with circles and arrows, he did post 3 pics with more that a paragraph explaining each one of them.

John

Which is quite helpful to others. Still don't think he's expecting an "out pouring [sic] of enthusiasm", especially considering the collective "frugality" of BF.

I often post reviews knowing that it's not going to appeal to everyone, but I do it because I know that it'll appeal to some and that they might find it useful. I'd wager that the OP is in the same camp and doesn't give two squirts about the grouches that are just lookin' for more things to shake their fist at.

Yeah, I totally don't get the point of imagining that the OP wrote this seeking approbation, and then "educating" the OP about how they shouldn't expect that approbation. To me, that seems like a bit of effort to find something to grouch about.

This thread started out as something sort of refreshing for BF, but wow, we can't have that, can we?

Those of us who are regular contributors to the Touring forum sometimes post reviews of products and include more than one photo. For example, if you like (or even don't like) a new camping mattress a good review would include photo of it unrolled and inflated along with a photo of it rolled up and stuffed in its sack. The later is of particular concern to those who go self-contained. We are passing along experiences in the event it can help others. I learned about my current mattress from a BF post. It's the best mattress I have ever owned, and I have owned a few over the decades.

Thanks. I think the bars are pretty neat too, but just a couple of days ago, my own mother said the bike is “quite metro,” as in metrosexual! Haha! Anyway, the bars are from State Bicycle; a heads-up that they’re wide AF though! I cut off 2” on each end and they’re still kinda wide!

https://www.statebicycle.com/collect...iser-handlebar

Watches are great, but be careful the slippery slope; once you get into them, they become another hobby and it can get pricey fast!

Thanks, and yes, you’re quite right: I am not expecting an outpouring of enthusiasm. I posted only to share some personal insight on a product featuring some new tech which I thought some might be interested in just as I was.

Well I apologize if I ruffled a few feathers. I guess I’ve never been fond of the “look-at-my-stuff-or-what-I-found-just-in-case-I-can-help-someone” threads.

I have no issue with responding to someone’s thread who is experiencing an issue and you can help that person in showing how you solved the same/similar problem.

Hopefully this thread helps someone, then again in a week it will probably fall off the first page and the search may never help someone who needs it.

John

Haha to your mom calling the bike metro. Well, I suppose it would depend on the bike's look overall but bars alone I don't think so. I think the oil slick finish is a cool change from the regular chrome, black, or anodized solid colors. The oil slick look might be a bit much for an entire bike frame, but just the bars it's a nice accent. Whoa, you weren't joking about the width...800mm is wider than my mtn. bike bars! Thanks for the link.

Oh yeah watches are a difficult game to control for some people. Luckily my other hobbies (bikes, guitars, kayaks) always kept me from putting money into watches. I have a Bulova and a couple Citizens, along with a few others handed down to me and that's plenty for me! I just miss wearing a real watch haha.

Odd, considering that just a few months ago you posted your own ‘look what I found out’ thread :rolleyes:

https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...hain-whip.html

Yes, you are absolutely right. I did post it in the Bike Mechanics sub-forum.

That was 6 months ago and you didn’t post to that thread, so I appreciate having a fan out there. But if you want to show real devotion, you need to go back further, as I’m sure there are other threads from years gone by that I have started. I think there were a couple of freehub body swaps in mid-2020. I hope that helps. I don’t want you to spend too much time on it.

But I digress, I probably should have titled it “Look at My Fancy Spin Doctor Chain Whip and Rope”. Maybe wear a Luminox for effect.

John