My old gloves were falling apart, but I hate to try and find new things like these. Buying something that I’m going to wear basically everyday for the next few years is nerve-wracking. I really wanted the Rapha Special edition gloves, made from African hair sheep leather with silk lining and pads from army sniper gloves, but the $170 price tag seemed a bit much.
After trying on quite a few pairs, I settled on the Pearl Izumi Pittards Carbon Leather gloves. They were $35 at River City Bicycles ($31.50 with my coupon!). Nice soft, but durable-feeling leather palm, “wiping surface” on the top of the thumb, CoolMax on the back of the palm, and articulated padding on palm. I’m only a few days into using them, but they feel great so far.