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First impressions
Specialized have really given us girls a great alternative to the pink that seems to dominant the ladies cycling ranges. The striking turquoise and grey give the gloves a wonderful fresh and funky feel. As mentioned, the fabric is top class, as expected by a brand such as specialized. The glove makes use of Clarino fabric on the palm to get that "second skin" feel.It resembles leather but is washable and retains its softness and high quality.
Comfort and ride feel
A good glove is mostly about protecting your hands from the vigours of riding bikes on demanding trails. The Lodown is specifically for those riders who want to feel their handlebars and engage with their bikes more freely. The size curve does run on the small size to allow the glove to fit snuggly and give the perfect protection for a women's smaller hands. I highly recommend riders to give a non-padded glove a try, You will forget you have a glove on and this will allow you to handle your bike rather then fiddle with your gloves. The adjustable strap allows you to fit the glove to your hand.
I dislike a strap which closes on the palm side of a glove as I find it interferes, but the top sided strap on the Lodown was not bothersome in the least. The textured silicone finger tips provide the traction needed when gearing and braking.
To the test
I had a slight worry that being such a minimalist glove, the Lodown would not perform well when really getting dirty on a trail. I tested the gloves in most conditions and following some rocky descending and putting my hand out to break a fall, the glove remained undamaged and provided more than the required protection. After picking up my bike, fixing a puncture and some demanding trail riding, the specialized lodown excelled on all fronts. RRP R549