🧤 PEARL IZUMI Elite Gel Bike Gloves Review

Wow! Compared to the same glove 2 years ago they have gone to great lengths to downgrade the quality of the gloves including removing the stitching on the back, thinning the padding on the front and reducing the velcro to a flimsy pull tab to close. They work, but only. Not at all the quality of Pearl Izumi I expected. Avoid!

My hands measure about 8.5 inches. This is the upper limit of medium and the lower limit of large for most gloves. I bought large gloves to go with them and they fit perfectly. Tight fit on back of hand and fingers. They felt almost small when first worn, but stretched a bit on the first ride.

Bought to replace a very worn and loved pair of IP gloves. The new ones lack the "Lösch" area on the back of the index finger. Hey, that's progress. Both the old and new are XL and the new ones are a bit tight making them difficult to take off. They may stretch a little, but I don't see it yet. Above all, very comfortable when driving.

I wasn't sure if they were the right size for men or women so I declined them at first. I bought a pair of Pearl Izumi Pro Gel gloves which were more expensive and suitable for women. Size M, which I usually wear, was too small. They ended up telling me these are men's sizes but I still ordered size M because they run small and fit me. They are just as good as the more expensive pair. I like that they are plain and black. They were comfortable on my 20 mile bike ride today.

Some seams are sewn so that they touch the skin and are rough to the touch (e.g. the edge of the velcro). The velcro on the strap that closes them around the arm is too flimsy, and because media is snug on me, it barely closes. There's no good way to take them off without breaking your fingers (the reason my old ones died). For some reason there are no -2- labels sewn on the inside and they are about 4 inches long - almost the length of the glove. Of course you can cut them off, but are they…

My decision to buy these gloves was based on my very good experiences with other Pear Izumi gloves. I have to say they are smaller than advertised so go up a size. While the palm area keeps the padding pattern and materials of the past (good), the back has a very thin but flexible fabric that doesn't feel strong enough (bad). I haven't ridden them long enough to judge the quality, but some of the poorly made details (like the Velcro straps that are too short) don't inspire confidence. Overall…

I don't know what gel they're talking about, but it's more like a soft TPU. It does have some utility, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a gel. Either way, it feels good and is also well perforated, keeping the gloves dry and comfortable. The stitching is pretty good, but it includes a long nursing and care label that reads "War and Peace" that's not really easy to remove without creating an annoying rim in the glove. There are cloister hooks that make it easy to put the glove on and off and I