Alas poor Spenco (serching for well-padded gloves)

You might look at the Trek Moby. They're the best for me on rough, mountain roads.

Jim Wilson

Doug Milliken said:

Before they quit making them (maybe 8-10 years ago?), I bought several pair of the original Spenco
gell-filled, string back gloves. Of course they are all falling apart by now. These had a *lot* of
gel in the pads and they really worked well for me. Is there anything in the market these days with
a comparable amount of padding?

At one point, some company was selling some gloves that they claimed were made with the same Spenco
gel, but when I got a pair, the gel was much thinner and didn't give nearly the same vibration
isolation.

-- Doug Milliken

Doug Milliken said:

Before they quit making them (maybe 8-10 years ago?), I bought several pair of the original Spenco
gell-filled, string back gloves. Of course they are all falling apart by now. These had a *lot* of
gel in the pads and they really worked well for me. Is there anything in the market these days with
a comparable amount of padding?

At one point, some company was selling some gloves that they claimed were made with the same Spenco
gel, but when I got a pair, the gel was much thinner and didn't give nearly the same vibration
isolation.

I too am a devotee of the old Spenco gloves. Fortunately there's good news, they are still being
made. They can be ordered from The Blue Gel Company, 702 27th Place South, Birmingham, AL 35233.
1-866-258-3435.

I have an order form that I could scan in and email as a Word .doc file if you want a copy.
Just email.

BTW, I too experienced the same problem with the too thin gel. The Spenco gloves are now
manufactured by SportsMed. A couple of years ago someone on r.b.m was offering them for sale at a
really good price. I emailed and asked if they were TL-500s, my favorite Spenco/SportsMed product.
I was told they were and so ordered some. Turns out they were SportsMed all right, but NOT
TL-500s. The gel was much thinner and didn't give nearly the same vibration isolation. ;-) At
first I was [censored] but then accepted that I got some okay gloves at a really good price, just not
what I expected.

Bottom line, as recently as last fall I got three pairs of TL-500s from TBGC, $24.95 each
plus shipping.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

In article <[email hidden]>, Doug Milliken

Quoted message said:

Before they quit making them (maybe 8-10 years ago?), I bought several pair of the original Spenco
gell-filled, string back gloves. Of course they are all falling apart by now. These had a *lot* of
gel in the pads and they really worked well for me. Is there anything in the market these days with
a comparable amount of padding?

At one point, some company was selling some gloves that they claimed were made with the same Spenco
gel, but when I got a pair, the gel was much thinner and didn't give nearly the same vibration
isolation.

-- Doug Milliken

Hi Doug,

Spenco still makes "gel" products, BUT sold the glove "patent" to a company called Sports Med, or
SportsMed. I purchased a couple pair from them ($27.00) a few years back, and they are almost
identical to the original Spenco's...only the crocheting is black not the tri-color.

I've done a google search, but was unable to locate them. I gave my last new pair to my son (in
Oregon)...and the original shipping paperwork went with them. I'll e-mail to see if he still has the
address...if so, I'll forward it to you direct.

Regards,
Bill

One more place to try...

I have been using Tricosports gloves for the past few years. They are the only ones I've found in
shops (and then rarely) that have a good deal of padding.

I think the specific "line" is called HandShox, followed by a model number -- 3000, 5000 or
something. Anyway that's what I'm using and I'm happy. They have different backings -- some terry,
some mesh, etc.

They have a website which, I believe, is www.tricosports.com.

Best, Joe Kubera

(earlier today) I said:

I too am a devotee of the old Spenco gloves. Fortunately there's good news, they are still being
made. They can be ordered from The Blue Gel Company, 702 27th Place South, Birmingham, AL 35233.
1-866-258-3435.

I have an order form that I could scan in and email as a Word .doc file if you want a copy.
Just email.

Bottom line, as recently as last fall I got three pairs of TL-500s from TBGC, $24.95 each plus
shipping.

Further about the above. The original poster was interested in the mesh back gloves. The TL-500 is a
solid back glove. Some googling reveals that the mesh backs are TL-600s. The order form I have lists
TL-500, TL-600, TL-700, TL-740 and TL-780; in addition to some that are just listed by color. I have
no idea what all these model numbers represent; however the TL-500 and TL-600 are the same model
numbers Spenco used lo these many years ago.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

Doug Milliken <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Before they quit making them (maybe 8-10 years ago?), I bought several pair of the original Spenco
gell-filled, string back gloves. Of course they are

=========== clipped from the Email =================

Wow, Thanks!!

Did you mean to email me? I think this deserves to be posted to rbt.

-- Doug

Mark Freedman said:

shocktek.comindex2.htmlOpen ↗

I read about these here, unfortunately the gloves cost U$25 and shipping to Canada costs U$25,
so I never got to try them. You could search www.deja.com for the comments I read.

MY Spenco's were great but the leather wasn't very well sewn together. Paris shock gloves have
thick gel, but it squeezes away from the pressure points. Louis Garneaux has ERGO Gel or Bio
Gel, which are tiny, thin patches of extra firm gel strategically placed. I haven't tried them
yet. Specialized Body Geometry has a think gel pad in exactly the wrong place, but SOMEBODY
must like it there :-)

Just some possibilities.

Doug Milliken said:

Before they quit making them (maybe 8-10 years ago?), I bought several pair of the original Spenco
gell-filled, string back gloves. Of course they are all falling apart by now. These had a *lot* of
gel in the pads and they really worked well for me. Is there anything in the market these days
with a comparable amount of padding?

At one point, some company was selling some gloves that they claimed were made with the same
Spenco gel, but when I got a pair, the gel was much thinner and didn't give nearly the same
vibration isolation.

-- Doug Milliken

Dunno about the gloves but man I loved the Spenco bar covers. My old Pinarello still has some on it.

I loved those things too. They were especially convenient in that I didn't have to wear them on
shorter rides, but could easilly upgrade my gloves into gel models for the long hauls, like double
and triple centuries.

If someone does make something similar, I'de like to know about it as well.

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗

John Everett said:

Doug Milliken said:

Before they quit making them (maybe 8-10 years ago?), I bought several pair of the original
Spenco gell-filled, string back gloves. Of course they are

Quoted message said:

I too am a devotee of the old Spenco gloves. Fortunately there's good news, they are still being
made. They can be ordered from The Blue Gel Company, 702 27th Place South, Birmingham, AL 35233.
1-866-258-3435.

Quoted message said:

BTW, I too experienced the same problem with the too thin gel. The Spenco gloves are now
manufactured by SportsMed. A couple of years ago someone on r.b.m was offering them for sale at a
really good price. I emailed and asked if they were TL-500s, my favorite Spenco/SportsMed product.
I was told they were and so ordered some. Turns out they were SportsMed all right, but NOT
TL-500s. The gel was much thinner and didn't give nearly the same vibration isolation. ;-) At
first I was [censored] but then accepted that I got some okay gloves at a really good price, just not
what I expected.

Bottom line, as recently as last fall I got three pairs of TL-500s from TBGC, $24.95 each plus
shipping.

John and everyone else,

Thanks to all. I'll call The Blue Gel Co directly and get the latest info, don't bother emailing me
the order blank.

Your experience with SportsMed sounds exactly like mine. I lost the pair of fabric backs I bought
(no great loss!) and couldn't remember the name of the company.

-- Doug

Quoted message said:

I too am a devotee of the old Spenco gloves. Fortunately there's good news, they are still being
made. They can be ordered from The Blue Gel Company, 702 27th Place South, Birmingham, AL 35233.
1-866-258-3435.

.....

Quoted message said:

Bottom line, as recently as last fall I got three pairs of TL-500s from TBGC, $24.95 each plus
shipping.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net

Well, got some Blue Gel TL-600 string back gloves today (took a long time to get here). Nice
looking, but the padding (gel inserts) still seems thinner than I remember from the original
Spenco gloves.

Thanks for all the earlier feedback on this thread.

-- Doug Milliken