Alas poor Spenco (serching for well-padded gloves)

[Doug Milliken]

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

 

[Jim Wilson]

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

Jim Wilson

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:10:58 -0400, Doug Milliken <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>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

 

[John Everett]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:10:58 -0400, Doug Milliken <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>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 ****** 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 http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

 

[Wbtobal]

In article <[email protected]>, Doug Milliken
<[email protected]> writes:

>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

 

[Joseph Kubera]

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

 

[John Everett]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 15:48:18 GMT, (earlier today) I wrote:

>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 http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

 

[Mark Freedman]

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

> 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

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003, Mark Freedman wrote:

> http://www.shocktek.com/index2.html
>
> 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.

 

[Bald Headed Joh]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:10:58 -0400, Doug Milliken wrote:

>
> 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.

 

[Chris Zacho "Th]

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": http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

 

[Doug Milliken]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003, John Everett wrote:

> On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:10:58 -0400, Doug Milliken <[email protected]> wrote:
> >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

> 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.

> 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 ****** 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

 

[Doug Milliken]

> 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.
>
.....
> 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