The mishmash lineup, including a stowable glove-shell to layer on top for moisture management

Tired of over-Hyped, over-priced cycling gear? Me too - and I'm trying to save the fancy stuff for event day use. 

Although I've always mixed non-cycling clothes into my get-ups, including an array of old ski garments, I've been sucked in by marketing for far too long. Another pair of my long-fingered gloves recently bit the dust and it recently occurred to me to check out some non-traditional options. Ironclad's offerings may have helped to inspire me -- I've been rocking their winter baselayers and Cold Condition Gloves all winter long, and they're fabulous products. They incorporate warm technical fabrics with great wicking, are form-fitting, and are durable as hell. They may have been designed for the construction site -- but they're awesome on the bike.

I looked beyond the "cycling specific" label in my search for new gloves -- and it brought me to a discount department store. Ten minutes in the home improvement / gardening section and $15 later, I left with THREE pairs of sensational hand coverings. I'm now the proud owner of some sweet light-, mid-, and heavyweight gloves with a latex tool-wielding covering on the palms. If these had been intended for biking, the grips would be a "revolutionary anti-slip surface" and they would have easily run $20+ each.

One pair is made from bamboo fiber -- a natural wicking material -- and another is composed of recycled plastic bottles. "Green," or at least greenwashing, has truly become mainstream when you find it for $5 next to the shovels in a conventional store.

Have some other great re-purposing or money saving tips for CLUB members? Post them below in the Comments or start up a dialog in the Forums!

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