I wear these only for rides over 50 miles as they have caused me to only rely on them for necessity.
When I first received these, they were a little tight, but felt great. After only a few sweaty rides they started hardening when dry, despite my handwashing. Even leather conditioner has not helped much. I still squeeze my hands into them to get my money's worth and eventually they soften up enough to be decently comfortable. The black palms stain my hands to this day, after hundreds of hours in them.
I expected an improvement over the original Monacos, and have seen only better quality control and slightly better durability.
Bought size med (based on sizing chart). They were too small, returned to be exchanged for size Large. Western Bike credited my account instead of exchanging for Large. Ended up ordering a couple pair of Pearl Izumi ELITE Gel Gloves. Those are good gloves and fit perfectly.
I bought these to replace some cheap ones that wore out prematurely. They worked well on a recent week-long trek. My hand is really a medium, but the mediums were far too tight. I returned them and got large which are still a bit tight.
Long rides can be hard on the hands when you lean on the handlebars. The Giro Monaco II Gel Glove provides superior padding in the right places to prevent wear and tear while relieving pressure.
While these gloves fit quite well initially after a partial first ride the padding between the index finger in the thumb pinches the flesh in that area of my hand so badly I had to take them off and finish the ride barehanded. These are going straight to the trashcan. Very disappointed because it was not obvious upon first fitting but now I cant return them.
