Ride all year? Feel your heated grips aren’t good enough for anything more than the daily commute?
I fitted a pair of Tucano muffs in December and have never been as grateful for a quality pair of hand-warmers.
I’ve used them for rides to Cardiff, London, Nottingham, Newcastle and more recently north-west Ireland, as well as the daily trip to the office and I find myself laughing in the face of the cold. Of course that may actually be as a result of the hypothermia setting in, but at least the cold no longer emanates from my hands.
Let me explain why these are perhaps the Rolls Royce of muffs and are a snip at only £49.99.
Firstly, the design demonstrates that someone who rides a bike has been involved at the crucial early stage of development. The muffs have a rigidity that ensures they don’t come back and press on the brake or clutch levers. This is supplemented by a fitting kit for the bar-end system (which suits many handlebar sizes) and a strip of very rigid material which can either link the muffs together, or secure each individual one through a series of wraps, to the length of the handlebar down to the top yoke clamps.
I’ve fitted them over my handguards so they should supplement any size of guard you may already have fitted.
Then there’s the construction. The outer layer is a thick nylon, within which is some synthetic fur lining for insulation. So far it hasn’t got terribly wet, so don’t imagine ‘drowned cat’ syndrome. One reason is that there is a draw-string to secure/seal the muffs around the control cables and an extension of the nylon material which climbs the mirror stalk and is sealed with Velcro.
The stitching and all joints seem well sealed and I can’t find any irregularities or failings in construction, but I’ve only used them for a couple of thousand miles so far.
It’s all so simple and yet such an amazing improvement over muffs of old. If you are planning a Scandinavian trip this winter, or heading up to Alaska they’ll be perfect, but let’s be under no illusions, they’re far too bulky to carry if you are going global. If however, you are stuck in the UK all winter, dreaming of the next trip, or perhaps challenging the snow to make the daily commute an adventure, I can’t recommend them highly enough for keeping hands warm and dry.
Tucano Urbano may be a funny name, but the Italian company has been making weather protection equipment for fashion conscious urban scooter riders for years and they’ve really perfected it.
I got mine from scooter-wear.com who stock a whole range of Tucano products and after only a week’s use, I bought another pair as a Christmas present. Now that’s endorsement!
www.scooter-wear.com £49.99
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