Gloves wear them or not

[az cra-z]

I always wear gloves (fingerless, mostly) and don't think they make me any warmer in the 100-plus heat here.

Here's a great deal on some: http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/GL502B01-Primal+Wear+Century+Glove.aspx
I got two pairs of these, love 'em, thinking about getting another couple. Lots of protection around the thumbs, I'm not scraping on the finger throttle anymore.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Good gloves are important, but they cost so darned much! Especially considering they only sell them in pairs, and I only need a right glove. Anybody out there who only needs a left? I'll split the cost of some good riding gloves with you.

 

[sparky]

Good question... fingertips or not??

I only have one decent size scar that wouldn't have been saved by your gloves, but the vast majority and most important would have been saved by the palm & first set of knuckles.

I do have two "partially" bruised fingernails. Never had partially bruised nails... it's been all or nothin', so I dunno if I should expect them to fall off or not.

At the rate I'm going, a full body suit wouldn't be a bad idea, but I think I'm going to stick with pants, gloves, & a helmet... and of course a bright, wide-beam light at night.

I have been an idiot about safety... and I hope lots of people will learn from my mistakes.

 

[Warner]

Remember... not everybody has control like this guy!

http://www.zytu.org/public/watch.php?v_id=340&tab=2

That is a RIDICULOUS save! Wow....good stuff! Talk about "sticking with it"!

Warner

 

[Snax]

I learned the importance of gloves even at low speeds while I was into inline skating. Just one dump onto my palms at a walking speed had me sore and picking gravel out of my skin. Even subsequent falls with plain leather work gloves were a vastly more pleasant experience than that.

I wear regular open fingered biking gloves for the motored bike. The palm padding is the part likely to take the hardest hit anyway.

 

[arielatom300heps]

I wear both fingerless and normal full finger gloves when riding and when it gets cold I wear both of them at the same time.

I got my moneys worth for what I paid for my gloves as about 2 weeks ago when I had a fall at about 45km/h (28mph) along a bike track. It was wet and it was a wood walk way under a bridge and just before you go under bridge they is a bit of a turn. As soon as I saw the corner I started to slow down gradually putting breaks on and as soon as I hit wooden walk way the front end folded. Next thing I new it was sliding into and along the barrier of the wooden walk way.

My hands were ok but my hip had a massive bruise and got ripped up some how even though I was wearing jeans.

I always wear my gloves even if I am going around the block (and a full face helmet).

Mark

 

[TwoWalks]

I would have voted but my reality is not listed. I wear gloves sometimes. Depends on my attitude, road surface and of course "The Cool Factor"

 

[Irish John]

I live in the sub tropics but I wear cycling gloves most of the time because they are meant to protect my hands if I fall off. That's why they have the extra strengthening on the heel of the palm cos that's the bit that gets skinned when you instinctively reach out your hand as you fall. I've never needed them on the 'Indian Pacific' (my Schwinn 4-stroke) but I have needed them on my ordinary MTB when I've been going downhill off road.
The only problem is the pull-in engager lever makes the space around the left side grip very tight for gloves and I have been meaning to try HoughMades reverse clutch idea so I can get more room and even wear gauntlets in the wet but I worry that holding the engager in by a spring and off by the cable, instead of vice versa, might cause the engager to slip out which is what happened before I made the cable really tight to hold it in hard. That's probably why the space is so tight as well.

 

[flying cycletruck]

I say wear gloves when testing a new ride. I broke a clutch lever in the middle of a low speed turn my first ride on my 70cc chinese. dumped the clutch and ended up with annoying scratches that took a while to heal up. Watch out for the cheap aluminum button locking clutch levers. Worksman sells a good replacement lever.

 

[Scottm]

Boy another great topic! I think you convinced me to get some gloves. Go to a children's or sport ortopedic surgeon's office and watch all the kids with broken wrists and arms from falling off bike and scooters and instinctively putting their hands out to brace themselves.
This brought up a dreadful memeory. When I was 13, a friend and I rode to the Valley View Mall on our bikes. Just as we got there and were turning into the driveway, his back tire hit the curb and he lost control and went head first into one of the two giant stucco Vs. I kicked him in the ribs to get him to quit goofing off and get up. He didn't move so I rolled him over. That rough surface of the stucco tore most of the skin off the left side of his face. He had a concusion too.