My favorite mtb gloves are...

[Miranda]

This is an apparel question, but also specific to mtb, so I decided to post it here...

What are your favorite picks for mtb gloves?

What I presently have been wearing was my older worn road pair. PI fingerless, now called I think "select" (pic here on TE).

With riding more mtb, I have completely worn a hole in the leather palm by my thumb:o:D. My fingers and knuckles have been taking a brush cut beating too being fingerless. So, I'm thinking I want a full fingered glove. The lycra in the road gloves snags too.

My womens road fingerless PIs were size small/med. My winter Nike cycling glove is a man's size small. I have really long fingers, but boney/less meaty hands overall. If that makes sense:rolleyes:.

What say yee wise TE queens :cool: of the trail?

[Irulan]

Full fingers, always and no gel.
Right now I have a couple of different pair of Specialized, I've worn fox before too.

[kt004]

The Fox Incline or Descente XC are my personal favs.

Fox Incline: Full finger, leather palm, been riding my pair for almost 3 years now, and still going strong.

Decente XC: Full finger, kevlar & leather palm. Just got them, haven't worn them too much, but they are comfy.

[Aggie_Ama]

I am supposed to have specific ones?! Actually I plan to buy some soon, I just use some PI road gloves I didn't like for road. They are working but my husband thinks I should try full finger. :confused:

[pardes]

....red ones to match the congealing blood.....

[Miranda]

....red ones to match the congealing blood.....

BAWAAHAA... :D umm, excellent practical point ;) !

[Miranda]

I am supposed to have specific ones?! Actually I plan to buy some soon, I just use some PI road gloves I didn't like for road. They are working but my husband thinks I should try full finger. :confused:


That is what I did at first. Used my road gloves that were starting to get some wear, and bought new road gloves. The road gloves do provide some protection for your hands, versus no gloves. But, not in all the ways I would like them too now that I have been doing more mtb, as before--very little.

I have my hands positioned differently with the mtb bar vs the road bars. My knuckles for one thing are bloody from how I hold my mtb bar. Part of this is just my technique I guess. My palms lay on the bar grips and part of my fingers are perched over the brakes/shifters, and the other behind it to grip the bar. The "behind" knuckles get a beating on the component metals. I just think there is so much more quick shifting and braking on the trail versus the road. Full fingers would help the skin rip off factor.

The other reason IME I want full fingers is for branch and briars on the trails I ride. It seems like where the briars are the thickest is where I need to swivel my bars, and partially bare hands with half finger gloves, the most to make it through. This equals more things bleeding. As I was pulling briars out of my bleeding hands and forearms last ride with a die hard mtb guy pal I asked, "so, am I getting closer to being an offical mtb now?... looky here, blood!" He gave me an eye rolling "no"... drama crash scars make it official in his circle I understand.

The last thing about road versus mtb gloves IMO is fabric. My road gloves have lycra on the tops. The branches/briars just tear and snag it. The most lovely (and *gulp* expensive) pair of shorts I own for mtb is sold here on TE last I looked. Sugoi Gusta short... made with "ripstock" fabric. I would assume a "true" mtb glove is made out of some similiar type of fabric or "something" that does not get destroyed like road lycra (yet still breath). That's my hope in the glove search anyway:).

[Miranda]

Thx ladies for those replies thus far on brand choices. I will check it out. :)

[Aggie_Ama]

I never thought of that Miranda! Right now I just wear some road shorts that are wearing out. The seam is slightly worn and might rip one day but oh well. I haven't found any mountain shorts that fit my hips, heavy thighs and waist. If they do they come way past my knees. Luckily I have a couple of pairs of road shorts the chamois isn't working for long ride or have the seam issue. As I get better I will probably get some dedicated mountain stuff.

[Irulan]

I never thought of that Miranda! Right now I just wear some road shorts that are wearing out. The seam is slightly worn and might rip one day but oh well. I haven't found any mountain shorts that fit my hips, heavy thighs and waist. If they do they come way past my knees. Luckily I have a couple of pairs of road shorts the chamois isn't working for long ride or have the seam issue. As I get better I will probably get some dedicated mountain stuff.

eh, plenty of us mountain bikers wear lycra most of the time. ;)

[tzvia]

I am supposed to have specific ones?! Actually I plan to buy some soon, I just use some PI road gloves I didn't like for road. They are working but my husband thinks I should try full finger. :confused:

Your husband is right IMO. One of the hardest things to do is soak your hands, then take a rough wash cloth or soapless dish sponge, and scrub your already pulpy fingers to get all the sand and pebbles out before they get infected. Not fun. So even in the hottest weather, I wear full finger gloves (Fox is my favorite). Not that they will save your fingers in the worst of accidents, but if you get scraped in a fall, or brush against an attack-bush, your fingers will be better off.

Brand-wise, get whatever fits good and feels comfortable. I just like the look of FOX, and they have several styles to choose from. I wear a small mens.

[sundial]

I like these (http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=33349) and they are comfortable to wear even during the hottest days of summer. I won't wear anything but full fingered gloves when I mtb because I clear the trail sometimes.

Aggie, you might want to take a look at the Sugoi Gusta short that TE sells. I really like mine and they are almost bomb proof.

[ima_bleeder]

I always wear full fingered gloves for mountain biking, but I've never found a pair that fit properly. My index fingers in particular are so long that the end of the fingers are constantly pushing up against the end of the glove. In my lightweight summer gloves my shorty fingernails actually cut holes in the end of the glove.

Every time I visit a new bike shop I try on their gloves, but I still haven't found a pair that fit properly. If the fingers are long enough, I've got lots of extra material in the palm (and elsewhere).

Does anybody else have this fit issue? Have you found gloves that work for you?

[Miranda]

I like these (http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=33349) and they are comfortable to wear even during the hottest days of summer. I won't wear anything but full fingered gloves when I mtb because I clear the trail sometimes.

Aggie, you might want to take a look at the Sugoi Gusta short that TE sells. I really like mine and they are almost bomb proof.


I really like the looks of those. Of course the meds and large in ladies in black are showing sold out atm. I like the pad in the palms. I can do a small in fingerless PI, but thinking I need larger for full finger. Maybe a man's small might cut it for me also. Thx!

Aggie... I am with sundial all the way on the Sugoi Gusta shorts. I bought my pair here on TE. They were more $ than my most expensive road shorts:eek:. However... boy are they totally worth it:cool:.

I confess to being a pretty picky shopper :o when I get something set in my mind of what I want in a product. When I end up "settling" it only leads to eternal buyer's remorse that I end up buying the "whatever" I really wanted later on. Thus, I find a way to suck it up and get it right the first time if possible.

Today I foolish got an order for some way cheaper mtb shorts that I thought I could use as a spare. They were cheap for a reason, and will end up being a return:(.

The liner to totally removable from the Gusta's and I think look ok for other activiites to stretch the $ (hiking, etc.). Also, you could wear some short inseam road shorts as a liner if you wanted to stretch it more $.

One of the coolest things about these shorts is that the inseam of the liner short is much less in length than the outter short. I think 4" diff. This makes a huge diff when you sit down on your saddle. If the inseam diffs are only 2", your liner short (usually lycra/net etc.) get stratched up just like road lycra, because it still hangs out... thus defeating the purpose.

Also, the Gusta zipper is not a zipper. It's velcro. So wha:confused:t, Miranda I hear you saying. Take this from a person who can sew a little, it becomes important if you bite it on something, or a ruff bush and the zipper opening gets caught. If it's "sewn" with a traditional zipper, guess what?... rrriiiiippp:mad:. When it's velcro, no problem... other than temporary slight nekkidness:rolleyes:, mtb short life span is still good:).

[MtnBikerChk]

I just saw these on sale:

Sette (http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/14426-185_SETSF5-22-Sette_Products-166-Gloves/Sette-Signature-Full-Finger-Gloves.htm)

I have a pair - they are really comfy - BUT as with most cheap items, they don't last forever. I think I got a season out of them before I got a hole in one of the fingers. I'm going to try to sew up the hole though :)

my favorites are fox sierra gloves which they stopped making years ago :(

[TahoeDirtGirl]

Right now I wear Specialized Comp men's mediums for both commuting and mtn biking. I run through a pair every month to two months. Yes. I seriously do. I don't like the full fingered ones because they never seem to fit right and I just feel weird. I run through alot of brush, but my hands seem to be ok with fingerless. I have a pair of full ones for the winter. I think they are PI ones that are specific for the winter with a fleecy thermal lining. I really like them and they fit ok. The other thing I find with my fingers and full ones is they swell and it hurts

[Adventure Girl]

my favorites are fox sierra gloves which they stopped making years ago :(I love the Fox sierra gloves, too. I bought every pair I could find in my size several years ago when they quit making them (maybe 8 or 10 pairs!!). I only have two brand new pairs left. All the others are getting pretty well worn. Why do manufacturers quit making stuff I like??

I guess it's not helpful to review an item that is no longer available...

[wavedancer]

My favorites are some batting gloves I got at Building 19 (surplus store). Nice soft leather, good grip, fit snug, full finger.

[MtnBikerChk]

I love the Fox sierra gloves, too. I bought every pair I could find in my size several years ago when they quit making them (maybe 8 or 10 pairs!!). I only have two brand new pairs left. All the others are getting pretty well worn. Why do manufacturers quit making stuff I like??

I guess it's not helpful to review an item that is no longer available...

What size and how much do you want for one pair? :)

[bikerchic]

Mine are worn out, need new ones!

Darn I guess I'll have to go shopping........:D

[Miranda]

Still reading ladies... thx for those additional responses:).

I totally hate that too when they stop making something I fall in love with:(. It does give an idea of what types of features to look for though. Still shopping atm...

[Miranda]

Well, just a report back on purchase, not on actual use, or how they hold up, atm. There was one out of the way lbs I had forgotten about to check for gloves. They had some that seem to fit the bill on most of the features I was looking for. They are a Fox product. Dirtpaw gloves. The link below shows the gloves, in case anyone is interested. They only thing is that link description says they are padded in the palm. They really are not... not like some I've seen on line, or how my road goves are. I ended up fitting a man's size small ok. http://www.blueskycycling.com/product2894_6_-2008-Fox-Dirtpaw-Gloves.htm

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I just bought a pair of men's Slice PI gloves and they stink. It's like they have TOO MUCH padding, and my hands are aching. And they were more pricey than the other ones I usually get. I guess it's kind of like the padded short thing. More padding does not mean more comfort! I am actually thinking of switching to the fox ones but I like fingerless ones. Ah well winter is coming soon enough...

[Miranda]

I just bought a pair of men's Slice PI gloves and they stink. It's like they have TOO MUCH padding, and my hands are aching. And they were more pricey than the other ones I usually get. I guess it's kind of like the padded short thing. More padding does not mean more comfort! I am actually thinking of switching to the fox ones but I like fingerless ones. Ah well winter is coming soon enough...


That's really good to know. The guy pal that's a great rider was looking for gloves too and loves PI. He said he wasn't going to pay the $ for those gloves even though as much as he loves PI. Now, I can tell him that maybe they weren't all they were cracked up to be. I don't know what he wears right now. Good insight.

[Aggie_Ama]

I just got some Fox Incline gloves and I really like the switch from the road gloves. I got these because I had a gift card to the LBS and it was these or Specialized. The Specialized felt like they were made for road pressure points and I didn't like it. These have no padding but were only $10 after using the $10 gift card and fit better so I figured it wouldn't be a big loss if I hated them. My PI's had been giving me a slight rub on the base of the thumb every ride but the Fox were fine. I rode yesterday (16 miles) and today (5.5 miles) with no issues. Plus they match my mountain bike perfectly. :D