Bike gloves

[beccaB]

I'm having to buy new bike gloves fairly often because my hands get sore, and I think the padding wears out quickly with me. Is there a solution to this problem, or one kind of bike glove that is especially good? My bike shop people love to see me walk in the door.

[maillotpois]

I have to ask how your bike fit is. Are you putting too much weight on your hands/arms? Are your neck or shoulders sore? Seems odd to be wearing out gloves so fast. Mine last for years and I use the kind with no padding.

[VeloVT]

I agree with what MP said... If you are genuinely having pain, it's a problem that should be addressed by bike fit/fitness/PT, not gloves. My boyfriend was having hand numbness and his PT traced it to nerve compression in his shoulders, and prescribed some stretches that have helped considerably.

But, I think there is a big difference in preference/need for padding between different people, and if you simply prefer more padding, and it's causing you to go through gloves at an alarming rate, you might think about trying a padded bar wrap instead, like Bar Phat or Aztec Vibewrap or the Fizik gel (though Fizik's gel is probably the least padded option). Or even just try a thicker tape...

Personally I like my unpadded gloves best and I'm fine with thin tape (I don't mind a cushy feel to tape but I don't like the additional thickness of gel wraps or even gel tape), so I don't have any suggestions on that front, but TE has a large selection of gloves, might be worth an email to customer service about which are the cushiest...

[maillotpois]

Liza - what unpadded gloves are you using? I was using PI Race and bought several pairs, but they discontinued them. It is really hard to find gloves without padding.

[Mr. Bloom]

I use Pearl Izumi Gel-Vent's They are heavily padded, and really protect my sensitive nerves...

[VeloVT]

Liza - what unpadded gloves are you using? I was using PI Race and bought several pairs, but they discontinued them. It is really hard to find gloves without padding.

Castelli Maya gloves:
http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=25154

The description says "lightly padded", but they're pretty much just a layer of ultrasuede sewn onto a layer of mesh (with nice cool areas on the palm that are just mesh).

They run a little large, I think that even though they are marketed as "WSD" gloves, the sizing is unisex. I wear a medium PI glove but a small in the Maya glove.

They have elastic pull loops that I don't notice at all while I'm riding, but find myself fussing with if I'm off the bike but still wearing my gloves.

[maillotpois]

Thanks, Liza! I will give them a try.