Newbies--wear gloves!

[earthgirl]

gtk!!!

i always thought gloves were to prevent your grip from slipping or something...

[Jiffer]

Gloves can be for many things. It's different for everyone. Some say it helps grip the handlebar once your hands get sweaty. I don't have that problem. Instead, my hands get sweaty FROM the gloves. Some say wearing gloves is more comfortable for your hands because there is padding in the gloves. My handlebars have cushy gel stuff under the tape, so this is a non-issue for me. Some say they help with numbness in your hands. My gloves actually caused my hands to go numb, instead of the other way around.

So ... I don't where gloves.

However, if I tried DIFFERENT gloves, I might not go numb. Protecting my hands from a fall is the only reason I would wear them. I've been intending to get some new gloves, but I MUST have PINK! And my LBS shop only had one pair in that didn't fit me. They are, however, ordering a couple of other pairs for me to try. I do wear gloves in the winter because of the cold so, if nothing else, I'll wear them then and, hopefully, get so used to them by summer, I'll keep wearing them. I do get comments all the time about not wearing gloves. Someone commented that I was like the guys in the Tour de France. I never noticed, but I guess many of them don't wear gloves.

[Flur]

When I was young and just getting into biking as a child, my uncles were big bikers. One of my uncles hit a patch of grease on the road and went over his handlebars. He put his arms out in front of him and and his hands hit first. I saw what that looked like - skin sheared down on the palm - and the horrible healing process that comes with it. This is why I wear gloves.

[Cataboo]

I have a lot of wrist pain, so I had bought pearl izumi symphony gloves because they claimed to have ulnar nerve support or whatever - the padding in the gloves made my wrists worse, so I stopped using them - put padded gel & cushy tape on my handlebars.

Then I had my first (well, only) big crash... skidded a fair amount across the road and lost skin on arms and legs and on my palm.

The very first thing I did was stop riding in sleeveless shirts and yank out my pearl izumi gloves & operated on them. I yanked out the padding, so they're just leather on the palms and they don't irk my wrists anymore. They're fingerless, so my hands don't overheat, and I like the cut of the pearl izumi's around the wrist - they're not tight on the wrists, so they don't agravate my wrists.

[RoadRaven]

I know this post is late... but I only just found it...

Jiffer, I strongly urge you to try on different gloves, and perhaps even buy a size too large so they are roomy and don't make you go numb.

When you come off a bike - whether its one of those silly slo-mo falls (I can't get my foot out of the pedal as I stop), or whether its hitting the deck at a faster speed (the quickest impact I have had is at 33kph) - your hands are the first, or almost first things to touch the earth,

If your hands get cut up, you won't be back on the bike.

I sometimes timetrial with no gloves, but mostly I wear gloves because in the event of a tumble, I don't want to be prevented from riding on the road again because I am waiting for my hands to heal.

In my 33kph crash, I broke my helmet and had minor cuts to my shoulder and kness. My gloves were shredded, but my hands only sustained one minor tiny graze.

Its worth wearing gloves.


And yes... gloves get stinky. So wash them every couple of weeks. Mine stay out in the shed velcroed to a line where the helmets also hang. So they are being "aired out" as well.

And yes, gloves seem to make your hands sweat, but the reality is your hands/forearms sweat anyway. Your gloves just catch it.
<<cheeky questions>> Will you also stop wearing your socks, jersey and shorts cause they absorb sweat also??

Seriously though, if you love to bike, buy gloves... please

[wildhawk]

I have a pair of Chiba gel gloves and the padding is perfect - not too thick and not too thin. My first pair cycling gloves were one of those Wallyworld specials and did nothing to support my hands - padding was too thick, in the wrong places, etc. The Chibas work great - also it is important to get the right size - gloves too tight will cause hand pain, etc. I have carpal tunnel in my right wrist so my hands are very sensitive to pressure on the median nerve. And I hang them to air dry with my helmet when I get back from riding. As a bonus, they have a sporty reflective striping along the front and top too that helps with dusk/after dark riding.

I am now looking for full-fingered gloves for winter riding - any recommendations?

[TrekTheKaty]

The only problem I had riding last winter was my hands getting too cold. I think I had the beginning of frost bite once! So, no expense spared--I just bought the Phantom Gloves by Gore (I got them from Terry--www.terrybicycles.com/detail.html?item_no=1352&c=Accessories).

We've had a few 45 degree mornings here, and they're great! If I could just figure out how to buckle/unbuckle my helmet and zip/unzip my jacket with gloves on