Why wear gloves when cycling?

We don’t pay enough attention to our hands: we buy helmets, glasses, cycling clothes, but we often forget about cycling gloves. This approach is wrong, just remember how often we use our hands while riding, and the need to buy and to wear cycling gloves will immediately become obvious. Wearing cycling gloves can give you protection, comfort and damping.

Why do we need to wear cycling gloves:

1. Fall protection: what you might need gloves for most often. The risk of falling is very high, plus in 9 cases out of 10 we will fall exactly on the palm of our hands, putting our hands forward – it is a normal reflex reaction, and do not forget about the considerable speed. The case of a crash can be sad – painful cuts and grazes, and you will have to give up cycling for a long time. Therefore, it is better to wear gloves and wipe the fabric of cycling gloves than leather. Against the background of this point, others pale, but gloves have other advantages.
2. Calluses: during a long trip on mountain biking to earn calluses on the palms – easy. This could be especially noticed by those who went riding on a bicycle without cycling gloves. Not the most pleasant feeling. And also, in the heat, the sweaty palms, the rubber grip under them literally melt, and a characteristic burning sensation appears in the palms.
3. Numbness: when sitting low, the load on the hands is heavy. As a result, the ulnar and median nerves under the pads of the palms can be pinched, which in some cases leads to numbness of the fingers. If you feel numbness, especially even pain, it means that there is a strong compression of the nerves., In many ways, this is a matter of proper fit and selection of the frame of the right size. But even following these rules does not rule out possible problems. To ensure shock absorption and protect the ulnar nerve from compression, wear best gloves.
4. Better grip on the handlebars: The fourth important function of cycling gloves is to provide firm contact with the handlebar grips. This is especially important in the summer, when palms sweat, as well as during rain.

How to choose good cycling gloves?

Bike gloves are divided into 2 types:

• Short ones (half-finger) are more comfortable in warm weather. Many cyclists often choose such gloves for longer rides. Especially if no extreme extremes are expected and the weather permits, we recommend taking them.
• Long (full finger) — worse ventilation compared to short, but greater crash protection. In the case of extreme riding and cold weather, this is our choice.

Size is the next thing to decide. To pick the right gloves, we recommend measuring them. Cycling gloves do not have the ability to stretch, and the sizes declared by different manufacturers may differ. It is better to do it in the evening, when our hands swell a little. You also need to take into account the fact that most gloves should not fit your hands tightly, you should move your fingers freely. If there are helium inserts, make sure they are in the right places.

If you choose full-finger gloves, then there should be a gap of several millimeters (3-6 mm) between their ends and the fingers. This is necessary so that the fingers do not freeze, because, as is known, air does not transfer heat well.

When choosing winter gloves, it makes sense to take a size with a margin, so that you can put on other thin ordinary gloves under them. The fact is that the understanding of winter is somewhat different between us and the manufacturers, because of this it is often cold in the same gloves.

Ventilation. It is provided by the presence of various nets and holes in the good gloves on their backside. Good ventilation is very important in the summer heat. To ensure a safe grip on the steering wheel, it is necessary to have your hands dry.

Gel inserts on the palms should provide a lot of friction. The lower part of the gloves is most often made of synthetic leather and has an extra layer of foam padding, and the upper part is made of synthetic fabrics that are well-ventilated and wick away moisture. It is good if there is a patch in the area between the thumb and index finger. This is a very vulnerable place to nose wipe.

Gel padding is used on more expensive models of cycling gloves, and is designed to soften the pressure that is exerted on the hands. These will be a superb addition to cycling gloves, so of course, it’s a good idea to get these if possible. An alternative is to buy grips with the same gel inserts, they are quite comfortable for cycling, but less suitable for aggressive riding in competitions.

The Velcro must be made especially high-quality, without a hint of the possibility of tearing off. By the way, it is better not to drag it too much so as not to disrupt blood circulation.

I recommend not to neglect gloves for injury prevention cyclists and wearing gloves can give you extra protection for your hands. When you ride planning, put on or take off cycling gloves with you. They will give you extra protection.

More information in article: “What to wear cycling?“

Tips

• For maximum comfort and convenience, put on a glove before shopping. It should be your size: for this, move your fingers inside, whether there is free space, whether the material does not lag behind the skin.
• You can ride in half-finger gloves in winter. It all depends on how the cyclist’s body reacts to the cold. But each such situation is individual, so it should be considered based on one’s own needs.

• The difference between men’s and women’s cycling gloves is in size and color. There are no other differences, this is a unisex accessory.