I guess the gloves are padded for a reason

Coriander
Coriander Posts: 1,326
edited July 2009 in Commuting chat
But what is that reason?

And do the massive shooting pains going down the fleshy bit of the palm below my thumbs and into my wrists and the loss of grip have anything to do with not wearing my gloves much recently?

Comments

  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Comfort, shock absorption and protection (should you fall off and stick your hands out). Road rash is never good, road rash on your hands = superbad.
  • R_T_A
    R_T_A Posts: 488
    Hi Coriander,

    Very similar thread here, and hopefully some useful info:

    http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/foru ... t=12633711
    Giant Escape R1
    FCN 8
    "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
    - Terry Pratchett.
  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    And also, you don't leave fingerprints.

    Oh, the padding, sorry. Don't mind me.
  • biondino
    biondino Posts: 5,990
    Hi Cori! You're probably putting too much pressure on your ulnar nerve not wearing gloves - not only to the pads make it more comfy, but they leave a gap for the ulnar nerve so it's not compressed, hence no shooting pains.
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • Bassjunkieuk
    Bassjunkieuk Posts: 4,232
    So they can sell them for more? More padding = more ££ ;-)

    I swapped mine recently. After I switched back to my Hellfords fingerless mitts from the full finger ones I was using over winter I didn't realize how much padding the long fingered ones afforded me! Thankfully I found a pair of last years Altura Symetrix mitts on the Evans site on the clearance section for £9.99 - half the price for this years model for practically the same glove :-) Now I have decent padding it makes riding much more enjoyable and I don't even remember much discomfort after 4 hours or so on the bike at the weekend.
    Who's the daddy?
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  • System_1
    System_1 Posts: 513
    I always wore Spesh BG Gel mitts thinking more padding had to be better, but recently bought some unpadded Spesh XC Lite gloves for short trips (mostly because they are white and I'm a tart :oops:) and I'm getting much less numbness in my hands even over longer distances. To be honest I think gel pads under the tape are a better bet for comfort as it's always in the right place.

    I'll always wear gloves of some kind for protection should I come off. I know from bitter experience that picking gravel out the palm of your hands is not nice.
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,120
    Bassjunkieuk wrote:
    So they can sell them for more? More padding = more ££ ;-)

    I swapped mine recently. After I switched back to my Hellfords fingerless mitts from the full finger ones I was using over winter I didn't realize how much padding the long fingered ones afforded me! Thankfully I found a pair of last years Altura Symetrix mitts on the Evans site on the clearance section for £9.99 - half the price for this years model for practically the same glove :-) Now I have decent padding it makes riding much more enjoyable and I don't even remember much discomfort after 4 hours or so on the bike at the weekend.

    Bu99er, have just bought this year's model at full price :oops: :oops: :oops:
    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • Deadeye Duck
    Deadeye Duck Posts: 419
    Oh this brings up somthing I was meant to ask actually (sorry for going slightly off topic):
    Can you get replacement hoods for 105 levers? mine are getting pretty flexible and I can feel all the corners of the bits underneath...
    Schwinn Fastback Comp : FCN 5
    The Flying Scot : FCN 515q6cuv.png
    My Life, My Bike & My Xbox
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Deadeye Duck wrote:
    Oh this brings up somthing I was meant to ask actually (sorry for going slightly off topic):
    Can you get replacement hoods for 105 levers? mine are getting pretty flexible and I can feel all the corners of the bits underneath...

    Yes, Hudz, glorious Hudz!

    http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/product/SL_HUDZ_6600.html?action=currency&id=GBP
  • Deadeye Duck
    Deadeye Duck Posts: 419
    red white or celeste.... what kind of colour is celeste? The navy blue would be much better, but they don't appear to be available :(
    Schwinn Fastback Comp : FCN 5
    The Flying Scot : FCN 515q6cuv.png
    My Life, My Bike & My Xbox
  • Bassjunkieuk
    Bassjunkieuk Posts: 4,232
    Deadeye Duck wrote:
    red white or celeste.... what kind of colour is celeste? The navy blue would be much better, but they don't appear to be available :(

    The ONLY color you should get a Bianchi in ;-)
    Who's the daddy?
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  • Deadeye Duck
    Deadeye Duck Posts: 419
    Oh, it's that really pale green minty colour?
    Schwinn Fastback Comp : FCN 5
    The Flying Scot : FCN 515q6cuv.png
    My Life, My Bike & My Xbox
  • Stuey01
    Stuey01 Posts: 1,273
    System wrote:
    To be honest I think gel pads under the tape are a better bet for comfort as it's always in the right place.

    What?
    I find the padding that is attached to the glove on my hand is usually in the right place on my hand. Do you always put your hands in exactly the same place on your bars?
    Not climber, not sprinter, not rouleur
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,120
    Bassjunkieuk wrote:
    Deadeye Duck wrote:
    red white or celeste.... what kind of colour is celeste? The navy blue would be much better, but they don't appear to be available :(

    The ONLY color you should get a Bianchi in ;-)

    +1

    But I may troll differently :wink:
    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • System_1
    System_1 Posts: 513
    Stuey01 wrote:
    System wrote:
    To be honest I think gel pads under the tape are a better bet for comfort as it's always in the right place.

    What?
    I find the padding that is attached to the glove on my hand is usually in the right place on my hand. Do you always put your hands in exactly the same place on your bars?

    No but that's the point of Spesh Bar Phat gel pads and others like it. They cover the entire top edge of the bars (both in the drops and along the tops) so no matter where you put your hands it's padded. I find that with padded gloves there are a few positions where the bar rests up the centre of the base of my palm, which on most gloves is unpadded because they tend to be designed with flat bar users in mind with padding at the base of the thumb and out at the edge where the ulnar nerve runs.

    I'm not saying there's anything wrong with padded gloves (I've worn them for most of my cycling life), just giving my opinion on my recent experience with unpadded ones which have turned out to be more comfortable than I thought. Maybe I just have oddly proportioned hands.
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    That's one of the main reason not to ride flat bar bikes, drops give you more places to put your hands including the same flat bar position you currently used.

    Twaz the main reason that I switched from hybrid to road, no more hand pain even without gloves.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
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  • Oddjob62
    Oddjob62 Posts: 1,056
    Only problem with gloves is the tan lines look very silly. I'm trying to avoid using them as much as possible during this recent sunny weather.
    As yet unnamed (Dolan Seta)
    Joelle (Focus Expert SRAM)
  • System_1
    System_1 Posts: 513
    Oddjob62 wrote:
    Only problem with gloves is the tan lines look very silly.

    My new gloves are full fingered summer ones. It's already looking like I'm wearing white gloves all the time. Shamone!
  • doog442
    doog442 Posts: 370
    System wrote:
    Oddjob62 wrote:
    Only problem with gloves is the tan lines look very silly.

    My new gloves are full fingered summer ones. It's already looking like I'm wearing white gloves all the time. Shamone!

    :D
  • Aidy
    Aidy Posts: 2,015
    Oddjob62 wrote:
    Only problem with gloves is the tan lines look very silly. I'm trying to avoid using them as much as possible during this recent sunny weather.

    I get this every year, but it's too annoying not wearing gloves :/
    Current gloves have an opening spot in the middle of the back of my hands, so there's one darker spot in the middle.
  • toshmund
    toshmund Posts: 390
    I found these on e.bay and tried them on the offchance. £3.70 with £1.20 p and p - very comfortable with great padding on the palm/heel of the hand. If they had Altura written on the wristband, you would not be grumbling after paying £20 for them. Good seller as well. No we are not related, or anything. :)

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LTB-NEW-GEL-PADDE ... 7C294%3A50

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