Bike Gloves

Pinball72
Pinball72 Posts: 22
edited February 2014 in Road beginners
Hi, im quite new to road bike cycling and was wondering if anyone could advise me on the best gloves I could use. Im been having some discomfort in my left wrist when cycling, usually occurs after around 4-5 miles cycling. At the moment I'm using a pair of specialized gloves, they dont seem to me to have anough padding. Gloves that are sold in my LBS look all the same to me. Any help would be most appreciated, thanks.

Comments

  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I'd look at your position if its apparent so early on.

    1/3 of your weight should be on the bars. 2/3 on the saddle.

    Are your bars too low or far away ? Is the front tyre inflated too much ?
  • I have a pair of Endura FS260 mitts with more padding than I've ever seen before, and I can't complain about them. However, I find that gloves are the last line of defense- if you're having wrist pains make sure your riding position is OK- perhaps try a more upright position to put more weight through the saddle?

    Decent thick bar tape is also very helpful- providing cushioning as well as increasing the width of the bars and making it more comfortable for me- I find some of the cheaper bike offerings with narrow width bars and thin tape quite uncomfortable.
  • I do try and put most of my weight on the saddle, I dont feel that Im stretching that much forward. I thought it was strange that I was only having problems with my left wrist and nothing with the right. I have gone with 110psi with the tyre on the front, Grand prix 4000s.
  • buzzwold
    buzzwold Posts: 197
    I too have the FS260 mitts and some Altura long finger gloves. I used to have Specialized long finger gloves and they were more comfy than the Altura. As iron-clover said, gloves are the last line of defence. Typically you will get pain in the hand itself rather than the wrist.

    Do you move your hands around? Any activity where you are locked into a single position for long periods of time will lead to discomfort, so this may just be a case of moving your hands between tops and drops more frequently, particularly if you're new to riding and your body is having to adjust to the demands of being on a road bike.

    On set up, you forearms on the hoods should be in line with your wrist i.e. you shouldn't have a kinked wrist. On the drops, again you should have wrists lining up with forearms. On the tops, not kinked to the side.

    Final point. Your own phsyiology. Is one arm longer than the other? Have you damaged that wrist/arm in the past? Do you ride one shoulder hunched? Both shoulders hunched? Arms bent out at the side?

    Get a friend to take a look.

    I know it's a lot to look at but bottom line - it's unlikely changing gloves will make much difference.

    Hope it helps. It might cure itself as you get more used to cycling.
    Someone's just passed me again
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    As others have said its not going to be down to just gloves but check out Grip Grab gloves if you are looking for something comfy.
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    cougie wrote:
    1/3 of your weight should be on the bars. 2/3 on the saddle.

    Can I ask where you got this advice from? I've never put anything like 1/3 of my body weight through my wrists; your weight should be supported through your sit bones, you should be able to just hold the bars lightly without putting weight through them...

    Think about it, if you weigh 12 stone that means you are advising putting 4st through your wrists. There is no way you could support 4st through your wrists for any significant period of time.

    To the OP, you need to ensure your bike is set up correctly as a starting point, then check physiology. Gloves are there to keep you warm in winter and help with grip in the summer. A little bit of cushioning helps, but primarily your bike set up is what prevents pain.

    PP
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I've seen it on several resources over the years - sometimes it's as high as 45/55 front to rear. When it's actually measured - its always over 60% on the rear - so the 1/3 - 2/3 seems about right as a guide.

    http://www.cptips.com/bkefit.htm

    http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/ ... tup_224895

    http://meriwethercycles.wordpress.com/2 ... tribution/


    If you haven't any weight over the front wheel - how could you brake on it ?
  • izza
    izza Posts: 1,561
    Pilot Pete wrote:
    cougie wrote:
    1/3 of your weight should be on the bars. 2/3 on the saddle.

    Can I ask where you got this advice from? I've never put anything like 1/3 of my body weight through my wrists; your weight should be supported through your sit bones, you should be able to just hold the bars lightly without putting weight through them...

    Think about it, if you weigh 12 stone that means you are advising putting 4st through your wrists. There is no way you could support 4st through your wrists for any significant period of time.

    To the OP, you need to ensure your bike is set up correctly as a starting point, then check physiology. Gloves are there to keep you warm in winter and help with grip in the summer. A little bit of cushioning helps, but primarily your bike set up is what prevents pain.

    PP

    It doesn't need to go through your wrists.

    If you sit up and cycled handsfree, your front wheel doesn't float up in the air with zero weight on it. So even sitting up in that position there is some weight carried by the front wheel through your rear end and the frame.
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    cougie wrote:
    I've seen it on several resources over the years - sometimes it's as high as 45/55 front to rear. When it's actually measured - its always over 60% on the rear - so the 1/3 - 2/3 seems about right as a guide.

    http://www.cptips.com/bkefit.htm

    http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/ ... tup_224895

    http://meriwethercycles.wordpress.com/2 ... tribution/


    If you haven't any weight over the front wheel - how could you brake on it ?

    Where did I say you shouldn't have any weight over the front wheel? Remember, you said;

    "1/3 of your weight should be on the bars. 2/3 on the saddle."

    That first bit says 1/3 of the weight should be on the bars how do you put weight on the bars unless it goes through your wrists/ hands?

    The weight distribution may well be 1/3 - 2/3 measured under each wheel, but that comes from correct positioning on the saddle and reach, not by putting 1/3 of your weight 'on the bars'.

    PP
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    So 1/3 of your weight WOULD be on the bars then ?

    My ankle doesn't seem to have any problem supporting all of my weight on it when I run - so I'm pretty sure that your wrists could cope with 1/6 of my weight ?

    If your bike is set up so that "you should be able to just hold the bars lightly without putting weight through them..." then it must be an unorthodox position for a road bike ?
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    No, if you ride no handed, as you correctly pointed out, your front wheel will not float up. Why? Because the weight distribution is split through the wheels. The position of the saddle between the wheels and your positioning on the saddle is doing this. Riding no handed means there is no weight 'on the bars' at all doesn't it? There is weight on the front wheel which is transmitted from you through the frame and forks.

    If you feel you want to put 1/3 of your body weight through your wrists carry on. I would suggest a bike fit. Anyone who thinks this is correct get a set of scales, put them on the floor, kneel down and push on them with your hands until they read 1/3 of your body weight. Now try to keep the scale reading the same as you move your body back roughly into your cycling position. That is a lot of force and would be unsustainable.

    My position is spot on as I had a professional bike fit and when on the drops my elbows are bent comfortably and I am putting very little weight through my arms. On the hoods with almost straight arms again, very little weight on my wrists. I am sure that scales under each wheel would give a distribution of weight roughly as you state at 1/3 - 2/3. You are mixing up weight distribution as measured at the wheels with weight distribution through your sit bones and wrists.

    PP
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I had a retul bike fit recently. Ok it was on a tr bike but on that you can put a lot more weight on the bars. The skelteton supports it.

    I've never seen any reference to basically having all your weight on the saddle - do you have any sources for that ?
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    cougie wrote:
    I had a retul bike fit recently. Ok it was on a tr bike but on that you can put a lot more weight on the bars. The skelteton supports it.

    I've never seen any reference to basically having all your weight on the saddle - do you have any sources for that ?

    I've certainly seen references, relating to bike fit advice, which say that your reach is not too long when you can get into position, and then let go of the bars without feeling that you are suddenly having to work to hold your torso in position. Effectively that implies that there's not much weight on your hands. It's how my fit came out anyway.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    As with Rolf. If you take your hands off the bars and you feel you are falling forward, you are not correctly positioned on the saddle and are putting too much weight on the wrists/ through the bars and will fatigue whilst riding.

    For those who are interested, take a good read of this article;

    http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/05/seat-set-back-for-road-bikes/

    There you have it. The final paragraph sums it up well. Unweight your upper body; you should be able to balance on the saddle alone in a 'prone' on the drops position and then you will be correctly positioned on the bike. Anyone who thinks otherwise should try it. There will still be a weight distribution of roughly 1/3 - 2/3 between front and back wheels; no need to put that 1/3 of your body weight through your wrists.

    PP