Cycling Gloves

The characteristics of cycling gloves

The type of bike greatly influences the types of gloves you will need. That's why there are models made for road bikes and others made for mountain bikes.

Mountain bike gloves

In mountain biking, the nature of sport encourages us to protect ourselves more. This is why mountain bike gloves are long gloves, to protect the back of the hand and the wrist. In contrast to road bike gloves, mountain riders do not have pads, to provide better contact with the grips, allowing better control to brave different obstacles. An interesting model is the Fox Defend with rubber bands on the back of the hand and around the wrist that provide extra protection.

Hybrid and road bike gloves

The gloves for road and hybrid bike have cut fingers and foam or gel pads that absorb the vibration. Each cyclist takes a different position on his bike. It therefore requires a glove with cushions placed in different places. The pads must meet where the cyclist feels more pressure on his hand. In general, hybrid bike gloves are more padded on the thenar eminence (part of the palm that is closest to the thumb). However, if the hybrid biker has ergonomic handles like the Cannondale Quick that distributes the pressure also on the hand, it is not necessarily this type of glove that will suit him. For road gloves, there is no clean place where the foam should be, you really have to try the gloves considering how to position yourself by bike.

Then you have to choose the type of padding. There are gels pads, which absorb more vibrations, which is necessary for those at higher risk of carpal tunnel syndrome or ulnar nerve injury. In other words, if you feel numbness or pain in the hand at night or when you ride a bike, gel cushions found in the Giro Stradamassa and Stratedure will suit you!

It is also important to choose your glove based on its level of breathability. Cycling gloves have different levels of ventilation: some are made of net on the back of the hand, and have perforated pads, like P.R.O. Pearl Izumi Wind Gel, which is ideal for those who sweat more hands.