Riding Gloves (and other safety gear)

In the last few days I came to realize how flimsy my riding gloves really are. They're just basic leather gauntlet gloves, with a couple of velcro fasteners around the wrist, and some extra leather at the knuckles. Comfortable enough, but really, probably not much protection in a real crash. It must have been my spending so much time searching the web for saddlebags, and, of course, looking at other gear too, that flipped the light switch for me. I now think I've been pretty dang lucky, and blessed, that nothing serious has happened in the past three years of new riding. Anyway, it got me to start thinking more about my riding gear, and just how much protection any of it actually offers.

So far I've decided that I need new, and much better, gloves. More padding, some real knuckle, palm and finger protection, better abrasion protection, better/stronger materials. I found the Fieldsheer Apex gloves at a closeout price and ordered them.
They've gotten some pretty good reviews that I've read, as a step down from the high end racing gloves, but significantly better than average, it seemed to say to me, as street riding/touring gloves.

I wonder what I might think I'll need to improve upon next? Of course there is no ultimate or absolute protection. It just seems to me that where better quality and a realistic buffer can be had, it just might as well be.

Ride safe.

Dont forget about armor for knees, shoulders,elbows, and a boots for ankles.

I'm in the same boat as you, 'matthew'. Until the warm weather finally showed up I was sticking to the insulated "ski" gloves just for the warmth they provided (they were pretty well padded too). Just the other day tho' I donned my standard single thickness leather gloves because things had warmed up quite a bit. But, like you, I'm looking forward to getting a real "armored" pair for one of those "just-in-case" situations.

I've got all the rest of the basic gear, ie, full face helmet, boots, and fully armored riding pants and jacket (with requisite insulated and waterproof liners). My SWing even had the ABS on it which I thought was a safer system (for me). So I do feel reasonably well taken care of except for those gloves and the "unseens".

tankyuong and DickO,

Yes, I do use the other gear too, full face helmet, armored jackets, knee armored, hip padded ballistic textile mesh overpants - I'm wondering a bit about these as far as good protection (?), boots.

Maybe it was the gloves that all of a sudden seemed foolish to me, that just has got me thinking a bit. Once I have them on - now awaiting delivery - maybe I'll feel more "covered".

Matthew:
Riding gloves pose an interesting dilemma. You want protection and warmth, but you need dexterity too. Have you looked at the Olympia riding gloves? They are a pretty decent warm weather (3 season) glove. They are made of sturdy leather, they are lined, and have extra foam padding on the palms and knuckles. They even have vent holes in the fingers. I use them most of the time. When it gets a little cold I have a set of thinsulate lined riding gloves, and when it gets really cold I use a set of "Hot Fingers" ski racing gloves with armored knuckles.

This might be obvious advice, but make sure you get the right size gloves with suitable flexibility. Sometimes people buy them a little larger thinking they don't want to be too restricted. The problem with that is it can restrict how controlled your movement is in an emergency. Likewise if the leather/fabric is so thick that you again lose manoeuvrability, then it's pointless. Good gloves should 'fit like a glove' and have lots of flexibility at the joints, otherwise you swap percieved protection for higher risk riding.

During the warmer months, you may want to use good MESH GLOVES that are armored on the knuckles and back of the glove as well as reinforced in the palm.

Good MESH JACKETS are also useful with armor built in and a removable zippered insulated lining.

MOST IMPORTANT is a REALLY GOOD FITTING FULL FACE HELMET. Please be sure to check the Manufacture Date inside the helmet. IF it is over 3-4 years old, or has been accidentally dropped or otherwise damage, it may no longer offer the protection you expect from it. The FOAM LINING deteriorates and hardens over the years and won't absorb an impact like a newer helmet liner. I know of no "replaceable" liners....thus a new lid is suggested.
These mfg. dates are on all DOT and Snell approved helmets. Make sure when purchasing a new one that the date of mfg. is relatively current. Do not buy a helmet from another rider as you do not know its condition (unless new in box).
Wishing you the best of the upcoming riding season...stay safe...billc.

Quote :

Yes, I do use the other gear too, full face helmet, armored jackets,
knee armored, hip padded ballistic textile mesh overpants - I'm
wondering a bit about these as far as good protection (?), boots.

I have a similar pair of pants. I've never been down in them, so I can't comment directly on their crash-worthiness. However, a few years ago I was hit by a van while riding my bicycle through an intersection. I flew maybe 10 ft and hit the pavement. My knees and hips felt like they took most of the impact, and took the longest to recover. The parts of my body that hurt the most after that incident correspond almost exactly to the locations of the hip and knee armor in my motorcycle pants, and given the somewhat random, uncontrolled way I hit the ground in that accident, I feel reasonably confident that the pants will provide a good amount of protection in the event of a crash on the bike (at the very least, they should help shorten my recovery time).

Scootist.

Which Olympia and Hot Fingers gloves are you using (since there are so many models of each)? I might look at these if for some reason I'm not happy with the Apex gloves I'm waiting on.

edbancro,

Thanks for the feedback on the riding pants. Sounds like they've put the padding/armor in the right places. Do your pants have armor or padding in the hips? Mine have armor in the knees, but only padding in the hips.

wingnprayer and billc,

Thanks for your thoughts and info too.

Matthew:
I have a set of Black Olympia "360-Road Warrior" gloves. They are available from the Motorcycle Super store for about $45.00. These are great gloves. The padded palms really cut down on vibration, and the palms are covered with a suede-like material that makes them really grippy on the rubber handle bar grips. My current set has almost 15,000 miles on them, so I am about to buy another pair.

The Hot Fingers are my old Ski gloves from the 1980's. They are all leather and have thick knuckle pads for going through the gates at high speed. I don't think they are made anymore, but you may be able to find something similar at a ski racing shop.

Here is a link to the Olympia gloves at the Motorcycle-Superstore:

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/37/681/ITEM/Olympia-360-Road-Warrior-Gloves.aspx

Quote :

Do your pants have armor or padding in the hips? Mine have armor in the
knees, but only padding in the hips.

It seems fairly substantial in the hips, sort of a very dense foam with a honey-comb like structure, but I'm not sure what it was sold as. It seems to be on the same level as the the armor in the knees, but there's no marking on it to indicate that it's CE rated or something like that.

Got 2 pair of these on close out for $30 last fall

http://www.revzilla.com/product_images/0006/0276/Joe_Rocket_Mojo_Gloves_Black-Blue_zoom.jpg

Wow,

All this safty talk...and all I wear is a pair of spandex speedo swim trunks. I have some leather gloves that are made for people who use jackhammers. I figure it will protect me since they are very well padded.

So allhondascoots and JeffR,

how about some more info: do you like them? why or why not?, etc. where can they be had (JeffR)?

Thanks in advance.

Matthew,

I bought my gloves at OSH hardware. They are the kind for people who use tools for anti-vibration. They work good too. I'm sure they can be had at other hardware stores too if you don't have OSH. I really like them and wear them all year around.

JeffR wrote:

Wow,

All this safty talk...and all I wear is a pair of spandex speedo swim trunks. I have some leather gloves that are made for people who use jackhammers.

matthew wrote:

So allhondascoots and JeffR,

how about some more info: do you like them? why or why not?, etc. where can they be had (JeffR)?

Hopefully not more info on the "spandex speedo swim trunks".

matthew wrote:

So allhondascoots and JeffR,

how about some more info: do you like them? why or why not?, etc. where can they be had (JeffR)?

Thanks in advance.

I got them from an online source:

I 'm on their close out special email list and got my jacket from them too.
http://www.newenough.com/

I got the single XL size and they are snug, but have stretched nicely.
Not for cold weather as they have no thermal insulation at all.
Hopefully I'll never test out how well they protect

Thanks. I'm familiar with newenough.com, have ordered from them in the past.
I like their closeouts too. They sometimes have really, really good deals. Maybe I'll get on their closeout email list as well.

I received the Fieldsheer Apex gloves from bikebandit, http://www.bikebandit.com/fieldsheer-apex-gloves
and rode with them today. They look to me like some kind of gladiator glove, but they seem to work well. There was one problem, and that was that inside of the left thumb there was just too much material up near the top of the internal seam, and it was rubbing on my thumb to where I knew it would create a sore spot.

I turned the thumb inside out and trimmed off some of the excess material, and I think this will take care of the problem.

I also ordered a pair of Power Trip Grand National gloves (for summer riding) from newenough.com
http://www.newenough.com/street/gloves/street_short_cuff/power_trip/grand_national_motorcycle_gloves.html

These have gotten really good reviews from what I've been able to find online, so I figured I'd try them out. The Apex will be too warm for summer riding when it gets hot out, but the Grand Nationals are perforated, etc.

I think I've found the answers to my search for the "perfect" glove(s)! Or maybe they'll just do real well.

Thanks again for everyone's information.