# Anyone else use motorcycle gloves?



## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

I'm using them just for downhill, once in a while for steep climbs, to help keep the handlebars more stable. The leverage on the brakes is also much better. It's just easier to handle the bike better on rocky declines. At first I thought that using one finger on the brakes was going to be better with them, but two fingers on the handlebars is now stable enough that I can go back to doing two fingers on the brakes and braking harder later. The one and only drawback to these gloves seems to be that the knuckles are made of hard plastic and don't bend, so they are kind of hard to store in small packs or in your pockets. Riding 100% of the time with them is a bit much, they can get hot and sweaty.


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## natas1321 (Nov 4, 2017)

I ride with them all the time and have not had any issues other than needing to wash them time to time, they do get a bit sweaty.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

I have dirt bike gloves because they're about half the price of mtb gloves and are basically the same thing but without the snot wipe on the thumb. I don't know what you mean about better leverage on the brakes though. Leverage is a function of the brake lever design, not your gloves.


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## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

I'm also not sure how the handling has become better because of the gloves. Doesn't matter though, OP feels more confident wearing them. Maybe we just missed a crucial part of the story where the gloves help.

I am not one to wear gloves unless it's cold. I used to wear old MX gloves if it was a cold ride. In that situation I had better control because my hands weren't too cold. 

I do have a pair of Fox gloves that I wanted to use on cold morning road bike rides. Forgot I had them for a while until I stumbled across them in the garage one day. I wore that pair of gloves through the winter months here in CA.

Seemed to work about the same as the MX gloves. They look nicer as the MX gloves are 15+ years old.


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## phuchmileif (Aug 10, 2016)

Gloves are gloves. Wear whatever works best for you. I use Gyro MTB gloves most of the time, because the fit is good and I like designs with the mesh between your fingers when it's hot out.

If I'm on a hand-freezing cold ride, I wear a fairly dexterous pair of ski gloves. Still hampers my precision and control, but in the end keeping my hands from numbing out is a lot more important.

Sometime I even wear ice climbing gloves. They're like tight-fitting black leather BDSM gloves with a ton of padding on the back and a tacky palm. They're awesome for cool-ish weather (terrible for ice climbing- found out my hands run WAAAAY too cold to climb with uninsulated gloves).


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

um, no.

I'm really liking minimalist full finger gloves like Handup gloves these days. pretty inexpensive. available in multiple weights. I rotate through several pairs and wash them, and even once they start looking a bit tatty after awhile, they still hold up well.

A nose wipe is critical. lightweight and breathable is critical (until minimalist gloves came along, this is why I wore cutoff roadie gloves for so many years). maintaining grip on my bars when I'm sweating is critical.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Yes. I have used my old MX gloves on occasion. No effect on braking one way or the other. Index finger pulls brake lever. Gloves immaterial.


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

My hubby uses his Mx gloves for mtb. He reports no issues


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

There seems to be a trend over the past few years in mountain biking to go barehanded. I don’t know how riders can do that without taking damage. It seems like you’d really scrape up your hands on the ground when you crash. Additionally, where I live the manzanita branches that line the trails in spring would shred your fingers into hamburger. I look for gloves with impact material (like plastic or D3O) over the knuckles. Even with gloves on those branches can sting like crazy when my hands blast through them.


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## noapathy (Jun 24, 2008)

Harold said:


> um, no.
> 
> I'm really liking minimalist full finger gloves like Handup gloves these days. pretty inexpensive. available in multiple weights. I rotate through several pairs and wash them, and even once they start looking a bit tatty after awhile, they still hold up well.
> 
> A nose wipe is critical. lightweight and breathable is critical (until minimalist gloves came along, this is why I wore cutoff roadie gloves for so many years). maintaining grip on my bars when I'm sweating is critical.


This. I'm still mostly on the fingerless just b/c I got several pairs on sale when Art's went away (RIP). Once they're gone Handup or similar is the way to go.

Also, 2 finger braking went the way of the dodo even before 26" wheels. Definitely zero advantage there. :lol:


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

noapathy said:


> This. I'm still mostly on the fingerless just b/c I got several pairs on sale when Art's went away (RIP). Once they're gone Handup or similar is the way to go.
> 
> Also, 2 finger braking went the way of the dodo even before 26" wheels. Definitely zero advantage there. :lol:


I still have a couple pairs of fingerless gloves that are still serviceable, too. I definitely use them on the road bike more, but will occasionally use them on the mtb, too.

I started 1 finger braking YEARS before I had brake levers shaped for it. Yes, on my old 26er.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

Nat said:


> There seems to be a trend over the past few years in mountain biking to go barehanded. I don't know how riders can do that without taking damage. It seems like you'd really scrape up your hands on the ground when you crash. Additionally, where I live the manzanita branches that line the trails in spring would shred your fingers into hamburger. I look for gloves with impact material (like plastic or D3O) over the knuckles. Even with gloves on those branches can sting like crazy when my hands blast through them.


That's another thing I forgot to mention: if you fall over the bars, heavier gloves are going to be a lot nicer to fall on than bare hands or cheap, thin gloves.

As far as leverage is concerned, I swear that I use less muscle pulling on the brake levers with motorcycle gloves than with cotton gloves. The grip is much stronger on the levers. It would be similar to if someone would try to open a stuck jar of honey with their bare hands compared with gloves that can get a good friction grip on the lid. The gloves just move things around much easier.


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## phuchmileif (Aug 10, 2016)

I've honestly never had hand damage that I attributed to a crash. And I've crashed a lot. My gloves are mostly just for grip.

EXCEPT: tree hits while trail riding. It's always JUST the pinky. Every. Damn. Time. Gloves with padded fingers definitely help limit the sting.

They also tear- every trashed pair of gloves I have is torn from pinky scrapes.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

richj8990 said:


> That's another thing I forgot to mention: if you fall over the bars, heavier gloves are going to be a lot nicer to fall on than bare hands or cheap, thin gloves.
> 
> As far as leverage is concerned, I swear that I use less muscle pulling on the brake levers with motorcycle gloves than with cotton gloves. The grip is much stronger on the levers. It would be similar to if someone would try to open a stuck jar of honey with their bare hands compared with gloves that can get a good friction grip on the lid. The gloves just move things around much easier.


Speed and terrain will determine how much protection you need in a crash.

Can't say I have ever needed more protection than what minimalist gloves offer. And even though I am not THAT skilled, I am certainly pushing it harder than you.

Grip is one thing. Leverage is something else entirely. No glove gives you more leverage.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

richj8990 said:


> As far as leverage is concerned, I swear that I use less muscle pulling on the brake levers with motorcycle gloves than with cotton gloves. [/iQUOTE]
> 
> Cotton gloves? I haven't seen any mtb gloves that weren't synthetic. Thin and form fitting is best for me. I can't imagine how thick gloves would give more leverage, or why you'd need it with modern brakes.


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## pitdaddy (Aug 6, 2013)

natas1321 said:


> I ride with them all the time and have not had any issues other than needing to wash them time to time, they do get a bit sweaty.


You're supposed to wash your gloves? (I'm embarrassed)


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

richj8990 said:


> That's another thing I forgot to mention: if you fall over the bars, heavier gloves are going to be a lot nicer to fall on than bare hands or cheap, thin gloves.
> 
> As far as leverage is concerned, I swear that I use less muscle pulling on the brake levers with motorcycle gloves than with cotton gloves. The grip is much stronger on the levers. It would be similar to if someone would try to open a stuck jar of honey with their bare hands compared with gloves that can get a good friction grip on the lid. The gloves just move things around much easier.


That's not leverage. That's friction. It's a physics definition thing. I understand what you're saying about improved performance though.

I had a tree-hit on a descent a few years ago that was pretty hard. WHACK! My glove had bark embedded in the fabric. After it happened I was waiting for my hand to start hurting but it never did. I attribute the lack of damage to the D3O knuckle padding (and my gung fu push hands skills of course).


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## 779334 (Oct 10, 2014)

I did use my motorcycle gloves after I sold my Ninja. When they started tearing up, I bought proper MTB gloves.


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