Reason #1
Points-of-contact, these are three areas of scrutiny and argument for Velominati; saddles, chamois creme, shoes, socks, handlebar tape so why not gloves?
Picking grit out of your palms is bad.
Yes, it is very bad. The fear of this might be the number one reason people get into the habit of wearing gloves, and it does become a habit, like donning a helmet. And just like picking gravel out of your scalp, which is also very bad, avoiding that activity is worth it. Points of contact on the bike are one thing; points of contact once off the bike are another. So do we wear gloves only to protect our hands if we crash? Or do we wear them to stay more comfortable on the bike?
I’m regretting typing this as I type it but I don’t crash often, once every few years, and usually for stupid self-inflicted reasons. The last two times I have crashed and they were stupid and self-inflicted, both times I came away with nothing more than some light abrasions and a sore hip. I was wearing gloves. But I can’t even say if my hands got involved in either crash; all one understands is sliding across the road in a tangle of limbs, bike and embarrassment. Still, gloves are not uncomfortable to wear. There is no big downside to donning gloves as one kits up.
Racing produces crashing. One would think racing Paris-Roubaix would produce the most crashes yet the number of people racing sans gloves is remarkable. There is Boonen and most of his Quick-Step badass teammates battling over the stones without gloves. They want to feel the bike more than protect their hands. They are tough.
Riding naked feels great.
That would look very bad but it might feel very good. Riding without gloves feels a little like something is naked and it does feel great. If you always ride with gloves, try it. It makes for a very different ride. Handling the brake hoods or handlebars without gloves is so much more tactile. Recently forgot my gloves and re-remembered why I’ve spent around a third of my time bike riding without them. It just feels right. There are no Rules about glove wearing nor should there be. Does one look or feel more Pro without gloves? I do. If one feels like they have to wear gloves to protect their hands on the bike then it might be worth investigating how one’s weight is distributed on the bike. Hands should not be doing much weight bearing.
If we subscribe to the argument that we should dress for the crash not the ride we wouldn’t be wearing little more than lycra. Riding is a balancing act in many ways. If you ride you have to accept injury and accidents as parts of the deal but unless you are racing criteriums on a weekly basis, the pleasure of riding naked might outweigh the fear of crashing naked.
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View Comments
@minion
Well two mtn bike miles = one on the road bike. So not sure ya can equate with equal time ? Though I guess avg speed is less. And a crash on the mtn bike, just off the trail, and in to a pile of leaves and woods debris, which is what a lot of the crashes simply are, means at most maybe finding ticks crawling around the nethers later at home when in the shower. Not cool of course. But not like sliding across tarmac at speed either.
I recall the time I got a limb hung up in the rear derailluer and tore some stuff up. So, I sit down on a log to sort out how I was gonna get outa the woods and back to trail head and turns out it was wrong log to sit on. That sucked. Big Time. Mtn biking yes, has it's own issues separate from road biking. And agree, it is for sure more expensive from perspective of having to fix/replace stuff.
@frank
There is more attn to detail going on in that cockpit than I am worthy of. Nice. Very. But! I can ride w/o gloves and love to do it. Cheers
@wilburrox
Amen to that. Not sure about the band on the left wrist but the rest of it has me mesmerized.
@Pete
OneLife ID or equivalent. Eminently sensible.
@Stephen Schwartz
If I told you that if you drink my piss which has been filtered through my left glove the day after I consumed a squared number +1 of Belgian ales you would have the strength to drop anybody you choose up the steepest of local bergs, would you do it?
Don't believe everything you are told.
@Teocalli
Yes, but for the photo it could have been discretely covered by the left sleeve. Everything else is perfect. (Note the top of the bidon).
@Pete
Quite. You are worried about the natural bacteria on you skin when we regularly drink all the crap that comes up in road spray! Just remember the adage "a little bit of what is bad for you is good for you".
The image has been photoshopped, and poorly, probably to remove the other rider(s) involved in the crash. Or maybe the right side of his handlebar (and part of his arm) just snapped off seconds before?
@pistard
Check the serrated section of the rear rim that only exists in front of his left knee, which is completely out of scale with his right knee, and the right quads eaten away by some bilateral wasting disease.
@pistard
are you drunk?, your arrow points at his right hand bullhorn, that's his front rim and there are no other riders it's a TT.