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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@piwakawaka
Further, his legs look fine - the left is just bent hard at the knee, but you can clearly see the crease. And the "serrated section" of the (front) rim is actually just the manufacturer's decal.
I seem to recall this is a Colombian Postobon rider and the story of how he crashed in a TT is on the tip of my brain, I just haven't quite located it in the old mental rolodex yet.
@pistard
Unduly remarks concerning the photo, but your reference to he should be she. The obvious was missed.
@Gianni
I'm sure that this is true. But riding in really fine gloves is akin to being not quite naked whilst wearing your finest frillies.
Rapha's Grand Tour Gloves in white says Ride Like A Leader even more so than white bar tape with the added benefit that not only won't they darken the tape but they'll leave you with a brand new set of tan lines.
Even falling, his skinsuit and socks look tha bizness.
After riding on ice for a few days last week, tomorrow looks like it'll be warm enough to ride with exposed Guns. Nice!
Gloves and bacteria? Good god, have you ever smelled hockey gloves?! Try telling the players on the bench to never touch their face.
This article photo is a woman taking a hit — not a man.
@frank
+1 on the fi'zi:k tape as long as it is the thin 2mm stuff wrapped tight as shit. All the padded garbage around these days looks fucking terrible.
@emerson
You may be right, but I'm not sure...the chesticles aren't conclusive, IMO.
@EBruner
In my quest for something like perfection or at least acceptability I was forced to remove the fizik finishing tape to rewrap my bars. It didn't survive the re-wrap so now I have plain black electrical tape instead, although I do also have a thin under-layer of red tape showing like Frank's orange here.
I'd agree that the tape just stays clean - my wife has some soft touch 3T stuff and it looks dirty as anything, and is uncleanable. My Fizik tape wipes clean.
And as for gloves - always. It's rarely dry or warm enough to go without, and I've had too many mini-offs where my gloves have saved my skin. Mind you, I wouldn't wear gloves for a TT (unless like the last one I did, it was pouring and I was a bit worried about my grip on the aerobars).
I always wear and wore gloves. Just because it looked and looks the thing. Secondly, protects when crashing (fortunately rarely) and when I took up cycling again a couple of years ago, I needed the padding. I do wash them regularly, since I use the inside to rub my tires from debris, not my fingertips. When I was still at university and rowing, I'd use my cyclinggloves to avoid blisters from the oars. They had leather insides and could not be washed, hence they're long gone.