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Observations on MC gloves

cg_ops said:
I picked up some more A* gear when I got back into riding, 7 years after my big crash, and was disappointed to see how much their quality had declined; 2-pairs of shorty SMX gloves wore through in the palm, between the thumb and index finger.... just from daily/normal riding! :mad. I'd heard that their high end gear was still good/great, but was so disappointed in those experiences that it drove me away, especially since they refused to replace them, or offer a discount on a replacement, less than 14mo after buying them and no crashes in them (thankfully, or I'd probably have 0 working hands!)

Helmets and boots are the only gear I really don't have much allegiance to, sampling various helmet mfgr's and styles from Arai, Shoei, LS2, Scorpion, Bell, Icon, Nitek, etc and boots from Dainese, Alpinestars, W2, Sedici, etc
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That'd turn me off of A* too. i've been through a couple pair of the SMX gloves, with one pair crash tested in a 40mph lowside on the nice abrasive CA freeway concrete. The first pair, the outer layer ground through on the heel of the palm, and stopped at the rubber/plastic mid layer. the second pair i junked just due to wear and the tip of one finger melting when i was trying to warm my hands near the exhaust on a cold night ride. currently have some Shift shorties for hot weather, another pair of full leather gauntlet (i forget the brand), and some cortech insulated for the winter.

i also have a pair of really nice full gauntlet (i think they're Teknic) with the kangaroo palms, palm sliders, and all the carbon protective bits that were a cycle gear clearance rack score.

helmets, i've tried varying, but shoei has been the only one that fit really well. tried scorpion and had pressure points at the front and back of my head, and AGV had the chin bar pretty much ON my chin.
 
CG.

Kind offer. Glad you are almost back in the saddle. Perhaps we can meet 1/2 way unless you want to check out the little moto museum I have going at my office.
 
I think palm protection is secondary to gripping the handlebars.

Think of rollerblade wrist guards: most have limited knuckle protection while hard plastic extends into the palm area. Bladers don't grab anything while they may extend their hands when falling.

Obviously riders spent almost all their time grabbing the bars, so comfortable gloves are a must. Now my moto gloves have protection on the heel of my palm, which doesn't touch the bars.

As ridiculous as this sounds, you can control how you crash. When I started bicycle racing, I trained to tuck-n-roll when I fell. Extending my arm in a 25mph+ crash probably wasn't going to help while I could easily break my wrist. I've noticed that in many high speed falls, I haven't had any hand issues except for the knuckles.

Obviously moto crashes are faster but I think you still can avoid extending your arms, which means your palms are mostly protected.
 
sanjuro said:
As ridiculous as this sounds, you can control how you crash. When I started bicycle racing, I trained to tuck-n-roll when I fell. Extending my arm in a 25mph+ crash probably wasn't going to help while I could easily break my wrist. I've noticed that in many high speed falls, I haven't had any hand issues except for the knuckles.

Obviously moto crashes are faster but I think you still can avoid extending your arms, which means your palms are mostly protected.
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That sounds ridiculous. :laughing

That last time I crashed was due to a serious tankslapper (not just headshake) at about 60 mph, and I was tossed off very much like a highside. Between the point when I recognized that I wasn't going to save it and when I was picking myself up off of the road, I wasn't in control of what my body was doing at all.

Sometimes it all just happens. :toothless
 
cg_ops said:
Helmets and boots are the only gear I really don't have much allegiance to
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I have very little allegiance to any clothing/gear brands, they keep reinventing things/changing suppliers/changing fit of their products/discontinuing things and that happens so often that I stopped caring. There are very few which keep their fit very consistent, but that is rather exception.

I take it case-by-case and don't buy online unless (a) I tried similar item and it fit (b) I'm confident I can return it without much issue. In case of (b) I typically buy adjacent sizes to be certain. I did buy 6 helmets from an online store once. They called me to confirm it was a legit transaction and not fraud :p
 
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I am of the mind that we think we can control how we fall and as an avid martial artist in my youth I did some pretty cool tuck and rolls that saved my ass when MX racing or practicing.

Heck last year I missed a step in the dark and went down and rolled out of it nicely with no injury. Pretty proud of myself :afm199

However in those same years I broke and dislocated a wrist (hands out).

Knocked out cold (face plant and zero chance to get the hands out).

Broken collarbone because I got my hands in. I also noted at high speed your limbs pretty much extend into whatever physics demanded position science chooses. Pull them back in only to have them flail back out and repeat that. If you get that good rib tuck going then you can beat it. I also used my hands to stop the tumble and get a better body position for impending impact.

So while I get where you are coming from Steve I am a good example of not being able to do what I know I should do. :laughing
 
ScottRNelson said:
That sounds ridiculous. :laughing

That last time I crashed was due to a serious tankslapper (not just headshake) at about 60 mph, and I was tossed off very much like a highside. Between the point when I recognized that I wasn't going to save it and when I was picking myself up off of the road, I wasn't in control of what my body was doing at all.

Sometimes it all just happens. :toothless
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There are some crash situations which you will have no control over your body. I'll make the point no one extends your hands in those situations, nor will they land or drag on their palms.
 
I hear there's a pair of gloves available somewhere in the number 2 lane of Hwy 101....
 
Timely thread; I just popped back in to look for reviews of a shop to fix up my bike after an off on Hwy 101 a few days ago… figured I could share some pics and anecdotes.

This is the result of coming off to the right side, caused by an out-of-control tankslapper at somewhere around 40-60mph. Right glove came off during the crash, probably ripped off at initial knuckle contact with the ground. Left glove stayed on the whole time. (Side note: if you don’t tighten the straps of your gloves after pulling them on, that means the road can pull them off. Duh. Wish I’d considered that more deeply prior to this).

Both palms are bruised as a result of the tankslapper, but otherwise unmarked. Left hand has a few blood blisters from impact, but no abrasion. Right hand, well…

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Oh shit.

Those hands got quite hammered.
The good one looks hella bruised.

Glad your basically OK (hopeful assumption).
 
I’ve road tested a variety of gloves over the years, often in pretty high speed crashes (90 to 130 mph). My hands have never been hurt in any of them, from Held and Helimot to more pedestrian AGV gloves.

What they all had in common were gauntlets, dual layers of leather (of whatever animal) in the palms, and some sort of knuckle protection, whether plastic plates or memory foam padding under a layer of abrasion resistant material. I personally prefer the latter, as they don’t break the integrity of the rest of the glove.

The other thing the gloves had in common was me. On the subject of “knowing how to fall,” I’m convinced that beyond a certain speed, you have little say in the positions you end up in. Attempts to do things while you’re falling or sliding lead to injuries. Relaxing and letting it play out tend to give better outcomes. Making sure you’ve stopped sliding before you try to get up is pretty important too. :laughing
 
tzrider said:
Relaxing and letting it play out tend to give better outcomes. Making sure you’ve stopped sliding before you try to get up is pretty important too. :laughing
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Yep, I'm sure it's the same theory as why drunk drivers survive more - their relaxed/limp body can better disperse/absorb impacts than someone that's stiffens up to brace for impact.


Not that any/many of us can reliably, consciously control our body's instinctual reactions at every point between, "oh shit..." and "...ok, I think it's over". Especially given, to your point, that many riders DO try to get up while still sliding, unaware of the fact that they're possibly (still, technically) going the speed limit, while on their ass :laughing My first high speed crash came after a half dozen TD's with DP Saftey school, having had it drilled into our heads, "After a slide, before getting up, do a 1,2,3 count to see if you're in the same place at 3 as you were at 1.... if not, count again before trying to get up again. It probably saved me from hurting myself (more) when I (first) went down on Grapevine at Buttonwillow - I thought I was done sliding, started counting, and suddenly hit the dirt. Probably saved myself from starting a tumble, while still doing 15-25mph. I ended up just kinda launched off the edge and skipping across the dirt a couple of times times. Thankfully, the back protector kept my ribs/spin from taking a severe beating!

Funny anecdote - one of the most hilarious crashes I've ever seen was during my college riding club days. My buddy, Tuna, low-sided out of a corner on Hwy 58, after giving it too much juice. Bike whipped out from under him and he almost instantly wound up on his ass, sitting up, sliding down a long downhill straight. He must've slid for 100 yards. Every 10 yards or so he shifted his weight from one ass cheek and palm to the other b/c he was getting burns on his ass from the friction :rofl As soon as he stopped, he popped up yelling like Yosemite Sam, from Roger Rabbit, "my biscuits are burning, my biscuits are burning! Fire in the house!!" After we all made sure he was ok and got his bike ready to ride again, we all agreed that it's better to slide on our backs/sides than to do what he did and focus the slide on 1-2 spots. :laughing
 
Love my Knox Handroids, on my 2nd pair. May look odd but I don't see any with better protection, especially on the palm. Very comfy too.
 
Love my High Racers. Good protection, kangaroo palms, carbon fiber armor. I think they're the max protection I can wear and still feel comfortable enough to wear on long tours.
 
Just looked at them. They look nice and solid.. and they have white. :)
 
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