Readers Respond: How have bike gloves saved you?

Responses: 10

By David Fiedler, About.com Guide

Bike gloves as you know can do a lot of things. Tell about a time when bike gloves have made a real difference in your riding. Share your story

A couple days ago I was biking down a steep hill and going much faster than I should have been. The wind in my face felt great and I wasn't watching the road. Bad idea. I ran to close to the curb and my bike flipped and threw me on to the sidewalk. If I hadn't had gloves on the layers of skin on my hands would have simply been gone. Thumbs up for gloves!
—Guest San Fran biker

I rely on my bike gloves to minimize the risk of carpal-tunnel inducing numbness and wrist stress.
—Guest gloveseller

A friend and I were headed east on the W&OD trail out of Leesburg headed back to Arlington, VA. There are some unprotected intersections out that far that you must yield to vehicle traffic to cross. I was drafting and my friend was in the lead. We came up to the intersection and he put on a burst of speed and entered the crossing. I automatically accelerated to maintain my position and glanced to the left. That is when I saw the reason he goosed it through the intersection. The car was very close and with no time to get through the intersection, I stood the bike on its front tire and prayed I didn't fall into the oncoming traffic. I balanced the bike for a split second (long enough to realize that this was going to hurt) and then fell to the left, out of harm's way. My hands took the brunt of the impact caused by gravity and I thanked my gloves and my lucky stars to be able to finish the 29 miles remaining on our trip.
—Guest Pocketlion

I wear gloves for protection, for better grip on sweaty days, for warmth on cold days, and for comfort on long rides. I had difficulty finding a good fit since I have small hands. Finally, I found a pair of youth batting gloves in the baseball section of a local sports store. They provide good grip and padding on the palms and fingers, and the backs are lightweight for wicking and breathability. From my experience, batting gloves (especially in youth sizes) also tend to be less costly than cycling gloves.
—PittmanOfLaMancha

I use my gloves as protection against falls and the stress of being on the bars all day.
—Guest Crusty

I rely on my bike gloves to minimize the risk of carpel-tunnel inducing numbness and wrist stress.
—terry.walker

I love my gloves which to me are a must-have. I use them for wiping my tires and to help break a fall...
—Guest Marin Girl

ride over glass or some other sharp debris and the protocol is to wipe your tyres - trying doing that without gloves and your hands will look like they've been through a meat grinder!
—Guest yikes ID, Inc.

I always wear a pair of $2 brown cotton work gloves from 7-11 under my padded bike gloves for lots of reasons. They're extra shock absorbers, extra warmth, 10 clean (?) cloth fingers to wipe a runny nose, the full fingers keep grease off your fingers when you muck with your chain, etc. PLUS, removing the full-finger gloves is easier than fingerless gloves, and the inner cotton glove is easily washable, eventually disposable, and makes the outer bike glove last longer.
—Guest Ostrich508

After riding through debris (especially broken glass) I want to scrub my tires (let my hand drag over the tire surface while continuing to ride) to brush off anything the tire might have picked up before it works its way through to a puncture. I'm a heck of a lot more comfortable doing this with gloves on because I think it will save my skin from being cut by glass.
—Guest Richard Savitt