[Closed] Why do almost all "mountainbikers" wear gloves to ride?

Fashion 😉

Nothing to do with protection, grip and stopping blisters.

Warmth a lot of the year.
Also lots of nurses [b]do[/b] wipe arses(for those that can't wipe their own!), and for some years that and the other very hands on icky stuff was why I did what I could to keep my hands as intact as possible. I haven't wiped a bum for a while now, but grazed/cut hands are still both problematic and Not A Good Look in my current niche of nursing.

As an aside, GW should make this sortb of thing a regular feature. I dunno, "GW's friday pwn" or something. 😉

stopping blisters.

I get more blisters with gloves as the material rubs and chafes.

Makes switching from cycling to strangling that bit quicker

I do, mainly in case I fall off and land on my hands. I don't find them so uncomfortable as to be a hindrance. Simple as that.

If you don't want to, that's fine with me. Just don't whinge if you hurt yourself.

Anyone who makes choices due to what someone else thinks looks right or wrong, in a decision that has nothing to do with looks, is asking for even less sympathy.

3 main reasons in no particular order

1) Protection in falls and during riding

2) Padding around ulna nerve and carpal tunnel

3) Grip (you only need a sweaty hand to slip off your bars once to understand this one)

I believe that trumps looking cool.

I'm a hand model, got to protect the commodities.

Grip, comfort and protection.

Tuck and roll..... genius.

wipe sweat from my brow.
colour coordinates with my outfit.

if you can't go fast,at least look good going slow.

I don't wear them.

Mainly to show off my BMXing roots with the added benefit that I get a more even tan.

Do you know (and I've checked the thread and not seen this) that riding without gloves wears your grips down much quicker?
Yes! I don't wear gloves on my ss in the warmer weather (easier for using the fingers to whistle for the trailhound) and the grips go smooth really quickly.
So wearing gloves saves money 🙂

Thorns, branches, gorse bushes etc. Putting hands out when falling. Putting hands out to stop falling and grabbing trees. I did a whole load of MTFU when I was skateboarding and after 6 or 7 years of grazed, cut and damaged hands, I'm over it.

Sorry, but I just don't think that if you go over the bars properly, when you're absolutely flat out downhill that you'll roll. That takes thought. And you've no time for that. Instinct takes over at that speed, whether you like it or not, and you stick you're hands out. Its involuntary. It just happens

For me I roll out of a crash no matter how fast I'm going. Some people naturally turn one side towards in a crash and some people naturally stick their hands out. As far as I can tell it doesn't matter what speed you're going.

It takes no thought for me, I probably couldn't try to stop myself with my hands even if I wanted to.

So, what made you buy your first pair of gloves for biking?

They went with the bike, same make, same colour looked good, it was part of getting the look . . .

have you ever ridden gloveless? how did you find it?

Once maybe, . .i was careful to not to hurt them . . . lol . . didn't feel any vast difference in control

and why do you wear them now?

Protection from trail side and trail, but crash protection is next to useless for a big off

I wear full fingers on my road bike, which some people think is odd, but it I crash I'd like the best chance at preserving the skin on my pinkies

Maybe I should go for industrial gauntlets?

Why do almost all "mountainbikers" wear gloves to ride?

Presumably because they're not as awesome as you? That generally seems to be the main thrust of everything you post on here.

GW, are you too much of a lady to sweat? 😉

I have asked non glove wearers why and they say "I cant wear gloves..."
They dont see the humour when I ask if the reason for this is they have have webbed hands 😀

So, when you crash, what part of your body tends to hit the ground first?

I've crashed thousands of times

GW, are you too much of a lady to sweat?

Sorry, but I just don't think that if you go over the bars properly, when you're absolutely flat out downhill that you'll roll. That takes thought. And you've no time for that. Instinct takes over at that speed, whether you like it or not, and you stick you're hands out. Its involuntary. It just happens

You can't seriously expect one definitive answer?

Afraid so!

What [i]tends[/i] to hit the ground first? For example: if you crash ten times, in six of them what was the first thing to break your fall before tucking and rolling?

If you've crashed thousands of times I assume you have a massive amount of experience to reach a conclusion with. 😉

Do you know (and I've checked the thread and not seen this) that riding without gloves wears your grips down much quicker?

[i]I've crashed thousands of times[/i]

You must be a shit rider then.

pimpmaster - [i]tends[/i] to be the back of my right shoulder and back of right upper arm spreading the initial impact load (as much a glance as an impact)

What relevance does this have to whether I wear gloves or not?

You must be a shit rider then.

To all those people whose hands tend to be the first thing to hit the ground, how do you not have permanently broken wrists?

or collarbones.

^I've got permanently ****ed shoulders 🙂

Edit: And my collarbones aren't in a good way...

To all those people whose hands tend to be the first thing to hit the ground, how do you not have permanently broken wrists?

By bending our elbows. In a similar way we often bend our knees when jumping and landing on our feet.

I'm with some of you on this rolling/tucking thing, used to do judo as a kid, not something I took seriously but I did seem to learn to roll/ break a fall, often you spot a landing and start to prepare before you're really off. I've had loads of crashes that are often collarbone / wrist breakers but (luckily) so far haven't done anything more than a sore shoulder and side a couple of times.
As for gloves, did 10 days bikepacking mainly without them earlier this summer and it was great. Avoided the dreaded jazz-hands, grip was fine, comfort good, wore thin ones one really hot day with more tricky DH and on a rainy day. Not convinced they're as needed as habit suggests, but having crashes on tarmac gloveless I do think thay're a good thing.

Far too much common sense there Tom. 😉

I still use my hands (and feet. funnily enough) to break my fall fairly often too, other than thorn cuts the last times I damaged my hands was with a saw then a door, last bike riding hand injury was actually caused by wearing gloves (I had to wear them) the glove caught on a branch ripping me clean off the bike taking the finger of the glove with it. (had I not been wearing gloves the branch would have just brushed past my hand giving me a scratch)

A most entertaining thread.

A couple of other observations: I didn't notice any change for better or worse in my callus-ness when I started wearing gloves for riding (rather than for warmth) and they don't really bother me. I have never got blisters or chafing from wearing gloves or indeed not wearing gloves.

GW, Do you also leave your helmet at home for fear of clotheslining yourself on an overhanging branch then? 😉

Oh Dear Christ!!! We're heading into TJ helmet debate territory

RUN AWAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!

No. Walk carefully away in case you fall over and hurt yourself.

And definitely not carrying scissors?

I still use my hands (and feet. funnily enough) to break my fall fairly often too...

That's why I was asking GW. 🙂 I can't imagine how you'd lead into a headfirst roll without using your hands, arms and shoulders to break the fall as 'gently' as possible, spreading the impact as much as you can.

Riding without gloves to me is a little like riding without shoes - just doesn't make sense. However if people want to then it's not my place to stop them.

On the flipside, learning to fall properly is also a really useful skill - I've heard stories of people hitting A Line on their first trip to Whistler only to go over the bars and break both wrists because they are not used to the size and speed of the riding there.

I'd still always wear gloves though. 😉

And definitely not carrying scissors?

Holding the blades. Holding the blades...

GW would seem to be too rad for helmets. I just wondered why.

Earlier in the thread:

GW - Member

The fact I don't wear gloves and rarely a helmet def means I sweat a lot less when biking.

😕

Julian - yes, that's one of the reasons (but we're not talking why I choose not to wear a helmet just now 😉 )

[s]Hairy[/s] sweaty palms.

On the flipside, learning to fall properly is also a really useful skill

I once went over the bars in Eskdale, down a particularly steep incline, did a complete somersault, and landed on my feet. To much hilarity, I received a round of applause.

It was totally unintentional. I doubt I could do it again 😳

Why do I wear gloves? Easy, convenient snot wipe.

PJ hands/feet contact is not required to initiatte the roll or break the initial impact.
no two falls/crashes are the same