Gloves

I have damaged my hands several times between work and breaking my right hand twice. I have been using Bontrager gloves with the thick pads, but they take couple of weeks to break in and the padding is dead in less than a year. I have put Red Shift pads on my road bike, I use the pads and grips on the gravel and I use the grips on the track bike… it helps but I need a little more.

Is there some lesser known brand that makes really good gloves, I don’t mind paying for quality. Or is there another “sport” glove?

It might help if you were a bit more specific about what it is you are looking for in a glove, in order for it to be comfortable with your hands. I’m guessing you want something maximally padded and vibration reducing?

Or proper padding. Someone must make a niche market glove that does magic. It would be something that a hand surgeon or an entrepreneur bike fitter has dreamed up. Or I’m looking for Unicorn poop. :grin:

Like a Brooks B17, discussion here, they fit for bikepacking.

Do you get numbness David or is it more about protection?

My hands go to sleep, it’s been happening for years. But I dislocated and broke my wrist end of February and it’s painful in the hand so it’s all about padding. I don’t race anymore so I don’t fall down.

I’m a long time bikepacker too and have the usual carpal tunnel, tennis elbow and golfers elbow. I’ve honestly never found that gloves helped a lot. Numbness often comes from a compromised nerve further up the arm or neck, or in the carpal tunnel area. Ive never broken anything either so that’s quite different to what you are experiencing and that stuff can take a long time to heal. Some people double-wrap their bars. The last set of gloves I brought lasted about 6 months and I barely used them. Makes me wonder if my wife’s gardening gloves would last better.

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I’ve had good experience with the Pearl Izumi gel vent pro gloves and more recently a set of MAAP gloves with an Elastic Interface padding. They don’t stop me from getting some numbness in one hand, but that’s a knackered shoulder issue.

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I don’t think gloves are going to solve your problem.

For long brevet rides, there are a few things that have helped me avoid numbness:

-Don’t put pressure on the middle of your palm. Either the outside of your hand or the pad below your thumb are ok.

-Have a few different positions and don’t stay in one for too long.

-Focus on bike fit

I’d say getting a good fit with someone who is experienced with these situations would be the priority.

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I know that the Red Shift Cruise Control top bar pads have been a great help. I’m thinking about aero bars for another position off my wrists, they work wonders for bikepacking.

Im not sure if your query is about road or offroad, flat bar or drops, but I did a lot of research at one point which I wrote down in a post. Obviously a bike fit is a great idea, but a lot of us work in industries that have taken their toll on our arms, even if it is low impact mouse or puck driven work. I have my name down for a carpal tunnel operation, but until then I just have to manage it. I’ve always had the best results with a combo of flat bars, bar ends and aero bars. Those new little mini bar thumb grip things are very popular these days too. Edit: looks like TOGS do a road version too.

For gloves, I really love the specialized BG Grail gloves. I have multiple wrist injuries myself and they’re the only ones that work for me. I buy about 6 sets a year and have a big backlog for when they inevitably stop making them now.

For bigger stuff, I’d recommend consulting a PT who knows their stuff on this. You may have “up the the chain” problems that are contributing and they could really help. I’d be happy to talk to you about it sometime, as a PT.

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Thanks Luke, I am having extended PT sessions from this dislocation of my hand and broken radius. I’m maybe at the point of my bike fit is great for a guy who’s flexible does yoga, but not for one with damaged hands. My bikes are drop-bar, except Fat bike and cargo. I have not ridden the Fat bike yet, but the hand position on the cargo flat is painful, but less than it was 4 months ago.

It’s sounds like from the responses it’s my hands and gloves are not going to make much difference.