Choose your bicycle gloves carefully.  They might just save some skin.

Why bicycle gloves anyway?

Your hands need bicycle gloves. The purpose of a good pair of cycling gloves can be many fold.

On one hand (couldn't resist that one), you wear the gloves to give some comfort from the pressure your body puts on your palms. The padding in a biking glove can range from almost zero to some very sophisticated gels that are soft and supple when pushed slowly but harden under impact.

On the other (you knew it was coming), gloves are used for temperature regulation of your hands. People are very different when it comes to the warmth of their hands, be it in cold weather or warm. Seldom will you find two people who's hands react the very same way to changes in the weather.

If the main reason you are looking for bicycle gloves is for hand padding and fall protection then you should consider the short finger bicycle gloves.

If keeping your hand warm is more of a concern, then you'll want to look at either long finger gloves or even lobster claw style bicycle gloves.

One thing that can truly help to keep you hands warm is to wear a helmet liner or use some other means to reduce the amount of heat lost through your head. If your body starts cooling it will reduce blood flow to the extremities to keep the core temperature up. Since your hands are extremities, guess what, cold hands.

In more detail, here are three basic choices when it comes to bicycle gloves. The link will take you to the relevant sections of the article.

• Short Finger
• Long Finger
• Lobster Claw

Short Finger Bicycle Gloves

This type of bicycle glove is what most people think of when they are talking about hand protection. Your typical short finger glove will only cover to the second knuckle on you hand and offer very little in the way of thermal retention. The main benefit of this type of glove is the fall protection and vibration shock offered. The palms of these glove will have some sort of padding sewn in under the major pressure points where you will typically rest your weight.

Take a look at this bicycle glove that I use in the summertime.

Construction of the palms is mostly leather or a leather substitute. The benefit of using a sturdy material on the palm is not only long lasting wear but fall protection.

Typically when a biker goes down, they do so with palms forward. With a leather or other tough type palm material in the gloves, you will have to slide on concrete with this first before it wears through into your own palm. Here the padding can also offer some manner of shock protection from the fall but primarily that is not why the padding is present. Think about it the next time you ride without gloves, on road or off. Would you want to slide your palms on the ground with our without gloves.
Generally, short finger gloves will have a terry cloth type material on the back of the thumb. This is there for several reasons: wiping your brow, wiping the grease off your finger when your chain comes off and yes, wiping your nose.

Closing a short finger glove now days is accomplished with velcro or a similar material. If you close this too tight, it can cause numbness and pain in the hand and wrist. You don't necessarily want to make the closure super tight, just enough to hold the glove on your hand.

Something I wish I had on my gloves is like the Castelli Logo Bike Glove - Men's has. There are little finger loops that make it easier to take the gloves off. They also help keep the gloves right side out when you do take them off. The photo shows you what I mean. 

If you want a quality pair of cycling gloves, feel free to browse our bicycle store in the Clothing and Accessories section you'll find a giant selection at the lowest prices anywhere.

Long Finger

When you want a little more protection or the weather is just a little bit chilly. A long finger bicycle glove may be what you need. The extra protection can come in handy if you do mountain bike riding. The thorns that inevitably tear at your hands right where the gloves don't cover.

I wear these when the temps get in the 40's up to the high 50's. I have a condition where my fingers get super cold very easily so I don't wear short finger gloves at temps much below 60. As you can see, I do wear these quite a bit. They also come in handy when it is rainy because the full leather grips better than my wet skin on the bars, shifters and brakes. This makes my stoker very happy. Don't want to take a chance and lose control (right dear!). A good pair of gloves that I have found are Pearl Izumi Gavia Glove - Men's Look at the photo  . These gloves offer good cold, wet weather protection.

Again if you are looking for a quality pair of long finger bicycle gloves, our bicycle store is loaded with them in the Clothing and Accessories seciton.

Lobster Claw

When things get downright nasty and you still have to ride any of your bikes, a lobster claw bicycle glove is the final answer that offers control you can't get in a mitten.

I have been using lobster claw gloves in the super cold weather now for many years. Here is a shot of a beaten up pair I ride with.  I have ridden with these down to -5 on my mountain bike and in the teens on my tandem. My wife doesn't really like to ride if it is colder than that.

As my gloves are rather dated there are newer options on the market. I wouldn't hesitate with the Giordana Silverline Lobster Cycling Glove - Men's . They offer better insulation and the synthetic material gives a better grip than the nylon type palm mine has. 

There are several different lobster claw gloves available in our cycling store.  Please don't hesitate to check them out.