To wear or not to wear mountain bike gloves – that is the question. While not everyone chooses to wear gloves when they go riding, many do, and for good reason. How can gloves improve your ride and better protect you? Why do some riders choose not to wear them? Read on for a full breakdown.
Reasons to wear gloves
Improved grip
Many riders find gloves improve their grip on the handlebars when they are mountain biking. Its hard to think of a more important aspect of mountain biking than being able to maintain control of your bike (and handlebars) as you ride through bumpy and rough terrain.
Oftentimes when you’re out riding you will sweat from the effort you’re putting into the ride and from the warm air on hot days. Your hands aren’t immune from this phenomenon, and as you can imagine it can become very difficult to keep a precise grip on your handlebars when your hands get slimy from sweating. You could even have your hands completely slip off your handlebars which can end in disaster.
A good pair of mountain biking gloves will absorb your sweat and have a grippy material to help keep your grip dialed in as you navigate the trails, regardless of how rough they are.
Protection on falls
Another major reason mountain bikers wear gloves is to protect their hands in case they take a fall. And if you ride your mountain bike aggressively, its a matter of when, not if, you take a spill. What is often the first point of contact when you fall off your MTB? Your hands, which will instinctively shoot out to catch your fall.
Even relatively minor falls off your mountain bike can result in some gnarly gashes in your hands depending on what you land on.
A quality pair of padded gloves will stop those nasty cuts and gashes from happening, and while they won’t prevent every injury you will definitely be happy to have them on if you go down.
Preventing wear and tear on your hands
Wearing gloves is really helpful to prevent your hands from getting blisters, callouses and general wear and tear from riding. If you’ve gone on long rides with no gloves, you’ll know that the skin on your hands can start to get sore after a while.
This is caused by the friction between your hands and the handlebars as you ride, and becomes more of a problem if you’re riding over lots of rough terrain, causing your hands to get bounced around more.
Warmth
If you live in an area that has cold weather conditions, getting mountain bike gloves can be a good way to keep your hands warm while riding. Riding in the winter and cold weather can be a lot of fun, but only if you’re able to keep yourself comfortable.
When the temperatures drop, your hands will be the most prone to getting cold first, so its smart to have a quality pair of MTB gloves that keep your hands nice and toasty out on the trails for those situations. There are even mountain bike gloves on the market specifically designed for cold weather riding.
Types of mountain bike gloves
Full finger gloves
As the name implies, full finger gloves cover the entire hand and fingers. These are the best type of mountain bike gloves to wear if you do a lot of riding in colder weather.
Many riders also prefer the feeling of having their entire fingers covered and prefer the grip in the gloves fingers to the grip they get from having their own fingers directly on the handlebars.
Fingerless gloves
Alternatively, some mountain bikers prefer the feeling of fingerless gloves while riding. These can be a better option if you never ride in the cold and aren’t worried about keeping your fingers warm.
Some riders find the feel and control they have on the handlebars and brake levers is improved when their fingers are directly touching them, but it’s a matter of personal preference..
Why some riders opt out of wearing gloves
Feel
Some riders just simply don’t like how it feels to wear gloves while they’re mountain biking. Your hands and feet are your only connections to your bike while you’re riding, so if it doesn’t feel right to you to wear gloves, your confidence and abilities while mountain biking can suffer.
There are also people that have only ever ridden a bike without gloves, and it can be difficult to transition to how it feels to ride with gloves on.
Comfort
Along with not liking the feeling of wearing gloves, some riders find it to be uncomfortable to wear them too. Some reasons people find gloves uncomfortable include finding them too warm and not liking the feeling of sweat that can build up in a pair of gloves.
It can also be a fit issue too, so its possible some people who’ve tried gloves in the past and found them uncomfortable just didn’t get a pair that fits their hands quite right.
Cleanliness
Sweating a lot in a pair of mountain gloves can make them smell not so great, and for some people who choose not to wear gloves while mountain biking cleanliness of the gloves themselves can be a big reason why. This issue can be overcome by washing your mountain bike gloves regularly.
Frequently asked questions
It’s a good idea to wear MTB gloves while you’re mountain biking to protect your hands from nasty scrapes and cuts in case of a fall. A quality, well-fitted pair of mountain bike gloves also can keep your hands more comfortable and prevent them from getting callouses and blisters. Gloves are also great to keep your hands nice and warm if you do any cold weather riding.
Mountain bike gloves protect your hands in case of a fall, prevent you from developing callouses and blisters, and even keep your hands warm if you’re out riding in colder temperatures.
No mountain bike gloves aren’t necessary to go mountain biking, and many riders can and do ride without them. Keep in mind that without gloves your hands will not be as well protected in case you fall, and you’re more likely to develop calloused and blistered hands if you do a lot of riding.
Conclusion
While mountain bike gloves may not be for everyone, they’re certainly a positive overall for most mountain bikers because of how they protect your hands if you fall, how they prevent your hands from getting blistered and calloused if you do long or frequent rides, and even how they keep your hands warm during cold weather riding. Try a pair out for yourself!