Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Looking for well padded gloves

I used to be an avid rider, but years of a desk job have left me overweight and and out of shape. I recently took my mountain bike out of the spare room and started riding again. My legs can take it and I have a good seat, but my hands start to suffer from major pain after only 6-7 minutes of riding.

Can someone please recommend a good, well-padded pair of men's riding gloves (half finger and/or full finger) that will help elliviate this condition?

Also, I've adjusted the seat so that my my thighs are parallel to the ground (on the up stroke) right at the handle bar level (this used to be a comfortable position for me). Will lowering the seat take some of the pressure off my hands?

Thanks for the help!

. . . or raising the stem a bit.

I'm sure this will show my ignorance, but what is the difference between raising the stem and raising the seat. I thought they were connected.

I use the Specialized Body Geometry Comp gloves half finger. Tons of padding that might help you out some. Every 5-10 minutes make sure you are changing hand positions on the bars reguardless of what gloves you use. That will help with any sort of pain/numbness you encounter.

I used to be an avid rider, but years of a desk job have left me overweight and and out of shape. I recently took my mountain bike out of the spare room and started riding again. My legs can take it and I have a good seat, but my hands start to suffer from major pain after only 6-7 minutes of riding.

Can someone please recommend a good, well-padded pair of men's riding gloves (half finger and/or full finger) that will help elliviate this condition?

Also, I've adjusted the seat so that my my thighs are parallel to the ground (on the up stroke) right at the handle bar level (this used to be a comfortable position for me). Will lowering the seat take some of the pressure off my hands?

Thanks for the help!

Lowering the seat may help the hands, but hurt the knees, a better idea is to raise the bars a bit, and see if that helps, cycling gloves may also help.

I'm sure this will show my ignorance, but what is the difference between raising the stem and raising the seat. I thought they were connected.

Only distantly. The stem is what supports the handlebars.

Only distantly. The stem is what supports the handlebars.
oh yeah...duh. it has been a while. thanks for clearing that up for me!

I use the Specialized Body Geometry Comp gloves half finger. Tons of padding that might help you out some. Every 5-10 minutes make sure you are changing hand positions on the bars reguardless of what gloves you use. That will help with any sort of pain/numbness you encounter.

+1

Those are the gloves I use as well. They seem to have the most padding. But I don't think the padded gloves will make the most difference - the position you're riding in & the fit of the bike will do more for that. Did for me, at least.

I also use some of that funky gel stuff under my bar tape, too. It's nice. :)

Also, I've adjusted the seat so that my my thighs are parallel to the ground (on the up stroke) right at the handle bar level (this used to be a comfortable position for me). Will lowering the seat take some of the pressure off my hands?

Thanks for the help!

I'm not sure how that position equates to where your leg is at the bottom of the pedal stroke, which is the typical measuring position for seat height adjustments. With your heel on the pedal, your leg should just become straight when the pedal is at the furthest extended position (in line with the seat tube.) That way, when you're riding (with the ball of your foot over the pedal) you'll have a slight bend in your knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

As for taking pressure off the hands, you need to look at two things: Height and extension of the bars. If the bars are too low, you'll be leaning too far forward and putting pressure on your hands and arms. If your bars are too far forward (too long of a stem) then you'll also be leaning forward and putting pressure on your hands.
Optimally, you should be able with minimal exertion at your core, to keep your upper body position consistent when you take your hands off the bars. Too low or too far forward, and you'll find yourself "falling" on the bars when you lift your hands off of them.

As for gloves, I like Pearl Izumi Gel Race for warm weather and PI Cyclone full finger when it's cold.

I was going thru the same problem wih hand pain. All the suggestions are right-on. The Pearls Izumi's Gels are the best. Here is the same pair I have and will never wear anything else.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pearl-Izumi-Gel-Lite-Race-Gloves-Black-Mens-Medium-NWT_W0QQitemZ250300862363QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250300862363&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ebayphotohosting

I have been using PearlIzumi gloves for years and the padding is good but recently (3mo ago) I switched over to a pair of Castelli Pro gloves and they feel much nicer then the PI gloves. Lots of padding but not so much that it bunches up and the padding covers the entire palm area.

As with all clothing, gloves from different manufacturers as well as models from the same manufacturer will fit differently so it is best to try, if you can, a pair on before buying.

DBD:beer:

As you haven't ridden in so long its likely that you are waaaay overgripping the handlebars. I still have that issue sometimes. Try to work on upperbody and lighten the grip.

I love Assos Prosline summer gloves (half-finger).
http://www.branfordbike.com/smmrwear/summacs1.html

About $60 on that website...I think I paid $50 for them when I bought them a year or two ago.

They were the first glove I paid more money for, but was VERY HAPPY and thought they were well worth it. I was sad to lose one of them this summer, but plan to buy another pair before next summer.

I've used expensive gloves way back when and chaepo $12 gloves. I think postiton and lack of using a deathgrip does more than the padding. Too much padding makes it hard to operate the controls IMO.

Mr. Beanz is right, you can definitely have too much padding. With my 105 brifters I find my specialized BG gloves to be a perfect fit, and the open fingers allow me to shift/brake just fine without any complications. Now if only I could get some brake pads that'll actually STOP the bike a little better, I'd be much happier!

Thanks all for the great suggestions!
-Domenick

My hands, wrists, elbows were weak when I first began riding.
Do some exercise to strengthen them.

You may also want to look at more ergonomic handlebar grips. I just swapped the stock grips for those made by Ergon (GR2) and it is quite a world of difference for the better.

Not sure if this was mentioned already but too much padding may make the pain worse. That is, your hands fatigue quickly if they're constantly squeezing against large amounts of soft padding.

Try better grips, e.g., ergon, with gloves that have minimal padding.

Also, the previous suggestions of raising your handlebars relative to the saddle is much preferable to dropping the saddle and losing a relatively efficient leg position.

ditto to specialized bg gel. but, gloves won'tcure the problem. they just delay the length of time it takes for your hands to go numb.

A lot has been mentioned about bar height and saddle height. Keep in mind that saddle angles and fore and aft have a lot to do with pressure on the hands as well. If your saddle has too much of a downward angle, you will be leaning forward and putting pressure on hands. Also if saddle is to close tp the bars, the same may be true.

I like the Performance gel gloves myself. Cheap, and perhaps cheaply made, but they get the job done.

Here is another opinion to muddy the waters. I don't like gel gloves. Even the solid-gel padding seems to squish and compact down to the point where it does not pad at all, in the area where I my hands rest the most (between thumb and first finger on the brake hoods). I prefer regular foam padding, for this reason. For comfort, all brands are about the same, but I've found that mid-level or higher Performance and Specialized gloves hold up longer and better than PI.

The main thing that I do, however, is to make sure to move my hands around a lot. I try to move my hands to a new position every time that I change how I pedal for hills and stuff. I still mostly keep my hands on the hoods, and alternate between what part of my hands rest on the bar (between thumb and finger, down the middle, outside of hand, heel of palm on the top of the hood, etc.).

I agree with others, that i think that your bar is too low as well. Have fun out there!

Not sure if this was mentioned already but too much padding may make the pain worse. That is, your hands fatigue quickly if they're constantly squeezing against large amounts of soft padding.

Try better grips, e.g., ergon, with gloves that have minimal padding.

Also, the previous suggestions of raising your handlebars relative to the saddle is much preferable to dropping the saddle and losing a relatively efficient leg position.

I always wonder why they make it so easy to raise and lower the seat, but it's almost impossible to change the bar height on modern bikes, and then bike manufacturers and bike shops think the best bar height is about 30cm/1 foot, below the saddle height, otherwise known as the racer position..... If it was as easy to raise and lower the bars, as it is to raise and lower the seat, there would be a lot fewer issues.

I always wonder why they make it so easy to raise and lower the seat, but it's almost impossible to change the bar height on modern bikes, and then bike manufacturers and bike shops think the best bar height is about 30cm/1 foot, below the saddle height, otherwise known as the racer position..... If it was as easy to raise and lower the bars, as it is to raise and lower the seat, there would be a lot fewer issues.

The seat post is just there becuase it's more expensive to build bikes with a fixed length seat tube that you, the user, cut to height. There are bikes like this but they tend to be very high end track and time trial specific machines.

Handlebar height is "relatively" easy to adjust if there's either enough steerer tube left to make the adjustment or by buying an adjustable stem, e.g., look ergostem. There're also steerer tube extenders available.