Remian8985

I picked up a pair of cool looking half fingered "cycling gloves" from dollar store. They don't have padding. I was wondering if there is a way to make them padded. Sure they won't be any high end gel padding, but any padding.

Looigi

Do you need padding? I've found it counterproductive and ride with none. I've even removed padding from some gloves. Most brands of gloves offer one or more higher-end models that have no padding.

Remian8985

I only find them useful for rides over 10km. A wider grip with the cushion feels good in longer rides.

Looigi

OK. I virtually never ride less than 40 km on a single ride and often over 100km, so am fundamentally unqualified to comment on the utility of padded gloves on rides less than that.

ltxi

I'd just buy an inexpensive pair with padding from somewhere like Amazon. Personally I don't much care for padded gloves but that's just my preference.

Remian8985

oh ok you beat me lol. I guess it's just how my hands feel.

obed7

I do not care for padding either.... padding seems to make my hands go numb after a couple hours on the bike...I use gloves mostly for sweat in the summer and to help keep my hands warmer in the cold... and for a bit of protection if i go down....with a proper bike fit and bar tape I do not need the gloves for comfort while riding

Red Tornado

A minimal amount of padding is OK, but too much and I've found that you lose a little bit of the feel of the road. Like some of the other commentors, my main purpose for gloves is for hand protection in case I go down.
A common practice among pros and other racers is to double-wrap the bars. That is a good alternative.

Fastfingaz

Go back to the dollar store buy a sponge cut it thick wise ,stick one half into each glove now squeeze some elmers glue between the glove and the sponge let set over night voila ,,, your cheap gloves are now padded,now go riding,,,,

BlazingPedals

If you don't need padding, sometimes rowing gloves or weight lifting gloves are less expensive. If you want padding, get the bike gloves.

BobbyG

Funny you should mention the dollar store. I buy the brown cotton work gloves to ride in. I cut the fingers off halfway for warm weather; and use an uncut pair for colder weather. When it gets down into the 30F's I buy a pair of stetchier cotton or blend gloves from the dollar store and put those over some older winter gloves. I found over the years that after blister prevention, the next ost useful function of a bike glove for me was as a snot rag. SOme bike gloves come with a small terry cloth patch. I decided to make the whole glove the snot rag. I washem once or twice then toss 'em.

As far as padding, I use foam pipe insulation (6ft for $6 bucks at the hardware store) and black duct tape to secure it to the handlebars. I had been commuting for 15 years with no or light padding on my gloves. In my mid 40s my hands started aching and I started adding Dr. Scholls heel comforters to my bike and softball gloves. Well, I stopped playing softball, but decided to do the padding on the bars. This has worked great for over 5 years. I replace the foam about three times a year. On my drop bar bikes the padding is only on the uppers, and on the straight bar bike it's on the hand grips and my "inboard" bar-ends.

RideMyWheel

I'm discovering the same thing. I wasn't getting blisters before I bought the gloves, so I'm guessing their only real use is for snot. The webbing does a good job of retaining boogers. I guess if you fall they help, but that's only against scrapes. If I break a wrist I don't think I'll be too worried about a scrape, though. Or, without a glove I may be less likely to stick my hand out. I should consider that. Even with the possibility of boogers, the gloves do look kinda cool, though, so I guess I'll keep wearing them.

I used to have some power equipment gloves, for weed eaters, chainsaws, etc. They had thick rubber pads. I'm sure they'd do the trick.

I agree with those who advocate double-wrapping the bar with spongy tape, regardless.

Squeeze

I get my cycling gloves at hardware stores. I just saw some in Home Depot the other day that were lightly padded, full-fingered, neon yellow and green in color, and had reflective fingertips! Cost? $9.99 plus tax. Look or ask for "mechanic's gloves" in the tool section.

milkbaby

+1 on mechanic's gloves. If you want half finger gloves, you can just cut them off yourself. Alternatively, you can get cheap weightlifting gloves which are often slightly padded and should work just fine for cycling.

martianone

+2, to this suggestion. Mechanics or light weight material handling gloves are a nice alternative to official cycling gloves. Have tried the cotton "gardening" style glove, they seemed to be sort of a magnet for road grit, which caused hand irritation.

Squeeze

Gents (and ladies), I was wrong about the price. Those colorful gloves I mentioned above were $12.97 plus tax. I know because I got to thinking about them after I posted and bought a pair on my way home from work yesterday.

Home Depot does have a few $9.95 gloves, and some bright ones at that price, but I liked the velcro closure on these so I can wrap them over my sleeves on cold days. I noticed they also sell fingerless mechanic's gloves, although the ones I saw were only in black. I don't think I saw any gloves that cost more than about $15.00.

Link to the gloves I bought:

https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...25192629050788

I wore them on my five-mile commute this morning. The temperature was in the low 50s F, and the gloves were soaked with sweat when I arrived at work. These gloves are thicker than some, and would be better on colder days, and I'm thinking the reflective fingertips couldn't hurt on cold winter late afternoon commutes when it's dark. Other than being warm, they're great for cycling - good padding, good grip on brake levers, and like other mechanic's gloves I wear, you almost don't know they're there when using MTB trigger shifters or road bike STI shifters. They're very "close" around the fingertips. I want to say "tight", but that sounds negative. They feel good.

They are also EXTREMELY BRIGHT. I'm sure that will change as they age and get dirty but right now they're on a shelf in my cube at work and they're almost glowing like a night-light or something. Part of my ride to work takes me close past a large office building with windows that are like mirrors. I'm tellin' ya, looking at my reflection in those windows today, it looked like I had two big orange lights on the handlebars. Nobody behind me (who is paying attention) will miss a hand signal with these things on!

Not bad for under fourteen bucks, with tax.

JVinci

winrar

rumrunn6

add a 2nd layer of cork bar tape

Fastfingaz

What,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Camilo

Why would you buy gloves without padding if you want gloves with padding?

Personally I don't like padding so I'm not going to comment on that aspect. But in the future you should buy what you need rather than what's cheap.