Padding and sweat control are the main reasons I wear 'em. I don't drop the bike very often.

I saw those in the movie "Rollerball".

Marietta or Alpharetta or some other 'retta? I have a Marietta address but I'm practically in Roswell. I commute to Alpharetta - and yep - that's why I wear the gloves ...

I do have experience at riding at -20°C, and the fingertips feel the cold first and are far more sensitive to cold than the rest of the hand. Wearing fingerless gloves as an insulation layer over or under mittens/winter gloves makes as much sense as wearing crotchless long johns in cold weather.

Having hamburger for palms really isn't much fun. Seems like the only times I ever go down are those times when I decided not to wear gloves that day.

So for me, gloves seem to help with my balance for some unknown reason.

Training wheels would offer superior protection from boo-boos and not just for your hands.

Do you also wear a mouth guard, knee and elbow pads, steel toed shoes? Gotta protect those body parts, JUST IN CASE! Eh? Or why not full body armor; wouldn't it offer increased protection from nasty boo-boos?

Well, here's a picture of me before my commute in this morning. After all, you can never be too prepared.

Where are your gloves?

Today is a fall day - he didn't wear them.

They keep me from getting blisters on my hands.

(And I get those cool tan marks from the hole on top.)

More importantly, you need your hands to tend to the wounds on the rest of your body.

You've been peeking!

Why? Dogs don't have hands.

I see most of the US posters are in the northern states... that's gotta make a difference!

For MTB I prefer 1/2 finger gloves for a few reasons:
1. they are cooler on hot days.
2. my stubby fingers don't fit well in most FF gloves.
3. I like to be able to feel the levers and I don't like the subtle sliding of material between my fingers and levers.

To each, his/her own!

Ya, but I can't reach my crotch with my mouth, either.

Exactly. Gloves protect against injuries that are relatively likely to happen but which are only irritating. Helmets protect against rare injuries that are potentially debilitating.

I wear whatever i want, regardless of what you think.

That being said, carpenter gloves, full finger, all weather.

I like to rub the fingers over the tires while riding if I accidentally rolled over some glass.

You're not supposed to reach out with your hand to cushion your fall. That's a good way to break a wrist or collar bone. Tuck and roll.

I usually wear the half finger padded gloves if I'm riding my road bike with drop bars. Probably don't need them for my 5 mile commute, but I have them and don't feel like leaving them on the shelf at home.

I agree 100%, but most people will still try to break their fall with their hands.

I mostly commute, and I mostly wear fingerless gloves.
For short rides in nice wx, no gloves are ok.
For almost any rides in cold wx (Minnesota winters), full gloves are mandatory for me.
Fingerless I wear a lot for two reasons. First, the padding does help if I'm biking more than a few miles. As cdotbois points out, hard pavement and thin padding on the handlebars and you'll start to feel it pretty quick. Second, I use a grip shifter, and full gloves are kind of awkward to shift with (over- or under-clicking), so fingerless is the best compromise.

When in an accident your body tends to react instinctively. Unless you retrain that instinct more often than not crashing will result in putting your hand out. The end result is scraped palms, broken wrists, and broken elbows. Still an improvement over nose diving into the pavement.

FYI: you can do that with bare hands too. The only downside is you're likely to cut your fingers open... And you get blood all over your bar tape... And it hurts...

After years of cycling, I've gotten pretty good at tucking and rolling while flying off a bicycle, however, it really depends on how the bike ejects you. Sometimes things happen too quickly, or at a bad trajectory.

I had a front brake malfunction (1968 style center pulls) where the brake arm snapped and jammed the wheel. It launched me directly into an unexpected superman maneuver over the drops and into a parking lot. Tuck and roll was not an option, but putting my hands out to protect my face was! I didn't have gloves. I eventually healed but it hurt pretty bad for a while, so I wear gloves now.

I also find having the padding under my palms absorbs a bit of road vibration, and mine (the gloves...) have a soft fuzzy part that work well for wiping the sweat off my face on a hard ride/hot day.

The cyclist tan. Fingerless gloves make it easier to fiddle with downtube shifters, do shoe laces, grab snacks or camera from jersey pocket, and dial cell phone.

Alright, I'll admit it. The main reason I wear fingerless gloves is so that I can pick my nose while riding.

Does that make me a bad person?