Gloves
 

I am a new rider, averaging 10 miles per ride, 3-4 days a week. Do I need to be wearing gloves. I notice a little hand pain after a ride. I ride a hybrid. Thanks

I stopped wearing my gloves after I started to develop a tan line that made my hands look like ghost compared to my arms.

I never leave without them anymore though. Even just for a rare case where your chain gets stuck, you are going to be thankful you have gloves then. I don't use padded gloves so they wouldn't effect pain but they increase grip and the rides just feel nicer with them.

If you notice hand pain you might want to look into better grips as well - check out ergon grips - makes a world of difference for hand pain - glove or no.

Welcome to Bikeforums, Hollis and Pierce!

I made a fast turn onto a road i thought I knew, which to my surprise had been milled in preparation for resurfacing. I went down and ended up with a bunch of gravel embedded in my bloodied palms. It hurts scrubbing that stuff out.

If you ride a lot with gloves your hands won't be soft, but they won't have nasty callouses that will scare your lover away if you try to touch her with your crusty claws.

The tan lines are a bonus. A lycra backed glove will keep the back of your hands young looking and wrinkle free.

I've ordered some crocheted gloves in hopes of a polka dot tan. Call me crazy.

Gel padding is best for absorbing shock and should help with your discomfort.

My suggestion is to try them and see if they make a difference for you. You don't really need them, but they sure do help in many ways. One way has already been mentioned and that is falling and keeping your hands from getting road rash. They also help with the numbing issue a lot of riders have from not relaxing their shoulders or an improper bike fit or both.

I wear gloves. I also do other stuff outdoors enough that tan lines aren't a problem. :D

I wear fingerless gloves in the summer and full finger the rest of the year. Canari makes a glove for like $25 that has good gel pads. I've bought better gloves for more money, but also several not nearly as good.. for more money.

Also you shouldn't be gripping the bar very tight, or leaning a lot of weight on your hands. If you can support your torso with your core you'll have a lot less hand fatigue. This will improve on its own as you ride, and you can do some core exercises to help it further.

I was messing around with my iPhone in my iPhone mount on my handlebars. I was on a ride with a couple of friends. I was not leading them. They decided to stop because we were passing the hotel that a friend is staying at. I didn't hear them, so I ran my front wheel into the rear wheel of my friend. It threw it out of true, but that's besides the point. I fell. My arm got a little scratched up, and a few threads on my shirt tore. The Nashbar logo on my shorts tore off a bit, and my gloves also tore a bit.. But the gloves saved me from having bloody palms. I survived that fall with just an out of true wheel and no injuries.

Depending on you weight padded gloves are a need also the heavier you are the more you will want padded gloves! I have worn gloves since I started riding long rides; now if I am on the bike I have on padded. When I firt started I weighed in at about 250 got it down to 220 that time. When I restarted weight loss this time I got back on the bike at 240ish now 180ish I WANT PADDED Gloves. As has been said cheap gel glove are out there and work great. I would say go to the bike shop and try on gloves and then try on more. The first time my wife ended up picking out the pair I ended up with (she liked them in ths shop) and I ended up picking out the ones she wore (same song as then above). This time I found gloves I liked after a year I need to replace them; they still feel ok but are getting a bit worn in places. Esp. the one that must have skidded on the ground when I hit the muddy spot in the ped underpass two weeks back!!

Thanks for all the advice. It looks to me that bikers are as helpful and welcoming as golfers, and that's saying a lot

I like them personally. I used to ride without them and it was fine but they helped with two things - sweat from the hands making the handlebars wet (and eventually grimy) and the padding helped dampen any vibration transferred to the hands. I bought the Specialized BG gloves because they have padding for the ulnar nerve which is the nerve that gets easily irritated by pressure or vibration.