An Open Letter to Cycling Glove Manufacturers
 

Dear Manufacturers,

Can you please make a glove that does not have a dyed palm that discolors my expensive, white, bar tape when I get caught out in the rain, sweat a lot, or just rub on the bars too hard?

That, or perhaps just don't dye the palm material at all; there's got to by some natural color to your preferred synthetic fabric that you could work with to create something fashionable and desirable. Believe me, it's gonna be desirable...and you could market it as green, sustainable, organic, or something like that.

There has got to be a way.

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to your Fall 2014 collection.

Best regards,
Chaad

I wear invisible gloves. No stains.

never had that issue. had 4 different pairs and white bar tape. dirt/grime on the other hand...is dirt/grime

Buy tye dye bar tape, problem solved.

Serves you right for the grevious offense of rocking white bar tape. Cycling karma gonna get you.

+1 The best way to keep white tape clean is to cover it with black tape :)

Yeah, and high-dollar, high-brow, hoity-toity, white bar tape, at that. I should have seen this coming!

Avoid white bar tape unless you have a team mechanic to change for you after every ride.

Some gloves are much worse than others for bleeding the black dye. Takes some trial and error. I have white bar tape and have no problems.

Or wear white gloves.

If I could get gloves with a white palm, I would!

Are "white bar tape" topics in "Decline"?.....jus sayin....

Is white bar tape faux pas? It's what came with my Domane, and I've cleaned it no less than 10 times in the last month since I've had it. Aaaand it's still somewhat grimy.

They are out there, might just take a while to find what you want. Here's some.

I am using white Lizard Skin bar tape and ride with either Assos or PI gloves and have never had that happen.

what about tighty WHITIES? that's just asking for it...

Ah, the myth of dirty white bar tape...


Hint- stop buying crappy bar tape.

Synthetic 'cork" tapes (EVA plastic) will all become discoloured regardless of colour. Synthetic leathers (pleathers), will not. Having said that, ALL bar tape will become burnished with long term use. Consider that a badge of honour as it can only be earner with time in the saddle.

As to gloves, this is an issue with some gloves. I've even had stains on my hands because of this. I no longer wear gloves unless I am in a race or riding in a group of three or more.

Ah, I guess I hadn't looked in awhile, or didn't look well, because I didn't realize there were options, so thanks for the link! It looks like Giro knows what's up; I'll probably order a pair of the Monaco gloves...

I've got the Giro's with the light grey palms. They're fine with white tape. Just stay away from black gloves.

Yes, I bought new gloves when I got a bike with white tape....In my defense the old ones were worn anyway....

Pearl Izumi Gel Vent also has the gray palms. I have white hoods and no issues at all. My wife has the women's version of the same glove with white bar tape, again, no issues.

i'd rather have better padding over the median and ulnar nerves (center of the wrists). pads that stretch all the way across.

Just as a warning, Garneau does "not" know what's up, with at least the gloves I got from them. First time caught in rain, they bled black all over my admittedly cheap white bar tape, hands, and a bit on a white area of my fork.

right now, the bar tape doesn't bother me that much. Minorly dirty, but structurally sound. Will replace it when it looks more like an eyesore.

My PI gloves have never bled, have 2 pairs. Definitely will pre-wash any future gloves to guard against the unknown here.

As a side question, any thoughts as to how to get black dye stain off my fork? Its on the inside, no one but me sees it (and I only see it when cleaning my frame), as its on the inner surface of the fork. Have tried moderate scrubbing with lemon pledge when i clean rest of the frame, no noticeable improvment. Its a Specialized Roubaix 2013 if that's relevant.

The worst pair of gloves for bleeding the black dye were the Giro Zero's. Every time I washed them the water would turn black and my palms would be black after a ride. The pittards leather didn't hold up for very long, either. It would shrink and crack, then finally start splitting within a few months. Unfortunate, since they were a very comfortable, no pad glove. By the way, they do also come in a white palm if you want to give them a shot.

You seriously have dye stains on your forks from these gloves? Wow.

Did you buy them from an authorized vendor? Take them back!

It was a month after I started, before I found more credible cycling sites like competitive cyclist. Got it on amazon from some random dude. My lesson is definitely leaned. Not sure whether they were legit LG gloves or knock offs, but that was both the last time that I'll buy LG gloves AND the last time I'll order cycling stuff from random Internet people.

any thoughts on what I might try to clean the stains without causing damage to the finish? As I mentioned, its the inner part of the fork, so it only annoys me :)