Are padded gloves ....... useless?

[Samadhi]

I rode all summer to fingerless, gel-padded gloves. One set was a Performance house-brand and others were Giro. They both worked about the same. Unless I kept moving my hands to other positions on the bar, my hands would go numb at about ten miles.

With winter coming on I've started riding with long-fingered MTB gloves (Fox). The gloves have no padding. My hands go numb no more often than with the padded gloves. There's little/no difference between the two.

So, I'm beginning to think that getting padded gloves to relieve numbness is a waste of time and money. If unpadded gloves work as well as padded ones, why not save a few scheckles and go unpadded?

Your thoughts?

[El Scorcho]

In a word, Yes. I found no difference between the two. I actually find the padded gloves less comfortable.

More than likely your hand numbness could be corrected by a better fit on the bike.

[Oxtox]

when I was a novice rider, my hands would go numb in very short order. sometimes in less than 20 min...

I tried both heavily-padded and the gel-filled Spenco gloves. neither made any difference. in fact, they seemed to worsen the situation by adding hot spots to the numbness issue. I especially disliked the gel gloves for this reason.

over time, with better fit configs and more time on the bike, the numbness problem simply went away.

have been using lightly-padded gloves for decades now with no problems.

[Jagtec1]

More padding = more pressure to that area of your hand = less blood flow and increased numbness. Sometimes less is more.

[looigi]

I find unpadded gloves to be the most comfortable and get less pain or numbness. Surprisingly, no gloves seems even better, but I prefer some palm protection in case of crashing so go with thin/unpadded gloves.

[Flac Vest]

Eh, I found the numbness to come from either too much pressure on my hands in general, or from drinking too much water, and the dilution resulting in my right hand going numb regardless.

After dialing in my setup (I'd only realize problems when riding for 20+ miles), I don't have any pain anywhere, and I've been using cheap Pearl Izumi full finger'd gloves, with ~no padding.

[jspharmd]

I've had a slightly different experience. My hands don't go numb, but I've found the padded gloves to be more comfortable. I never really thought about it before, but just always purchased padded gloves. For Christmas last year, I received two pairs of Fox padless gloves. The fit really well and are comfortable for short rides. I have found that longer rides cause more fatigue in my hands with the padless gloves. No numbness, but more fatigue and a slight discomfort.

Like numerous other things in cycling, I assume it is specific to the person.

[brianmcg]

I would say your bike does not fit properly if your hands are going numb after such a short time.

Things are not supposed to go numb when riding a bike.

[Special Eyes]

Numbness and comfort (or lack of) are not necessarily related.

[olr1]

Your hands are going numb because you have too much pressure on them; it's not really a glove issue.

Try this; put your saddle down by 1 cm and back by 1 cm.

If it works ok and you get to feel comfortable after a few weeks, do it again.

It's all about getting more weight on your butt and less on your hands....

[DaveWC]

The padding may make a difference if you fly over the handlebars and hit the ground hands first.

[Rhymenocerus]

Padding makes a difference for me on the MTB, I also find it nice on the road bike. To each their own.

[frankdatank1337]

Cheap padded gloves are extremely uncomfortable. The well designed ones are really comfortable but the benefits can only be noticed on really long rides. For everyday riding/commuting I use padless gloves (just to wipe sweat and keep grip).

[heybrady]

I have both the gel Performance gloves and some nicer LG padded gloves. The Performance, wiht the giant gel pad, are terrible. The LG have several smaller pads (size and thickeness) in better placed areas which work pretty well. The LG feel like there are no pads, but they just help.

[Samadhi]

when I was a novice rider, my hands would go numb in very short order. sometimes in less than 20 min...

I tried both heavily-padded and the gel-filled Spenco gloves. neither made any difference. in fact, they seemed to worsen the situation by adding hot spots to the numbness issue. I especially disliked the gel gloves for this reason.

over time, with better fit configs and more time on the bike, the numbness problem simply went away.

have been using lightly-padded gloves for decades now with no problems.

Steadily-reducing numbness, regardless of gloves used, has been my experience.

In my case with the OP, numbness isn't really affected by glove, or at least it seems that way.

I'm thinking about doing Ride the Rockies come June (a lot of saddle time), and am considering getting my bike fit done properly in time for those rides.

[Newnan3]

I find padded gloves more comfy but i have minimally padded ones that i use often as well.

I have to use the ergo grips on my mtb or otherwise my hands go numb on log descents.....

[FastRich]

I wear full fingered un-paded mx style gloves. I don't need or like the padding and I simply cannot stand the half finger gloves that people seem to think cyclists are supposed to wear. I'd sooner go gloveless than wear those kooky things.

[Newnan3]

I wear full fingered un-paded mx style gloves. I don't need or like the padding and I simply cannot stand the half finger gloves that people seem to think cyclists are supposed to wear. I'd sooner go gloveless than wear those kooky things.

Im a mtb to roadie convert and I used to feel the same way but the summers here in GA changed my mind after a few years.

[danl1]

Your hands are going numb because you have too much pressure on them; it's not really a glove issue.

Try this; put your saddle down by 1 cm and back by 1 cm.

If it works ok and you get to feel comfortable after a few weeks, do it again.

It's all about getting more weight on your butt and less on your hands....

Except, don't mess with saddle height to address hand issues. Moving the saddle back is a good potential solution (or at least part of it), and part of moving a saddle back will be to move it down to keep the leg extension the same - but it's definitely not 1:1.

Glove padding is about helping (or not) with road buzz, not numbness.

[woodys737]

Your hands are going numb because you have too much pressure on them; it's not really a glove issue.

Try this; put your saddle down by 1 cm and back by 1 cm.

If it works ok and you get to feel comfortable after a few weeks, do it again.

It's all about getting more weight on your butt and less on your hands....

Except, don't mess with saddle height to address hand issues. Moving the saddle back is a good potential solution (or at least part of it), and part of moving a saddle back will be to move it down to keep the leg extension the same - but it's definitely not 1:1.

Glove padding is about helping (or not) with road buzz, not numbness.

Saddle tilted nose down too much. Wonder if the op's neck/shoulder muscles hurt as well?

[Samadhi]

Wonder if the op's neck/shoulder muscles hurt as well?

Nope!

[Juddy22]

Padded gloves saved me from a fair bit of palm damage this weekend due to a bit of an unscheduled dismount so padded all the way for me.

[QuiQuaeQuod]

It depends on the placement of the padding and how you position your hands on the bar. Some combinations help, some have no effect, some make things worse.

Unless I kept moving my hands to other positions on the bar, my hands would go numb at about ten miles.

Assuming a solo ride, at about 30 minutes or so? Move your hands more. Flex your fingers once in a while by extending them. And as others have said, check your position. Check your hand position, even a slight change in how you position your hands on the hoods or drops can sometimes alter things a good amount in terms numbness issues.

[Samadhi]

It depends on the placement of the padding and how you position your hands on the bar. Some combinations help, some have no effect, some make things worse.



Assuming a solo ride, at about 30 minutes or so? Move your hands more. Flex your fingers once in a while by extending them. And as others have said, check your position. Check your hand position, even a slight change in how you position your hands on the hoods or drops can sometimes alter things a good amount in terms numbness issues.

That's what I've been doing. I change hand positions every 10-15 minutes or so. That helps a lot. Padding or no makes no appreciable difference to that technique.

And seeing how this thread has spawned a discussion of hand numbness .....

I was talking with a guy at my LBS and he started talking about how hand size and bar diameter (including tape) can be a determining factor. His thinking is kinda like this: My hands are small. My bike has Ritchey Logic bars with SRAM tape. Padded gloves can create a situation making the bars (bigger) and that contributes to my numbness. Thoughts on that?

[Pitts Pilot]

The pads never seem to hit where I want/need them to. I love the feeling of no pads - more connected with the bike/bar. I actually often ride with no gloves (Fizik soft tape) and do like this...BUT - one does need a place to wipe schnog AND it's always nice, as you lay it down, to know, that your are wearing gloves. (Myself, I opt for keeping it upright.)