Cycle Leather

Riding a motorcycle can be rough on your hands.  Sun, wind, and rain, not to mention road grit, pebbles, and insects can play havoc on the your fingers at the best of times.  The best way to protect your hands while enjoying your rides is a good pair of leather motorcycle gloves.

Motorcycle gloves come in a wide variety of styles, colors, and material options.  Perforated and fingerless designs work well in warmer weather, providing the needed margin of protection while not overheating your hands.  Lined, insulated, and gauntlet-style gloves are ideal for colder weather or when the weather suddenly takes a downturn.  I always carry a pair of unlined gauntlet style leather gloves in my saddle bag even in the summer, it doesn’t have to be winter for you to get pretty uncomfortable from rain blowing up your sleeves.

Motorcycle gloves are among the most important accessories for riding a motorcycle on the open road.  This is easy to understand once you have been out riding down the highway and had a pebble from a passing car or truck peg you square in the knuckle, Ouch!!  But you don’t want your hands all sweaty and hot on a steamy summer day either.  A great compromise between comfort and protection are fingerless leather gloves.  Fingerless gloves provide the needed protection to the knuckles, yet still leave your fingertips free to manipulate the controls and vent excess heat and moisture.  Some even have pads on the palm and heel of the hand to reduce fatigue on long trips, and perforations across the knuckles and back for even more airflow. 

Remember OJ Simpson and the supposedly derogatory piece of evidence that helped to acquit him?  It was a pair of leather gloves that seemed too tight for Simpson to put on easily.  After that trial, the leather gloves introduced yet another facet of Simpson’s character.  Setting aside this little incident of the leather gloves, we take note of the many uses of this clothing accessory.

Gloves are commonly used in sporting events like baseball, cycling and football.  They provide protection to the construction worker and is part of the regular uniform of the police officer.  Women and men alike wear leather gloves to add chic to their attire and at the same time ward off the cold.

Modern techniques produce leather in different colors and textures that are even more appealing to women.

Anyone who has ever ridden in the rain or cold weather knows the value of a good pair of motorcycle gloves.  They not only protect your hands from the elements, they also help to relieve fatigue and pressure on the palms and pads of your hands on long rides.  Styles and materials are as varied as the people who wear them, lined and unlined, with and without fingers, with gel pads, with Velcro, the list goes on and on, each with their own advantages and applications.  For materials, there’s real leather of course (cowhide, goat-skin, lamb-skin, pig-skin, buffalo…), as well as pleather,  cordura, and various rubberized, and waterproofed fabrics. My personal preference for fair weather riding, is a nice pair of unlined and perforated soft leather gloves with elastic at the wrist.