gloves at P-R

[AngryScientist]

was surprised to see how many racers did not wear gloves for Paris Roubaix.

i would have thought with the higher probability of going down, gloves would be the norm. i can understand wanting to have good road feel through the bars, as i wear totally unpadded gloves. i wear them every time i ride, regardless of temp. in addition to the hand protection, they absorb some sweat, and give me a surface to wipe my brow.

thoughts?

[MattTuck]

I agree with your analysis. I can't think of an advantage to no wearing gloves. Maybe it is just popular with the pros right now, like wearing minimal leg padding is in the NFL.

Gloves are worn for protection and comfort. Whether you get them without padding or with, primary purpose in my mind is to provide a layer of abrasion resistance in the event of a crash... and I don't ride on cobbles.

[benitosan1972]

I think when riding conditions warrant needing the most precise feel/control of your bike for a one-day/one-time race, riders went sans gloves for optimal feel of their bike. I thought it was weird too... until I heard commentator explain this... and since Boonen crushed gloveless, well I guess it worked.

*I feel a bit naked without gloves, just like wearing cap under my helmet, it's just part of my setup, but I don't race & certainly don't win PR's

[merckx]

Gloves cause areas of friction on the hands due to the vibrations and knocks from hitting the stones. This friction causes blisters.

[Joachim]

I never used gloves when racing over the cobbles. Besides you should not grip the bars THAT tight, your arms will fatigue before you know it and then you have a problem. Sore arms and hands, yes...well, pretty much sore everything. There are "lines" that you pick on the cobbles, if you ride them often enough its possible to "see" and you get a smoother, faster ride over them.

[jpw]

I ride with gloves, but feel more 'with' the bike without them.

[bobswire]

was surprised to see how many racers did not wear gloves for Paris Roubaix.

i would have thought with the higher probability of going down, gloves would be the norm. i can understand wanting to have good road feel through the bars, as i wear totally unpadded gloves. i wear them every time i ride, regardless of temp. in addition to the hand protection, they absorb some sweat, and give me a surface to wipe my brow.

thoughts?

I wear gloves for the same reason, hand protection and grip. Remind me to wear padded shorts on an extended ride too.
Took a ride friday to pick up some bar wrap and other bits.Usually when I do errands I'll wear padded shorts under some knickers when I need pockets so I don't have to wear a backpack but decided to wear some jeans I already had on along with a wool jersey with those deep pockets figuring that would leave me with plenty of pockets to carry the stuff I purchased.
Was such a nice day I ended up extending the ride and and headed south. A 7 mile ride ended up being over 30. It's been awhile since I rode any distance without padded shorts on a race saddle and my butt paid for it.

[Grant McLean]

One high profile rider is Tom Boonen who doesn't seem to
be wearing any gloves at this point, in any race.
The recent race win photos show him without gloves.

But a scan through Roubaix photos, and it looks like everyone from other teams:
SKY, Rabo, BMC, Garmin, Saxo, Astna, everyone had gloves on.

http://www.steephill.tv/2012/paris-roubaix/photos/page-03/

[tannhauser]

Lot of guys are double taping, gel-ing up their bars so that they're so thick all feel is lost.

Hand protection isn't even a consideration when you're a Belgian riding something called The Hell of the North.

[CNY rider]

I ride home from work a lot without gloves.
Handlebra over hockey tape is very comfy that way.
But anything more significant in terms of the ride, I wear the unpadded Giro gloves. Just in case, which would seem to be a reasonable concern on the P-R terrain.

[tannhauser]

This is the salient term: Belgian Hardman. Not Commuter Cyclist.

[benb]

My money is on fashion/machismo/bravado more then anything else.

These are young guys who think they are invincible. Most have nowhere near the education that the average poster on this forum has, and yet we can't figure that out and seem to want to put them on a pedestal.

Gloves don't seem to prevent motorcycle or car racers from having good "control feel", and control feel is much more important there then in biking where the size of the motor has so much to do with winning.

It is the same as the 18 year old going 85mph down the freeway on a sportbike with jeans & sneakers on. He might be a great rider, but it has nothing to do with that, it has everything to do with him still being unaware that he is vulnerable.

[1centaur]

There's a nutty British line of reasoning against helmets that wearing one makes you more likely to crash because you know you'll have some protection so you take more risks.

That same line of "reasoning" would support not wearing gloves at P-R if your aim is to win.

[tannhauser]

Wha. Young stupid guys riding bikes winning Paris-Roubaix. They have no sense I tell you!

I'm sending Tom my hi-viz vest. Maybe I'll throw in a mirror because he won everything this spring.

Skinning my hands hurts!

[AngryScientist]

Wha. Young stupid guys riding bikes winning Paris-Roubaix. They have no sense I tell you!

I'm sending Tom my hi-viz vest. Maybe I'll throw in a mirror because he won everything this spring.

Skinning my hands hurts!

:rolleyes:

[tannhauser]

He might be a great rider, but it has nothing to do with that, it has everything to do with him still being unaware that he is vulnerable.


Who is this - some hypothetical teenager? I thought we were talking about the race.

Lot of you guys forgot your youth.

[bobswire]

Who is this - some hypothetical teenager? I thought we were talking about the race.

Lot of you guys forgot your youth.

Not I, I wuz always a safe rider.

http://i40.tinypic.com/beygjd.jpg