How many pairs of gloves do you go through each year?

[Bud]

So my gloves are getting pretty gnarly (don't think they can survive too many more washes) and I think it's time for a replacement pair, which leads me to ask the above question.

[Tailwinds]

I own several pairs, so mine last at least a few years. I wash them after almost every ride.

[terrytnt]

I own two pair, PI and Assos and ALWAYS wash after every ride. They seem to last a long time (average 150+ per week)

[Dave]

Haven't worn cycling gloves for many years. Don't miss them a bit.

[Ginger]

Some gloves have lasted one ride. Others have lasted years.

[Kevan]

for good soup.

I haven't been tossing mine out as I should. Next season I promise myself. Also, I no longer see any point in wasting good money on gloves (Except those protecting the digits from the cold.) Buy cheap, toss when they reek.

[davids]

My older Performance gloves - Elite, I think - have aged well. I think they're 3 years old, and get worn weekly. My newer ones, of the same model, are fraying a bit, but are still wearable.

My PI pittards are too new to judge, but seem to be fine after 3-4 months.

[CNY rider]

I must admit the idea of washing gloves frequently is a new one to me. I mean next you guys will be claiming I should wash my shorts too! (Just kidding on that one, I think :D )

My gloves usually make it through one season. Usually the next year the leather is dry and cracking and they fall apart in fairly short order.

I wash them a few times a summer, usually after riding in the rain or in tropical heat with heavy sweating. Luckily that kind of heat is a real rarity in upstate NY.

[catulle]

Zero. I like the natural look.

[Too Tall]

Nada. Only wear them for racing.

[saab2000]

2 years. Wear them on every ride.

[victoryfactory]

I compulsively clean off my tires every few miles
which wears out the gloves fast, but I've saved
MANY flats by getting the glass bits off before
they work into the tread.

VF
Reporting from the broken glass capital of the universe....

[alancw3]

i have been wearing nashbar basic crochet gloves for like twenty years now. down here in hot south florida usuually go through two pair a year wearing almost everyday. i buy them on sale for like $6.99 a pair. i have thought about washing them. do you just do them in the washing machine? doesn't that ruin the leather? i know the terry cloth portion could sure use a washing. stink like crazy! sometimes put a little after sahve on them.

[Brons2]

I go through about 1 pair a month. There's always some seam coming loose. I bought a pair of $20 Giant gloves on my Colorado trip in June and I had a seam split on the first ride! I've followed them up with some $9 Louis Garneau gloves and some $25 Cheeba gloves. I like the Cheebas but some of the fingers are starting to fray already.

[Fat Robert]

no gloves unless its under 45-48 or so


race in feb, i didn't have gloves, hands felt terrible before the race. i tried to borrow a pair. then we got going and i didn't notice at all. gloves are overrated.

[Brons2]

gloves are overrated.

I feel it's a safety issue here in Texas. It's very hot and my hands get quite sweaty, making it easier for them to slip off the handlebars. I am actually less likely to wear them when it's cooler out.

[rwsaunders]

I never wash them and they curl nicely with my hands. No problem with others taking them too.

[musgravecycles]

gloves are overrated.

until the dork leading the pack into a corner wayyy overshoots and takes the first 10 places down with him...


In answer to the original question, I used to wear assos prosline and they tended to last about a season or so... I'm looking for something else and would like to pick up a pair of Rapha which should last indefinately....

[davids]

gloves are overrated.
It's a hygene issue. I need something on which to wipe my nose.

[saab2000]

no gloves unless its under 45-48 or so


race in feb, i didn't have gloves, hands felt terrible before the race. i tried to borrow a pair. then we got going and i didn't notice at all. gloves are overrated.

Wear them to protect my hands in case of a fall. Odd, cuz I don't always wear a helmet, at least not when riding in Wisconsin. But I have always worn gloves since I started riding in the early '80s. Just part of cycling for me.

Also, they protect against some numbness.

My faves are Specialized.

[nm87710]

1-2 pairs on 12-14K miles. Love the specialzed BG Pro gloves w/o velcro that just slip on.

P.S. I always wear gloves(& helmet) cause I'm not smart enough to predict when I'll kiss the pavement and it really hurts to ride with raw palms :)

[Fat Robert]

until the dork leading the pack into a corner wayyy overshoots and takes the first 10 places down with him...
....


twenty years, hasn't happened yet

(knock)

i went down hard once and opened up my eff-you finger badly, but gloves wouldn't have helped

i tend to land head or chest first

[little.man]

When I used leather gloves, years ago, I remember not washing them
very often and how rank they would become. The synthetic gloves that
I use now, various makes, are washed after every ride. I do not understand
how anyone would not wash gloves after every ride - but then this far south
I can squeeze a cup of sweat out of the gloves after every ride. And, as
has been noted, keeps my hands from slipping off the bars. Also reduces the
amount of sweat going into the handlebar tape.

I distinctly remember one guy with well skinned palms after crashing. Not
pretty and quite painful.

[saab2000]

I have never hit head first. That is not to say it won't happen tomorrow. But I have hit hands first several times.

To each his/her own.

In Europe I rode some thin gloves I liked from the Vaterland (Deutschland) but now I have to admit liking the Specialized, even though they seem too thick in spots. The thick padding is well placed, not just thick to be thick. I dig them.

Also, I used to also use leather, crocheted gloves and NEVER washed them. They must have been used for germ warfare purposes after I disposed of them. And the people who talk of washing stuff only when it either walked on its own or at least stood up on its own must have been referring to my gloves. They were rank. But now today's synthetic things stand up very well to frequent washing and actually stay supple instead of being like putting on gloves made of granite before each ride.

[Ginger]

When I used leather gloves, years ago, I remember not washing them
very often and how rank they would become.

I distinctly remember one guy with well skinned palms after crashing. Not
pretty and quite painful.

yep and yep.

I think if you come from the old leather glove faction...perhaps you're not as apt to have learned the wash every ride thing. I don't. But then...I don't sweat a lot (it is NOT an advantage in the heat...) I don't wipe much with them...and I do wash them if I get into something icky or tire changing or whatnot...so they now do get washed once or twice a season. Sometimes within days. The mountain bike gloves get it more often...swatting bugs and slimey mud and whatnot.

People laugh at me when I wear full finger gloves on the road...that's just a holdover from my mountain biking days. Skin enough knuckles on trees and you'd learn to like full finger gloves too. (I was never into the bash guard bar ends...)

[onekgguy]

I go through about 3 pair per year...about 7500 to 8000 miles. I didn't used to wash them all that often but lately I've gotten accustomed to throwing them in the wash a couple times a week. They feel so much better when they're clean. I've used Specialized and yes they're nice but my most recent pairs have been PI.

Kevin

[dzen]

My hands feel naked without gloves. I usually have 2-3 pairs around, one in the trunk of the car etc.

Washing seems to speed their decline. I do not put them in the dryer unless I forget they were in the wash.

[palincss]

until the dork leading the pack into a corner wayyy overshoots and takes the first 10 places down with him...


Yes, there are few places in the human body that have more nerve endings and pain receptors than the palms of your hands and your fingertips. Those few (tongue, sex organs) are exceedingly unlikely to get road rash. Now your hands, that's a different story.

So it seems to me, you can either have those gloves on, and when you do fall and stick out your hands as per reflex, you get to say "Oh dear, I guess I need a new pair of gloves, what a shame," or you get to feel the pain for as long as it takes for the new skin to grow. Tough choice...