Studded gloves, or no?

[EODSarge]

In the first motorcycle crash I ever had, I hit the pavement with my left palm and left knee at about 50 mph before I rolled over on my back. I was wearing plain leather gloves that were, well, cheap- I was a poor college student riding a clapped out Nighthawk 650. The asphalt burned through the palm of that glove and scabbed up my hand in the second my hand was on the ground. After that, I spent a bit more on my riding gear and bought a pair of gloves with metal studs in the palm. I just recently purchased a new set of gloves, also with studded palms (and discovered they're hard to come by around here). Well, one of my co-workers saw my gloves and made the comment "I wouldn't ride with studded gloves". Wouldn't explain why; but then again, he's not someone whose advice I particularly value- thinks he knows far more than he does and isn't afraid to prove it.

So, what's the collective wisdom... studded palms, or no?

...I'm fully prepared for the conversation to degenerate. :dribble:

 

[paulie]

Oh my god!!! They are SOOOOOOO butch! . . . !

 

[87Doodle]

Oh my god!!! They are SOOOOOOO butch! . . . !

Only if you can polish the studs to a blinding shine so you can hold up both palms in an emergency to act as additional lighting

Seriously..I have never heard of them...got any pics?

 

[wfooshee]

If the leather's no good, the studs will just catch the pavement and rip right out of the glove, allowing you to relive fond memories of scuffed-up palms. If the leather's strong enough to hold them you'll have printed bruise marks on your hand showing where the studs were.

Get gloves tough enough to take it, as just about any good modern riding glove should be.

And besides - don't the studs feel strange on the bars? (Handlebars, not gay bars.)

Strangely enough, my two crashes put the backs of my hands on the ground, I never had the palm on the pavement. Hard knuckle armor FTW!

 

[Kevin Daly]

In the first motorcycle crash I ever had, I hit the pavement with my left palm and left knee at about 50 mph before I rolled over on my back. I was wearing plain leather gloves that were, well, cheap- I was a poor college student riding a clapped out Nighthawk 650. The asphalt burned through the palm of that glove and scabbed up my hand in the second my hand was on the ground. After that, I spent a bit more on my riding gear and bought a pair of gloves with metal studs in the palm. I just recently purchased a new set of gloves, also with studded palms (and discovered they're hard to come by around here). Well, one of my co-workers saw my gloves and made the comment "I wouldn't ride with studded gloves". Wouldn't explain why; but then again, he's not someone whose advice I particularly value- thinks he knows far more than he does and isn't afraid to prove it.
So, what's the collective wisdom... studded palms, or no?

...I'm fully prepared for the conversation to degenerate. :dribble:

Hey I crashed one of those.... and it was in college... and come to think of it, i had cheap gloves on and my knuckles got all messed up. Sorry I dont know anything about the added value of studded glove palms. in principle they should keep your palms from grinding on the pavement but i imagine that the objection to them (in addition to attracting Ron Halford types) is that the studs are more likely present a weakness in the leather.

 

[MCML]

My Held Profis had studs. Held designs are well though of but, fortunately, I never got to test that feature, or any of the others. The Profis unltimately failed in the leather that wrapped around the sides of the fingers.

 

[JamesK]

In the first motorcycle crash I ever had, I hit the pavement with my left palm and left knee at about 50 mph before I rolled over on my back. I was wearing plain leather gloves that were, well, cheap- I was a poor college student riding a clapped out Nighthawk 650. The asphalt burned through the palm of that glove and scabbed up my hand in the second my hand was on the ground. After that, I spent a bit more on my riding gear and bought a pair of gloves with metal studs in the palm. I just recently purchased a new set of gloves, also with studded palms (and discovered they're hard to come by around here). Well, one of my co-workers saw my gloves and made the comment "I wouldn't ride with studded gloves". Wouldn't explain why; but then again, he's not someone whose advice I particularly value- thinks he knows far more than he does and isn't afraid to prove it.
So, what's the collective wisdom... studded palms, or no?

...I'm fully prepared for the conversation to degenerate. :dribble:

Speaking from personal experience if you want long lasting protection, that will not degrade over time of exposure to sweat and rain like leather will, than these are the gloves for you, and they will last longer in contact with the asphalt than most anything else out there... I have now used a pair of these gloves for around 8,000mi and can say that whilst they are not the most comfortable gloves around they are OK after you get used to them, but they sure do feel safe, and despite being thicker they actually let in more air than even perforated leather gloves with far less protection. Another very nice thing about the Kevlar Racing Glove is that the material used on the inside of the palm has awesome grip in wet or dry, in fact you need to be mindful not to rub your face/nose too hard with your finger tips (don't ask me how i know :blink: ). And when they start getting a little ripe you just toss them in the washer...

 

[EODSarge]

Oh my god!!! They are SOOOOOOO butch! . . . !

Tease.

 

[Sagebrush]

I crash tested my Held Steves at 50 mph or so, I don't know the exact speed when my hands contacted the asphalt but, they did great and protected my hands. I slid pretty far down a twisty country road after a high side in a sharp curve with lots of gravel. I still use them and they are fine, the studs on the plams all stayed in place, the black paint wes removed and the studs have some texture to them now. A couple stiches on the fingers pulled loose a little bit. The did very well considering I went down on my right palm and hip. For a "soft" armored glove they did very well, no hand damage at all. My hip and right leg took three weeks to recover enough to walk without pain.

I've been wearing a pair of olympia gloves, I have not crash tested them, hope I don't ever. I still have the Steves for my dual sport riding, they look a bit worn out for pure street duty. The plams are dirty looking now, the crash didn't help in the the looks department. :blink:

I highly recommend full gauntlets with at least padded protection on the top of your hands and fingers. The only reason I did not like the Helds with the studs is due to the fact of how much they tear up grips and bar end weights. They will eat grip puppies and I they have chewed up my DR650's grips too.

 

[eeksnake]

I'm on my second set of Held Steve gloves. Never tested the studs but from Sagebrush's description, sounds like they worked exactly as advertised. The way Held built them, the studs go through the double leather palm and rest on a pad of Kevlar (there's another layer of leather between your flesh and the Kevlar). This stops the heat from reaching your palm due to friction.

Unfortunately for me, the upper leather of the Helds react poorly with my sweat and degrade. I can only get a pair to last a year before it tears. Those Cycleport gloves look like they might work for me.