I'm sure this sounds like an extremely open ended question, but im serious. I ride for fun, but my real passion / job is playing guitar / singing for my band. We recently signed with maverick and now workin on our next album. well wtf does that have to do with riding? ask and you shall receive:: I ran into someone at a party that fell and his finger is permanently stuck in a position that he cant play guitar any more.... and that would SUCK for me, as it is now my career. he said he wasn't wearing gloves (which i never do!) but I'm starting to think about investing in a pair of nice gloves, that would help my chances if i ever do bite it.

im currently using these turd buckets, which are better than nothing, but let's be honest, i bought these before i had even ridden a bike. just one of those 'if i buy these i'll be one step closer to buying a bike'. Their not terribly uncomfortable, nor are they easy on the eyes, but better than nothing.



(note old bike in background)

Which brings me to this. I want a gauntlet style glove to fit over my jacket, something comfortable, will be 99% street, and if i made it to the track this year even better but you know how things get. I dont mind spending a pretty penny as long as its worth it. **** like di-ugh-nee-say sometimes is a big expensive when something of equal protection and similar quality can be had for hundreds less. so here are a few ive come up with so far.

I have a 2piece silver teknic suit w/ boots that i wear pretty much everytime i ride, and i ride a red zx6, so im lookin for something preferably to match the suit, or maybe the bike. i got a silver suit, b/c i wouldn't always have the same color bike, and would prefer to keep this suit around, haha. my first options are the teknic gloves, to keep it in the family.

all from newenough.com treated me good in the past, so will probobly get my business again, unless i wage a price war.

1st: Teknic Lightning Gloves $75 shipped

they come in red / black / blue. look good, but wish they had silver.

2nd: Teknic Violator Gloves $125 shipped

Come in Red, Silver, Black. Are they really that much better than the lightnings?

3rd: Icon TiMaxx Gauntlet Gloves $140 shipped

black or white. These look like would protect the most just b/c of all the friggin titanium wrapping your hands. Fort knox for your mitts. I saw a buddy with the shorter version of these and he loved em, they were light and comfortable. i dont really care for the bling factor though.

I suppose the only toss up is do i get the teknics to match the rest of the suit or the icon's b/c they should protect more? I mean #1 concern is obviously safety, but i strategized when piecing my gear so i wouldn't have 50 different brands all over me.

here is the what the suit looks like now. (pic was robbed from video file)


well id appreciate everyone's or anyone's help in deciphering which gloves i should look into, or any experiences with any of these. as always im open to suggestions, thanks for helpin me out felllaz. ride safe!

 

im a huge icon fan, and my buddy has the timaxx gloves... super protective and kool..

 

I trust my hands in a pair of these fine gloves. Be sure to buy snug fit ones and then break them in. It took about 20-30 hours to break mine in. Also hear good things about Helds. Joe-Rocket's tend to be very loose on the fingers for me where as these Alpinestars GP-Pro's are very snug all around. When my palms are open, the gloves are snug, and as I grip, the leather will stretch to form the shape. I think that's how it should be. But not uncomfortable (after they're broken in) as if you got a size too small. If you get the right size, and try one size bigger, the bigger size should feel loose.

 

Between my brother and I we have pairs of vanson, a* sp3, dainese speed metals and held glaxies and I have spent plenty of miles in each of the gloves.

For maximum protection I think the speed metals will be extremely difficult to beat. They have tons of hard armor and the whole top of the hand has some sort of memory foam under the exterior armor that forms to your hand due after a few minutes of having them on. They have protection to prevent your pinkie from catching and rolling and also armor on the heel of the palm to prevent that from catching as it slides down the pavement.

The Vanson's started to fall apart at the seams after less then 2000 miles and the sp3's offer very little protection when compared to the rest.

The Helds are a prefect track glove due to the kangaroo used and there half sizes. You can really get a snug fit and an accurate feel for your controls. The hard armor protection is also very good. My brother went down at about 90 with the gloves on and they looked almost perfect with a small external seam maybe a half an inch long) being the only damage.

My Dainese speed metals are about as good of protection you can ask for out of a glove but you will also pay for it in price and overall comfort. The first time you try them on you will know exactly what im talking about though. I got used to their somewhat bulky feeling and after over 5000 miles they still look brand new

You might also want to look into some BKS stuff.

 

anywhere you'd recommend looking into BKS or dianese stuff for less than retail?

 

I use the ICON TiMAX short gloves and I really like them...however, I've never been down so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

My gloves look like these, but a little nicer ..
Wherever you see the black plastic, like on the knuckles, by the wrist, etc, it's all carbon fiber. You will only find those at Cycle Gear.

I went down on them once, although i am not sure if i really slid much or exactly what happened when i went down (it wasn't high speed, i t-boned a truck), but my hands came out ok. I did notice the leather on the palms were grounded down on one hand, but not a scratch of scuff on me. They were like $130 on sale for $80.

My advice would be to go to cycle gear near you, and get whatever is most comfortable. Get the gaunlet like you want, all leather, and either carbon fiber or the Ti armor on it.

The good thing about going to cycle gear, other then selection (frank thomas, a*, Dainese, Teknic, etc) is you can bring anything back within 30 days if you dont like it, used or unused, no questions asked. If you decide you dont like em, not comfortable, not holding up, bring em back.


good luck ... nice job w/ full gear

 

Alpinestars GP Plus or GP Pro's.

 

ti max


all the way

 

Those TiMaxx's look pretty sick!

 

Does Icon sponsor any pro racers?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ScareyH22A &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does Icon sponsor any pro racers?</TD></TR></TABLE>

you'd think they would with how their Crest, Skull, Burner, Bling and Neo-Daytona jackets look ... with all the brands like K&N, Parts Unlimited, Yoshimura, Ohlins, NGK, etc bein repped on them... but i dont think i've ever seen em on a pro racer

I normally see Dainese, Joe Rocket, and a* ... can't think of anything else off the top of my head.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Odiedogcx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you'd think they would with how their Crest, Skull, Burner, Bling and Neo-Daytona jackets look ... with all the brands like K&N, Parts Unlimited, Yoshimura, Ohlins, NGK, etc bein repped on them... but i dont think i've ever seen em on a pro racer

I normally see Dainese, Joe Rocket, and a* ... can't think of anything else off the top of my head.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea.. for all the "street cred" I see no pro racers w/their products. Maybe Icon just likes their nitch in the street market.

But wouldn't draping their "tough" gear on some high level racers show the level of protection they offer?

That's why I'm sticking w/A*/Dainese.

 

Most of icons stuff is crap. It may look nice but none of it has any quality imho. All their jackets and gloves Ive seen bust apart at the seems in small crashes and their helmets are very noisy. I think they just want to stay on a street level gear thats why they come out with trendy graphics on their helmets and "sponsered" leathers.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Odiedogcx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Joe Rocket</TD></TR></TABLE>

Joe rocket factory gear is no where near the level of the stuff they sell for the public. I was looking at two of their race suits that came straight off two different top level AMA riders today and it's night and day when you compare it to the crap they sell for the streets.

 

i agree with you .. the AMA guys aren't using off the shelf gear, they're wearing custom fitted, custom made, kangaroo leathers.

the guys at cycle gear told me they weren't going to be carrying joe rocket anymore, because it fell apart too much and people were always bringing it back.

i have to get ALL new gear, from my accident .. i'm going to be spending ALOT of money on gear, but it will definatly all be worth it.

 

A* GP Plus