I am currently in possession of three new pairs of riding gloves for myself. I can find mid-range and low-end gloves that fit alright, but finding some that are worthy of the track has been a real problem. Since last season, I've ordered about 7 pairs of gloves and have struck out until today. I have fairly large hands, but not freakishly so. My issue with track style gloves is that most of the top shelf models have a very small opening at the wrist, and my hands are pretty wide at the knuckles so I have trouble getting all the way into the glove.
I've tried each of the following models in the largest size available: Held Titan, Knox Handroid, Alpinestars GP Pro, Spidi Race Vent, the Spidi Carbo Track, and others.
The Held Titan went on without a fuss, but never felt right. The main part of the hand fit well, but the circumference of the fingers was too large. Length was pretty good, but the fingers still felt baggy. Other than the fitment for my hands, they seemed like a very high quality product. Not the fanciest or most flashy, but very well made.
The Knox Handroid was a pretty tight fit, and difficult to put on because the wrist armor is attached by straps and moves somewhat independently of the actual leather. Basically the armor got in the way. I did have a pair of these for a little while, and they finally broke in and stretched a little bit, but never quite enough. I've had an injury in the carpal area of my left hand/wrist that makes it difficult to hold anything very tightly between my thumb and index finger, so pulling the right glove on with my left hand was especially problematic. On top of that, the gloves felt bulky. Not necessarily because of the exoskeleton, but I think because of excessive amounts of material overlap and stitching. XXL is the largest size available in this model.
The Alpinestars GP Pro's were a non-starter. They appeared to be very well made, and they looked great. However, I can only speculate as to how they would feel because I couldn't even begin to slide my hand into their largest size, XXXL.
The Spidi Race Vent actually fits very well in XXXL. They are very well ventilated, comfortable, and super light. Too light in fact. As much as I wanted to like this pair, the just didn't strike me as being track-worthy. I get that they are meant to be light and airy for hot weather riding, but they felt just a hair too much like gardening gloves to me. A note about appearance: It may not be too obvious in the pictures that this glove has more of an off-white color than the others. The yellow stitching probably doesn't help that, but the leather dye is different, and it makes these gloves look a little older right from the beginning.
The Spidi Carbo Track! I think these are the gloves I've been searching for. They are a full-on race glove, but they offer a great fit for my big paws. Honestly, as far as I can tell from wearing them around the house they are just about perfect for my hands in size XXXL. They have substantial but flexible armor in all the major impact zones, and carbon armor on top of the hand, knuckles, and fingers. I haven't had them on the bike yet, but I expect to be very pleased with them.
I know that none of the gloves I've mentioned here are cheap, but I learned a lesson about that when my middle-of-the-road Dainese gloves failed during a crash.
Anyway, here are the ones I have right now. Let me know if you'd like and more detailed pics or information about any of these. I'll be returning the Race Vents and Handroids later in the week.
From left to right: Spidi Carbo Track, Spidi Race Vent, Knox Handroid
I've tried each of the following models in the largest size available: Held Titan, Knox Handroid, Alpinestars GP Pro, Spidi Race Vent, the Spidi Carbo Track, and others.
The Held Titan went on without a fuss, but never felt right. The main part of the hand fit well, but the circumference of the fingers was too large. Length was pretty good, but the fingers still felt baggy. Other than the fitment for my hands, they seemed like a very high quality product. Not the fanciest or most flashy, but very well made.
The Knox Handroid was a pretty tight fit, and difficult to put on because the wrist armor is attached by straps and moves somewhat independently of the actual leather. Basically the armor got in the way. I did have a pair of these for a little while, and they finally broke in and stretched a little bit, but never quite enough. I've had an injury in the carpal area of my left hand/wrist that makes it difficult to hold anything very tightly between my thumb and index finger, so pulling the right glove on with my left hand was especially problematic. On top of that, the gloves felt bulky. Not necessarily because of the exoskeleton, but I think because of excessive amounts of material overlap and stitching. XXL is the largest size available in this model.
The Alpinestars GP Pro's were a non-starter. They appeared to be very well made, and they looked great. However, I can only speculate as to how they would feel because I couldn't even begin to slide my hand into their largest size, XXXL.
The Spidi Race Vent actually fits very well in XXXL. They are very well ventilated, comfortable, and super light. Too light in fact. As much as I wanted to like this pair, the just didn't strike me as being track-worthy. I get that they are meant to be light and airy for hot weather riding, but they felt just a hair too much like gardening gloves to me. A note about appearance: It may not be too obvious in the pictures that this glove has more of an off-white color than the others. The yellow stitching probably doesn't help that, but the leather dye is different, and it makes these gloves look a little older right from the beginning.
The Spidi Carbo Track! I think these are the gloves I've been searching for. They are a full-on race glove, but they offer a great fit for my big paws. Honestly, as far as I can tell from wearing them around the house they are just about perfect for my hands in size XXXL. They have substantial but flexible armor in all the major impact zones, and carbon armor on top of the hand, knuckles, and fingers. I haven't had them on the bike yet, but I expect to be very pleased with them.
I know that none of the gloves I've mentioned here are cheap, but I learned a lesson about that when my middle-of-the-road Dainese gloves failed during a crash.
Anyway, here are the ones I have right now. Let me know if you'd like and more detailed pics or information about any of these. I'll be returning the Race Vents and Handroids later in the week.
From left to right: Spidi Carbo Track, Spidi Race Vent, Knox Handroid
