| Glove
at first sight? Simon Bradley Gloves.
Other than a helmet, I put gloves
at the top of my personal protection list. In any spill
your hands will hit the ground, whether you intend it
or not, and the potential for serious damage is very high.
So I tend to err on the heavy (and pricey) side when it
comes to hand protection. But of course not everyone has
the same priorities. Some prefer to be cool, either physically
or mentally, and find heavy gloves a little intrusive.
Others simply object to paying a lot of money for something
that is likely to get worn out before ever being used
in anger. Well, there might just be a solution that keeps
us all happy. Racer
gloves are made in Austria, which may go some way toward
explaining some of the slightly odd names you’ll find
in the range. But hey -enough people buy bikes with stupid
names that this probably won’t be an issue, right?Anyway,
the Aero Power is their top of the range sports glove,
made from Analine leather with hard carbon armour and
kevlar inserts. So that’ll be the protection, then, and
nothing obviously unusual so far. What is unusual is the
inclusion of four moulded vents on the back of each glove
with a fine wire mesh across each one to stop the bugs
from actually getting in. Getting in intact anyway. Each
vent is further protected with some chunky rubber surrounds
which also act as ram-air scoops. At a glance it is clear
that styling is led more by function than form, so although
they are quite good looking gloves you’re unlikely to
see them exhibited in the Guggenheim. Up close they exude
quality and look trick enough to give a fair
amount of pitlane kudos if that’s your bag. Even
the best looking gloves in the world are frankly, damn
all use if they don’t stay on your hands when you fall
off. Not a problem here – as well as a sturdy wrist strap
to keep them on, there is a large cuff fastener which
stops them from riding up when things get messy. Similarly
there’s no merit in gloves which stay on but fall apart.
Looking at them, it is obvious that the carbon armour
is good quality and, equally importantly, has enough overlap
to minimise the risk of said carbon getting hammered into
the back of your hand in the event of an unplanned hand
to tarmac interface. The palms, too, show a reassuring
lack of joins, with a single panel running from fingers
to wrist and the keprotec reinforcement panel (a kevlar
based soft material that looks alarmingly like sharkskin
and is even tougher) is sewn on top rather than joined
to the edge as is more common. In use they take a little
getting used to. The leather is a little thicker than
most gloves of this type, which you particularly notice
when new. They need a few hours wear before they get really
comfortable, but after that they are fantastic. I’ve now
worn them for a few weeks and they are genuinely the most
comfortable gloves I have ever used, as well as not being
uncomfortably hot; thanks to the rather trick vents, which
I confess I thought were just a gimmick at first but have
proved to be remarkably effective. I am also happy to
report that although it is rare for us to get rain during
the summer here, if you are unlucky enough to get caught
out the dye does not leech out and turn your hands a fetching
shade of purple. Which is a good thing. Of
course, a top of the range glove with this sort
of protection and quality isn’t going to come cheap. But
then, how much are your hands worth? Certainly �150 isn’t
an unreasonable price for a pair of gloves this well made
and so highly featured. Which makes the actual retail
price of just �79.99 even more astonishing. I can only
guess that Racer are trying to break into the UK market
and have set their pricing accordingly. Whatever the reason,
this is one gift horse in whose mouth I have no desire
to look. | Price | £79.99 recommended
retail | | Comfort | 5 Star | | Protection | 5 Star (But happily
not tested) | | Looks | 3 Star | | Overall | 5 Stars – Fantastic value and protection | |
Aeropower glove initial impressions and rider review
Glove
at first sight?
Simon Bradley
Gloves.
Other than a helmet, I put gloves
at the top of my personal protection list. In any spill
your hands will hit the ground, whether you intend it
or not, and the potential for serious damage is very high.
So I tend to err on the heavy (and pricey) side when it
comes to hand protection. But of course not everyone has
the same priorities. Some prefer to be cool, either physically
or mentally, and find heavy gloves a little intrusive.
Others simply object to paying a lot of money for something
that is likely to get worn out before ever being used
in anger. Well, there might just be a solution that keeps
us all happy.
Racer
gloves are made in Austria, which may go some way toward
explaining some of the slightly odd names you’ll find
in the range. But hey -enough people buy bikes with stupid
names that this probably won’t be an issue, right?Anyway,
the Aero Power is their top of the range sports glove,
made from Analine leather with hard carbon armour and
kevlar inserts. So that’ll be the protection, then, and
nothing obviously unusual so far. What is unusual is the
inclusion of four moulded vents on the back of each glove
with a fine wire mesh across each one to stop the bugs
from actually getting in. Getting in intact anyway. Each
vent is further protected with some chunky rubber surrounds
which also act as ram-air scoops.
At a glance it is clear
that styling is led more by function than form, so although
they are quite good looking gloves you’re unlikely to
see them exhibited in the Guggenheim. Up close they exude
quality and look trick enough to give a fair
amount of pitlane kudos if that’s your bag.
Even
the best looking gloves in the world are frankly, damn
all use if they don’t stay on your hands when you fall
off. Not a problem here – as well as a sturdy wrist strap
to keep them on, there is a large cuff fastener which
stops them from riding up when things get messy. Similarly
there’s no merit in gloves which stay on but fall apart.
Looking at them, it is obvious that the carbon armour
is good quality and, equally importantly, has enough overlap
to minimise the risk of said carbon getting hammered into
the back of your hand in the event of an unplanned hand
to tarmac interface. The palms, too, show a reassuring
lack of joins, with a single panel running from fingers
to wrist and the keprotec reinforcement panel (a kevlar
based soft material that looks alarmingly like sharkskin
and is even tougher) is sewn on top rather than joined
to the edge as is more common.
In use they take a little
getting used to. The leather is a little thicker than
most gloves of this type, which you particularly notice
when new. They need a few hours wear before they get really
comfortable, but after that they are fantastic. I’ve now
worn them for a few weeks and they are genuinely the most
comfortable gloves I have ever used, as well as not being
uncomfortably hot; thanks to the rather trick vents, which
I confess I thought were just a gimmick at first but have
proved to be remarkably effective. I am also happy to
report that although it is rare for us to get rain during
the summer here, if you are unlucky enough to get caught
out the dye does not leech out and turn your hands a fetching
shade of purple. Which is a good thing.
Of
course, a top of the range glove with this sort
of protection and quality isn’t going to come cheap. But
then, how much are your hands worth? Certainly �150 isn’t
an unreasonable price for a pair of gloves this well made
and so highly featured. Which makes the actual retail
price of just �79.99 even more astonishing. I can only
guess that Racer are trying to break into the UK market
and have set their pricing accordingly. Whatever the reason,
this is one gift horse in whose mouth I have no desire
to look.
retail
not tested)