Do You Need Gloves To Ride A Dirt Bike?

If you’ve driven a dirt bike before, you know how important it is to wear safety gear, not to get hurt. On the other hand, I’ve seen guys go without their gloves as well, which made me wonder if you need to wear gloves when riding a dirt bike? So I asked around and looked into the matter to find out.

It is important to wear all necessary safety wear when riding a dirt bike; this includes gloves. A set of proper dirt bike gloves will help you keep a good grip on the handlebars and protect your hands from injury. Without it, your hand’s sweat could become slippery.

Driving on dirt roads needs some experience and skill as the trails can have any unforeseen ditches, slippery trails, and more that could cause you to lose control. Most bikers know first-hand that their hands would probably look like they were in a food blender without their gloves.

Dirt Bike Gloves

Your hands are an important part of driving the dirt bike; without them, you won’t be able to. So it’s probably for the best that you keep them safe against any potential injury or even weather elements like dust or rain. Hands unprotected won’t be able to grip the bike as well, especially once they start sweating, get wet, or are full of dust from dirt.

When driving your bike, it’s unpredictable when or if you’re going to fall accidentally. That’s why ensuring that gloves protect your hands, you will protect your hands that are very sensitive and fragile from scratches or, worse, from the harsh roads or trails. You don’t want to end getting stitches from a deep cut as you lay your hand down to stop your body moment from colliding into the ground.

If you’ve driven long distances on a bike or long periods been on one, you will understand the feeling you get when your hands start to get numb. This numbness occurs due to the long periods of pressure on your nerves, as well as the constant vibrations they absorb from the bike. The Gloves act as insulation and support to ensure that your hands are cushioned against the constant vibrations while also reducing the stress onto the nerves.

On top of all these safety assets that gloves provide, they also provide great heat insulation necessary for those hard drives in the wintertime. If you’ve sat outside before when it’s really cold and windy, your hands start to get all stiff from the cold; well, gloves will help reduce the risk of frostbite. Gloves are overlooked a lot because most laws don’t require you to wear one when driving.

Different Type Of Gloves

You get gloves suited for different tasks like fingerless, motocross, gauntlet, off-road motorcycle, street, summer cruising, winter cruising, race, and touring gloves. Like you can see, there are a large variety of gloves; however, some riders stick to one type instead of having more than one.

Fingerless gloves, as pointed out in the name itself, are gloves without finger coverage. Many people only prefer this if they are going for a quick casual drive, but most riders don’t prefer it as it doesn’t protect the entire hand. It makes sense that the fingers are such an important part of the hand; why not protect them.

Motocross gloves are great, especially for the street. They protect the palm of your hand, your fingers and have reinforcements on the knuckles. They can be used in most instances, especially as summer gloves, due to their good ventilation. Gauntlet gloves take it a step further with leather reinforcement on the palm, and they go all the way up to your forearm, which can be out above your jacket to protect your wrists as well.

Like motocross gloves, off-road motorcycle gloves are made of lighter material for maximum breathing and focus more on grip than full protection. Street bike gloves and cruising gloves are similar as they both focus on protecting a rider during a fall onto hard road surfaces.  Street gloves are also thicker than off-road gloves and great for any weather condition, like touring expensive gloves.

Summer Cruising and Winter Cruising are similar to street gloves, except they are designed specifically for opposite seasons. Race gloves are made with high-grade materials similar to gauntlet gloves to get maximum protection during high-speed crashes.

Best Dirt Bike Gloves

Gloves are an important part of having the proper high-quality gear to ensure a great ride every time you climb onto your dirt bike. The following is a list of the best-rated dirt bike gloves.

  • Fox Dirtpaw Motocross Gloves: These gloves are a bit over $20 for a textile-based glove with a rubberized grip to ensure that your hand won’t slip. It also has a reinforced knuckle strip and single-point Velcro closure. The selling fabric it uses is Cordura that ensures no sharp objects will penetrate or cut the glove and makes it even more durable.

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  • Fly Racing Lite MX Gloves: These gloves are super light, durable, and maintain good flexibility. This glove is a direct competitor to the glove mentioned above, as it has a similar base design that incorporates windproofing for those chiller rides.

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  • 100% i-track Motocross Gloves: These gloves are seamlessly designed with mesh finger gussets to increase airflow and reduce moisture from sweating. They incorporated thicker padding in the thumb, unlike other gloves designers, to reduce blistering in the thumb when driving hard and for long intervals.

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  • Fox Legion Dirt Bike Gloves: These gloves are a lot tougher and thicker than the previously mentioned gloves, as the Legion is designed for more extreme weathers, specifically cold ones, to insulate your hands. The Legion is a heavier duty glove with more resistance to weather conditions, thicker padding, and protection. 

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Conclusion

If you’ve ever asked yourself if it is necessary even to wear gloves when driving your dirt bike, now you know it is probably for the best that you do wear gloves. It’s not just about ensuring that your hands won’t get written off along with your bike if you crash, but also about comfortability when driving.

Gloves do more than protect your hands, but they become a comfortable feature essentially when driving your bike. Think of it as a leather-wrapped steering wheel with an airbag designed inside of it when you fall off your bike that saves your hands from a really bad injury. Plus, once you wear a proper set of gloves, it makes you feel even more professional, almost like your going to take part in the X Games or something!

References

Louis Pretorius

As an amateur off-road enthusiast, I have always been drawn to outdoor adventure. I have decided to share all of my learning experiences with you as I dig a little deeper into my new-found passion and wonderful world of off-roading. My mission is to create the Ultimate Off-roading space on the internet in the process. Stay safe and happy Off-Roading!

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