Never fits like a glove

I'm starting to feel like I have very odd sized hands. This year I have bought about 5 different sets of gloves and none of them fit right after a few rides.

The main issue is my pinky finger and then ring finger going numb on longer rides (+20 miles). I always choose gloves that will have good padding at the "exposed" nerves in my hand; After 5 rides or so the gloves always stretch out in the palm move the pads!! I've tried Bontrager, Giro, and Pearl Izumi gloves all of them stretch too much in the palms.

Is anyone else having this problem? Has anyone else had better luck with other brands? Should I just give up and wrap my hands with gauze like the Karate Kid or a boxer? My hand size seems to be between a medium and a large for most brands.

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Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on August 9, 2015 at 9:53am

It might. It might not. These issues are potentially complex. I think it's worth considering.

If the gloves stretch then pads are farther apart and one then leans on the center of the palm (potentially). I didn't mean to discount your very thoughtful diagnosis.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Berry on August 10, 2015 at 1:10am

I really appreciate you taking the time for that photo. This has been one area of frustration as I was looking for a solution, "where are all the technical 'images' or details of how to support the body on a bicycle!" I find my hands naturally want to place objects (even the handlebars) within the middle (blue) area and it takes a mental effort to position hands differently on the bars.

This past weekend I tried to keep all the weight on the areas you did not shade, and work some loose gloves. For the most part my hands never felt fatigue; more importantly, never went numb! This weekend was the first weekend where my hands did not pose an issue, which allowed me to complete 72 miles this weekend.