Yer not supposed to stick her hands out to stop yer fall when crashing… silly people, that’s how you end up with a broken wrist. You’re suppose to tuck yourr hands in and use your shoulders/back to take the brunt of the fall. Similar to snowboarding. People stick their hands out to stop/break their falls and they end up really hurting themselves. Use your soft squishy bits - not your hands. I guess it matters how fast your going
when I crashed it was my hand or my face
It may look like I used my face but it was my hand ;=)
In that case, you probably chose wisely… . But many crashes are those sideways bails when someone sticks their hand right out. It’s a natural reaction, but causes a lot of worse injuries… watch a Cat 4/5 crit crash and you’ll see hand sticking out everywhere. Watch a pro or Cat 1 race crash and you see them (as best as possible) tuck their heads down, their hands in (if they come off the bars) and try to take the hit on the torso.
I didn’t stick my hand out when i went down, the gloves ripped when I had my hand out trying to help me slow down my slide (since it was wet). When you crash, you’re supposed to go limp, and then protect your head. I went limp, stopped my slide and then covered my head, fortunately nobody rode over me, and only one other guy went down (he hit my bike, not me) the other half of the peloton behind me were able to ride around.
I’ve done 18 IMs without gloves. In fact, I’ve never worn gloves the last 20 years of doing tris. Never had any problems. Most of the time I’m in the aero position. I wear them for training only. Just in case I take a fall. Saves skin on the palms of the hands.
I never wear them for training or racing. It is all about what you get used to. Yesterday I did a 257k ride with no gloves and hand discomfort never entered my mind … however, I could have used a thicker pad in my shorts by the time I was done
just try on long rides to see how you feel; it really is individual preference.
for me, i have a wrist and forearm situation (long screw in forearm) so the gloves help dampen vibrations, thus preventing serious hand ache; gloves are critical for my long rides.
for you, may not matter. if i had no hand/wrist issue, i would try to race without them, just for simplicity.
But many crashes are those sideways bails when someone sticks their hand right out. It’s a natural reaction, but causes a lot of worse injuries… watch a Cat 4/5 crit crash and you’ll see hand sticking out everywhere. Watch a pro or Cat 1 race crash and you see them (as best as possible) tuck their heads down, their hands in (if they come off the bars) and try to take the hit on the torso.