For a cross country mountain bike glove, the Roeckl 809 has quite a rugged look. Known for their strong and well padded fingerless road cycling gloves, Roeckl carry their brilliant construction and heavy gel padding into their mountain bike line.
Despite their first appearances, the gloves do feature a lightweight full mesh back, with a sweat wipe. The inner thumb is seam free, ensuring a great fit and tremendous comfort levels. The palm has a semi-ergonomic cut. Basically, it’s pre-curved, so you are less likely to get bunching in the palm of your hand when holding the bars. The material is called ‘Wet-Grip’ – and performs as the name suggests, helping maintain your grip on the bars even when the material is wet. A nice touch is the reflective piping on the cuff – if you are coming home late, heading out early, or commuting – this is a great extra piece of visibility that you don’t need to remember to pack.
No Gloves? Your hands can end up pretty beaten up.
These gloves were put to the test in the rainy and sweaty climate of the Australian Sunshine Coast, by Andy Davison.
“When I first saw these gloves I thought ok , looks like a nice winter glove. Until I put them on and they fitted like a….. Well , you know…….. These gloves are sublime ! The wrist cuff is super comfortable whilst giving you the support you need, yet without feeling constrictive. The palm padding protects in all the right places but doesn’t restrict your grip. The fingers have the lightest covering that protects, but gives you complete , unaffected brake feel. The entire glove composition breathes beautifully yet gives the protection you need making them a perfect summer or very light winter glove . Those of you not familiar with Roeckl gloves will need to work out what size is best suited as Roeckl gloves are designed to fit accurately and as they use the old style euro sizing measuring in inches. The fit needs to be precise, so make sure you get the correct size in order to appreciate the beauty and quality of their design.”
Once you have tried Roeckl you will find it difficult to wear anything else. There is an appreciable difference between these finely crafted gloves compared to many of the other cheaper gloves on the market.”
Roeckl gloves can be found at most bike stores, and retail for about $99.95 in Australia.
Their full range can be seen online.