Bicycle Mechanic Gloves

[Aushiker]

I am familiar with nitrile gloves and the like, but I am a bit over them, so I was considering getting a decent pair of gloves to use working on the bikes.

I am aware of:

Finish Lines Mechanical Gloves
Muc-Off Mechanical Gloves
Mechanix Speciality Fastfit 0.5mm gloves - the price is in ouch country.

Are any of these considered a worthwhile buy, or do you other suggestions along the same lines?

TIA

[skyblot]

As a person who has spent 45 years working hands on as a mechanic/engineer, nothing beats bare hands for feel and dexterity. Thin disposable Nitrile gloves are next best and workable. Anything that is meant to last and be reusable generally is too thick and stiff for the fine work required in assembling/disassembling small threaded parts.

I haven't used those particular brands, but have tried plenty of others that make the same claims.

Barrier creams etc can help if you must use bare hands, but there are just some chemicals that demand gloves for personal safety, and the thin nitrile appear to be the pick of the products at the moment.

[CmdrBiggles]

Ordinary, every day disposable surgical exam gloves are fine by me for quick, simple jobs. A pair are stuffed in my seat bag in the off-chance that I should drop a chain, as I did on Saturday!

For gardening and working around the car, Ansell HyFlex with grippy palm/fingers allowing fine touch and dexterity.
The techies where the bike is serviced all wear the disposable surgical or black nitrile gloves.

Bunnings will be your first go-to for gloves of all types, materials and designs — far more than you can poke a pinkie at!

[Andy01]

In my experience most of the so-called mechanics gloves are too thick for any self-respecting mechanic (amateur or professional) to use.

I have used them (mostly for gardening & replacing a timber paling fence at home) and they were great for that where dexterity wasn't a priority. They (at least the decent ones) tend to be damned expensive as well.

For finer work like working on a bike, bare hands is (IMO) the best by far. Better to invest in some decent hand cleaner (and moisturiser afterwards if plagued with dry skin) than gloves.

I do agree that for situations where you really don't want to get dirty (like on a ride), then some light disposable gloves are useful.

I definitely wouldn't be buying branded "bike" mechanics gloves - I might guess that they are likely to be far dearer than something similar at Bunnings or a decent workplace PPE shop.

Another option if you really want gloves might be the nitrile coated fabric gloves - they are usually a stretchy fabric material (you can get them with some "cut-resistance" if required) that has the palms & fingers coated with a rubbery non-slip coating so they offer protection and are still fairly thin and retain a degree of dexterity (obviously not as good as bare fingers). They are not as durable as mechanics gloves though, so not as good for gardening etc.

[Duck!]

I only wore gloves when servicing suspension components so as not to get covered in oil, otherwise, bare-handed all the time for feel & dexterity.