I go through quite a few pairs of gloves, so whenever I find any cool looking AXO gloves on sale, I usually grab them. One pair I bought recently were the AXO 445 gloves. They looked cool, cost a mere $12, and they’re black, so I got em.

Funny thing was, they turned out to be mechanic’s gloves! They’re not riding gloves!

Despite looking and sounding like riding gloves online, the packaging told a different story! They are made for mechanics. But not just that, they’re geared towards motorcycle mechanics. (Mechanic’s gloves don’t work well for bicycle mechanics dealing with very small and light parts.)

Nevertheless, I tried these out on my mountain bike…

Comfort.

These gloves are decently comfortable. They’re kind of thick, which made them suck in the summer, but they turned into a decent cool weather MTB glove.

I’m not a fan of big Velcro straps on gloves, but the closure tab on these gloves wasn’t bad. It didn’t create pressure points around my wrist, so I didn’t notice it at all while riding.

I rode in the 445 gloves once for a four hour ride, and they did the job, but I’d take the AXO Kicker over these for sure when it comes to riding gloves.

Grip

Most gloves have little grippers on the fingers, but these gloves actually have grippy material all over the palm. Unfortunately, this grip did not help keep hold of the brake levers. Even worse, the palm was so grippy it would stick to the handlebar grip, making it harder to change hand positions.

So the grip is great, but not for cycling. It will work great for driving a car or for handling motorcycle parts, though. (The glove is made for motorcycle mechanics, so in that case, the glove works great.)

For bike mechanics, these might help sometimes, like if you’re removing pedals or something big like that. For small adjustments, messing with hex bolts, etc., you won’t get the dexterity you need.

Durability.

I only use these gloves every so often for mechanic work. I have used them for over a year, though, and they’re not showing any major signs of wear and tear.

My final verdict is…

I wouldn’t buy these unless you happen to be a motorcycle mechanic. Since it didn’t mention this in the PricePoint.com product description, I’ll say it here – these are NOT cycling gloves!*

Official website: www.AXO.com

Buy online: www.PricePoint.com

*To be fair to PricePoint, I should also mention that no other online retailer, not even the official AXO website, mentions that these are mechanic gloves! It is only on the packaging that it mentions this fact.

In need of new gloves for the 2009 race season, I began to scour PricePoint.com for some cheap AXO gloves. I love AXO gloves and PricePoint usually has them cheap, and lo and behold, they had some again.

I found the AXO Kicker glove for a mere $13, so I picked up two pairs.

This is a very, very lightweight glove offering excellent ventilation. I think it is geared towards ventilation rather than safety, as there is virtually no protection on the glove.

The glove goes on easily and remains comfortable, thanks to the slip-on cuff. There is no Velcro patch to close, which means nothing to dig into your wrist when you move your hand.

These gloves are so comfortable, it’s like you’re not even wearing a glove. They are so lightweight and supple, you hardly know you’re wearing them, except that they do provide some extra grip on the handlebar. There are some very small rubber patches on the knuckles for safety, but they are thin and flexible, so they don’t restrict movement at all.

The silicone grippers on the fingertips are a nice touch. They grab and hold the brake levers securely, allowing for great modulation. They were probably the best fingertip grippers I’ve ever used, except they lost their touch after just one washing! After being washed, the grip had all but disappeared.

And while I enjoyed the lightweight comfort thanks to the limited padding, I would have preferred having a terry cloth thumb. Without that, it’s a little rough wiping sweat or snot off your face.

It was hard to complain too much, though, considering the price. So I started racing in them…

My first race in these gloves was a four hour mountain bike marathon, contested in 92 degree weather! Thanks to the ventilation, my hands did not overheat!

I ran into a problem though. The seam on my thumb pressed hard into my skin, making upshifts on the front derailleur somewhat painful (with Shimano RapidFire trigger shifters.) Luckily that seam on the thumb was never an issue after this first race though.

Moving on, my second race in these was a local mountain bike time trial that took just over two hours. They felt good, except I ripped them in a crash less than one mile into the race. Since the palm is so thin, it rips easily in a wreck if there happens to be a sharp pointy stick or rock there. I can’t blame the glove for that, since it’s obviously not made to take abuse, but it’s something to keep in mind.

The problem that bothered me most was both prevalent and painful – I got blisters. At first I blamed it on my Ergon grips, which are rather hard and seemed to eat into my skin. But then I tried these gloves with softer grips and I still got blisters after a while. I think the palm is just too thin for mountain biking or BMX use where you are constantly pushing and pulling on the bar to maneuver.

My final verdict is…

These gloves are far from perfect, but they still make for a decent XC mountain bike racing glove in the summer heat (as long as the race is short!)

However, I’d rather wear a glove with a thicker palm than get blisters. Other AXO gloves of mine (like the Padlock) provide both good palm padding and good ventilation, so I can’t recommend the AXO Kicker.

Official website: www.AXO.com

Buy online: www.PricePoint.com

Want to keep your hands warm and toasty but can’t find or afford proper pogies?

Then break out some plastic jugs and duct tape and a little elbow grease! I found this great idea the other day over at the Bicycles and Icicles blog, which is full of good stuff when it comes to winter cycling.

It looks like you take two jugs, one for each side, and cut a gap out of each one so you can put your hand in it. Also cut small holes for whatever brake and shifter cables you have. Then you duct tape the jugs to the bar and apply the duct tape liberally to make things look nice and classy.

A perfect pogie replacement! (If you’re not too familiar with pogies, check out this site about lobster gloves and pogies.)

Or if you have some cash and can act fast, look at these handlebar mittens on sale:

They are made for ATVs and snowmobiles, but they should work fine on a bike. And for $12.99 for the black ones, it’s a steal! (Advantage Timber is $14.99, but hurry, they could sell out real fast!)