IT CAN GET WILD OUT THERE – VOLUME 35

IT CAN GET WILD OUT THERE – VOLUME 35

257KM/H. THE GLOVES ARE COOKED. HIS HANDS AREN'T.

We get product feedback every day. Sizing, colours, delivery. Then occasionally a message lands that stops the room.

This one came from Chris (@slick6r_), a rider out of Texas. He went down at over 160mph, which is north of 257km/h, wearing a pair of SA1NT Road Glove 2.0s. Instead of asking for anything, he sent us photos.

HIS WORDS, NOT OURS

"Went down at 160+ in your gloves and just thought I'd tell ya they held up absolutely great. They're obviously destroyed but they kept my hands very safe for the circumstances of the crash."

That's it. That's the whole message. No complaint, no request, just a rider telling us the gear did what it was built to do.

READ THE GLOVES

The photos tell the story better than we can.

The white goat leather has gone brown and grey where friction cooked it. Both carbon fibre knuckle plates have been torn straight off, leaving two black craters where they used to sit. The PU palm sliders are shredded. The leather has worn through in patches, but only in patches. It's still recognisably a glove.

Now look at his hand.

Bruised. Grazed. Dark under the nails where blood pooled after the impact. Fingers that still open, close and hold a phone steady enough to take the photo.

At that speed the energy has to go somewhere. It went into the leather, then the carbon, then the sliders, then the stitching, in that order. It didn't go into his hands.

THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BREAKING AND FAILING PROPERLY

Gear that breaks lets go early and leaves you exposed. Gear that fails properly spends itself on purpose.

The knuckle plate takes the first hit and sacrifices itself so your knuckles don't. The palm slider lets the hand skate instead of catch, because a hand that catches is a hand that tumbles, and a hand that tumbles is a wrist that snaps. The external stitching holds the whole thing together long enough for you to stop moving.

Every component on those gloves is spent. That isn't a product failure. That's the receipt.

WHERE WE'LL BE STRAIGHT WITH YOU

No glove makes anyone bulletproof, and Chris never said it did. Read him again. "Very safe for the circumstances of the crash." He knows exactly what happened and what it cost him.

Three things worth saying plainly:

  • Protection is a system, not a single product. Helmet, jacket, jeans, boots, gloves. One good piece surrounded by four bad ones is still a bad day.
  • Crashed gear is finished. Those gloves have done their one job. They go in the bin, not back on the bars. Same goes for any helmet that has touched the ground.
  • The Road Glove 2.0 is certified to CE EN13594:2015 Level 1 KP. That's a lab standard, tested under controlled conditions. Real crashes don't happen in a lab, and no certification is a promise about any individual crash.

What we can tell you is what a rider in Texas told us, and what his photos show.

THE ROAD GLOVE 2.0

Designed as a road glove rather than a race glove, and it has held its own a long way outside the brief.

  • Flexible, soft goat leather outer
  • Carbon fibre knuckle protection
  • Impact palm protection with PU palm sliders
  • Pinky and ring finger connection for added protection
  • Longer adjustable cuff with velcro closure for more coverage
  • Touch screen compatible on index fingers and thumb
  • Perforated panels on palm, thumb and fingers to aid breathability
  • Reflective piping for low light visibility
  • Certified to CE EN13594:2015 Level 1 KP

Available in white and black, XS to XXL.

SHOP ROAD GLOVE 2.0 →

GOT A STORY?

If SA1NT gear has been between you and the tarmac, send it through. Tag us or drop the photos in our DMs. The good ones end up here.

Ride Fast. Ride Free.

Thanks to Chris (@slick6r_) for sharing the crash and the photos. Glad you're still typing with all ten.

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