Smelly gloves
 

Tired of my performance bike gloves I have, they are rancid, and my hands smell awful after using
Others I should try? thanks

Do you wash them?

Have you tried washing them? I've found that while people will wash their kits regularly, a lot of people seem to neglect their gloves and helmets, which both can end up stinking since you're sweating in them just the same.

I use Specialized bodygeo dual gel gloves, no issues, I throw them in the wash every 2-3 rides.

I wash them
Even after just 20 miles, its awful

Im thinking the material is low grade or something, the smelly ones are a year or so old, my old pair that are more than 10 years old, no issues

I've been happy with pearl izumi gel gloves. I wash them ever few rides, and while they eventually won't come really clean I can't smell them while riding (just if I stick them in my nose).

I put them on, put a little laundry detergent in the palm, and then basically wash my hands thoroughly that way for a minute or so, rinse and then let air dry. Do that after every 5 rides or so.

Mine get washed and dried in the washer/dryer with other laundry every ride with no ill effects. Well, no I’ll effects so far. Probably 300 wash cycles on them and they’re still fine.

Same here. I only buy gloves without velcro, because it can damage bibs/jerseys while going through the wash.

Non velcro?? intrigued....[scanning the interwebs]

I haven't really noticed a difference in brands. Maybe brands with more wicking/quick drying material will build up smell less quickly? Speculating here. Gel padding would be better than foam, I would guess, since gel is hydrophobic and wouldn't soak up sweat. But, again, I've used both and I haven't really noticed a difference (doesn't mean there isn't one, just that I haven't noticed).

During the summer, after a ride I will rinse my gloves under the faucet and squeeze (not wring) the water out, several times (5x or so) to wash out most of the sweat. Then air dry in the furnace room (they're dry by the next morning). This helps to keep the smell down between laundry washes, but probably shortens their life a bit. It's worth it in my opinion. .

When the weather is cool, after a ride I just hang them to dry after a ride (like all my cycling gear) and wash them when they start to smell. Moisture tends to foster smells, IME, so hanging sweat dampened gear after a ride to let it air dry, if it isn't laundered right away, helps to keep down smell.

I rode with a guy who never used to wash his gloves or helmet -just throw them in the back of the truck and pull them out next time. You could smell him in the wind when he was behind you!

You might want to hand wash/soak your gloves before even putting them into the washing machine.

If the combination of skin flora and glove material is right, no amount of soap and water is going to make an appreciable difference. In that case, the options are a soak with a real bactericide or bleach. Some gloves come with the silver-based antibacterial treatment used for non-stink footwear. If it works for my sailing shoes it'll work for anyone's gloves.

I always put mine in one of those delicates net bags. Never had a snagging problem with the velcro.

Try submersing in some water with a touch of bleach prior to throwing into washing machine.
I find that my eco friendly washing machine just doesn't do the job properly on some of my more dirty garments.

Good point. Some of us just have stronger body odors than others. Also, some of us are more sensitive to odors than others. Who knows - what's bothering the OP might be tolerable to others of us.

On a side note - IME cycling gear doesn't like bleach. If you use bleach then expect much shorter use life from your gear. I've used peroxide and vinegar as alternatives, and I've also used laundry detergent supposedly designed for synthetic fabrics (Sportwash and the like). I like Sportwash and clones more because they have less in the way of fragrances added than anything else, if my skin is rubbing against fabric with fragrance (or, god forbid, fabric softener) for hours then I tend to get rashes. When the odor starts to get noticeable even after a wash with detergent, then I'll add a half cup of vinegar or peroxide (whichever I have handy) and that helps. I use it in the pre-wash/pre-soak cycle.

I also put my helmet pads in one so I don't need to search the washer to find all the pads.

I throw a scoop of oxyclean in with my cycling clothes... which includes gloves. Essentially when mixed into water it's ingredient sodium percarbonate breaks down and becomes hydrogen peroxide which is a very good sanitizer.

So if you have any smells being caused by biological things, then this will take care of many of the causes of those smells. And if you don't like perfumey smells either, make sure you get the original oxyclean. The stuff they advertise now as odor control is heavy with the perfumes and less of the sodium percarbonate .

Segoi makes gloves without velcro. I take my velcro'd gloves and just stick the straps shut and toss them in the wash.

I haven't tried this but I bet Fabreeze would kill the smell. It handles much bigger jobs nicely.

Ben

Velcro sucks on gloves. There’s no need for it.

This is why I buy cheap gloves and have several sets then after a few cleanings and no longer works.....throw them out and keep on trucking.

Stick the gloves with Velcro in an old sock to wash them.

Or just buy gloves without velcro. There''s no need for it on gloves.

The issue with washing them is easily fixed. So, it's not really a problem.

That you can't deal with a simple solution isn't any reason for other people to do anything.

Your simple solution, is as unnecessary as velcro on gloves.

It might be unnecessary but who cares?

The issue with washing them (which you agree has a simple solution) isn't a reason not to buy gloves with velcro.

"Unnecessary" is a rather weak motivation.

I've managed to get free new gloves a few times. They happened to have velcro.

No one really cares whether or not you like gloves with velcro.

Lots of people buy them. Some of them might find the simple solution worthwhile to know.