If you ride in the Central Valley the way I do, you know the drill: by late morning the pavement is radiating heat, your hands are sweating inside leather, and by the time you stop for gas you are peeling your gloves off like they are the problem. They are not the problem. The problem is wearing the wrong glove for the season. I have been riding for about 22 years, most of them on my Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail, and somewhere along the way I stopped treating mesh riding gloves as a warm-weather compromise and started treating them as the pair I reach for first. The INBIKE mesh riding gloves are the ones on my shelf right now, and after a full summer of weekend group rides and a long trip up the coast, here are ten reasons they belong on every ride.
The mesh gloves I reach for first on a hot day
Breathable, touchscreen-friendly, and armored where it counts. See today's price on Amazon and read the owner reviews before your next ride.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →Your hands stop swimming in sweat by mile ten
Mesh exists to let air move, and on a 95 degree afternoon that is the difference between a comfortable ride and a soggy one. The INBIKE gloves use a breathable mesh back that keeps air flowing over the top of your hand while the palm stays grippy. I have worn them on 300 mile days and my hands were still dry at the fuel stop. That alone is worth the switch. The first time I really noticed it was a Saturday ride in late June with the group, when the thermometer on the bank at the edge of town read 97 before we even left. By the time we pulled in for coffee in Bakersfield, my hands were dry and the guys in leather were already wringing theirs out. That is the difference mesh makes on a day like that.
They work with your phone, so you stop taking them off
Touchscreen fingertips mean you can check the GPS, change a song, or answer a quick call without pulling a glove off and stuffing it in your pocket. On a group ride that is a small thing that adds up fast. I have used mine with a handlebar phone mount and the screen responds through the glove every time. Last month on a trip up Highway 1, I had to reroute around a closure and I did it without ever taking my hand off the bar. That is the kind of convenience you do not appreciate until you have fumbled with a bare hand at 70 miles an hour.
Hard knuckle armor where you actually need it
Mesh does not mean unprotected. The INBIKE gloves have hard knuckle protection on the back of the hand, plus a lightly padded palm. They are not track gloves and they are not trying to be. For street riding, commuting, and touring, they give you real impact protection without the bulk of a winter gauntlet. I have tested the knuckle shell by pressing on it with my other hand and it is solid, not a soft pad pretending to be armor. On a low-speed drop in a parking lot earlier this season, the palm took the scrape so my skin did not have to. That is what I want from a glove I wear every day.
The palm grip keeps the bars where they belong
A sweaty palm on a rubber grip is a recipe for your hand sliding around mid-corner. The INBIKE palm has a textured grip material that holds on even when it is hot. I noticed it most on a long highway stretch with gusty crosswinds, when I would have been white-knuckling it in a lesser glove. It was a stretch of Interstate 5 north of Buttonwillow, the kind of open road where the wind comes at you sideways for twenty miles. My hands stayed planted the whole way, and that confidence is worth more than any spec sheet.
They pack down small enough to live in a saddlebag
Because they are light and flexible, mesh gloves disappear into a saddlebag or tank bag. I keep a pair in my bike at all times now, which means I always have them when the forecast changes. That is the kind of convenience that only becomes obvious after you have been caught once without the right gear. I got caught in an unexpected cold snap on a spring ride and had to finish the last hour with numb fingers. After that I started keeping a spare pair in the saddlebag, and I have not regretted it once.
They dry fast when you get caught in a shower
Nobody plans to ride through rain, but it happens. Leather gloves soak up water and stay wet for days. Mesh gloves dry out quickly, often by the time you reach the next town. I have been caught in a brief Central Valley shower and my INBIKE gloves were dry before lunch. It was a quick cell that rolled through near Tejon Pass, maybe twenty minutes of steady rain, and by the time we stopped for lunch in Gorman the gloves were dry enough to put back on comfortably. Leather would have been soggy for the rest of the day.
The fit is snug without squeezing your hands
Gloves that are too loose feel sloppy at speed, and gloves that are too tight make your hands cramp by hour two. The INBIKE mesh gloves have a secure closure at the wrist and a fit that follows your hand without pinching. I normally wear a medium, but these run small, so I wear a large, and it fits me like it was made for me. I measured my palm at about 8 inches around, sized up from my usual medium, and the large was the right call. The break-in is short, a few rides at most, which surprised me. They felt right on the first ride, and they still feel right after a full season.
They make hot-weather rides feel like a treat again
This is the one that is hard to quantify. When your hands are comfortable, the whole ride feels different. I found myself taking the long way home more often last summer, and a big part of that was knowing my hands would not be soaked and miserable by the time I got there. On a 100 degree afternoon in August, I rode out to the coast just to feel the breeze, and my hands were the last thing on my mind. That is exactly what good gear should do: disappear so you can enjoy the ride.
They are easy to wash and keep fresh
Riding gloves take a beating, and they collect sunscreen, bug splatter, and road grime. Mesh gloves are easy to rinse out and they air dry fast. I wash mine in the sink with mild soap and they look and smell like new. That is more than I can say for any leather pair I have owned. I do it about once a month, usually on a Sunday evening after a weekend of riding, and they are dry by Monday morning. A little soap, a little water, and they are ready for the next trip.
They cost less than you expect for the protection
You do not need to spend a fortune to get a glove with knuckle armor, a grippy palm, and touchscreen fingertips. The INBIKE mesh gloves deliver all of it at a price that makes it easy to own a dedicated warm-weather pair. For riders who are used to buying one do-everything glove, that is a nice surprise. I have paid more for leather gloves that did half of what these do, and I would rather own a pair of mesh gloves for summer and a pair of insulated gloves for winter than one pair that is mediocre at both.
What I'd Skip
Mesh gloves are not for everyone and not for every ride. If you do most of your miles in cold weather or at night, you will want something with more insulation and less airflow. They are also not the right choice for serious track days, where a full leather gauntlet is the safer call. And if you are between sizes, order up rather than down, because a glove that is too tight will never break in to fit. For warm-weather street riding and touring, though, I would not go back to leather.
After a full summer of group rides and a long trip up the coast, the INBIKE mesh gloves are the pair I reach for first.
Give your hands a break on the next hot ride
The INBIKE mesh riding gloves are breathable, armored, and touchscreen-friendly. Check today's price on Amazon and see why they belong on every ride.
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