Forget the dirt, forget the race track. If my bike only sees the public pavement, I have my own set of needs.
Z1R Streamline Gloves
Let’s look at light commuting first – riding to work, riding to the pub. My trips last ten minutes at a time so I just want a simple, stylish glove without breaking the bank.
The Z1R Streamline is all that. 30 bucks and there’s absolutely nothing to it. Just a basic, well-made leather glove.
It’s 0.8mm cowhide, which sounds perfect to me. It’s not 300 km/h, sliding-on-your-palms competition leather, but it’s not fashion leather either. The Streamline has just enough abrasion resistance if I topple over in traffic, while still maximizing movability and contact feel.
In terms of technicality, it’s a short list. Perforations on the top of the hand and the thumb, elasticity at the wrist, and some gel padding on the palm. It’s tempting to think of the gel as a safety feature, but it’s not. This is more about dulling handlebar vibrations to increase comfort.
The Z1R Streamline is definitely an American cut. My 3 and ¾ inch palm puts me in this large, but there’s a bit too much girth around the hand and if I stretch my fingers out, there’s not quite enough length. I don’t mind too much, but people with really long and skinny hands should probably stay away.
So that’s the Streamline. A simple, comfortable leather glove that looks good on and off the bike. Once upon a time, this was all a motorcycle glove was and nowadays … its still everything a light commuter would need.
Icon Pursuit Touchscreen Gloves
Now, as a street rider who does many kilometres each season, I need a little more from my glove. I still want that classic look but … some protection and features would be nice.
Icon’s Pursuit Touchscreen checks all the boxes for me. 115 bucks sets them well ahead of the Z1R, but they have the quality to back it up.
Obviously, there’s more armour here. Semi-rigid knuckles, and shields across the four fingers as well. The fit is more tailored too, with accordion stretch down either side of the glove and a Velcro closure. The palm also has double layering on the high-stress areas.
Like its name suggests, the Pursuit is touchscreen sensitive. All five fingers are made from Touchtec leather, so I can operate my phone with any of them. Of course it’s always a bit awkward to use a device with gloves on. I’d definitely open a map or answer a call with these, but for typing a text message I think I’d end up slipping them off.
Icon’s sizing chart put me in a large, and the fit is bang on. It’s worth noting that the two different colourways are vastly different gloves. This is the black version, which is made from perforated sheepskin leather and it offers a huge amount of airflow for summer use.
But , there’s also a “stealth” version, which is unperforated goatskin leather. And that glove will be more durable, more water-resistant and much warmer.
So essentially, we have one colourway for summer use, and one colourway for spring and fall. It’s weird but I love this glove so much that I’d probably just buy a pair of each. They’re comfortable, convenient, crash-ready … and they have that classic style.
Alpinestars Jet Road Gore-Tex Gloves
Now, I’m going to end at the heavier side of the street riding spectrum. Maybe I commute 200 kilometers to work every day. Maybe I’m a tourer, heading out of town each weekend no matter what the weather looks like.
For that, it’s Alpinestars Jet Road Gore-Tex Gloves all day long.
Obviously, full Gore-Tex membrane in here: 100% waterproof, breathable – that’s the guarantee I’m paying for. And at 230 bucks, the Jet Road is one of the cheaper ways to get it.
I found the fit to be comfortable and customizable. I’m playing the accordion on my thumb and the back of the hand. I’ve got one Velcro noose around the wrist and then this YKK zipper opens up the gauntlet. These little guys are cool – they’re autolocking so the tab wants to stay down rather than flapping around in the wind. There’s also an inner gaiter to form a seal with my arm.
Other features – TPU knuckle armouring, and a bit of impact padding on three of the fingers. This pinky has the typical A-stars bridge, which prevents it from rolling away in a low side crash … that might save me a broken bone. And then I have Hi-Viz material lashed all over the top side.
Flipping it over, we have a bit of foam padding and a lens squeegee on the thumb. I’ve always used these when snowboarding and its about time we got squeegees on more moto gloves. One weird thing though – the index finger has a built in stylus. I guess it might be useful with some GPS systems and older smart phones, but I’d way rather have touchscreen capabilities.
Most of this glove is textile, but there’s leather on the palm, the pinky bridge, and the outside of the hand. Props to A-stars – they’ve kept me safe where it counts, but spared enough of the cow to keep the glove under 250 bucks, Gore-Tex and all.
So the Alpinestars Jet Road is my favorite glove for heavy street use. It’s feature-packed, protective, waterproof, breathable, comfortable … literally everything I could want. Of course it has a fairly muted contact feel on my bike’s controls, but I kinda expect that from such a substantial glove. By the way, my hands are 9 inches around the palm, which would put me on the upper end of a large. But I know enough about Alpinestars to go a size up … and this XL fits perfectly.