Gloves. Other than a helmet, I put gloves at the top of my personal protection list. In any spill your hands will hit the ground, whether you intend it or not, and the potential for serious damage is very high. So I tend to err on the heavy (and pricey) side when it comes to hand protection. But of course not everyone has the same priorities. Some prefer to be cool, either physically or mentally, and find heavy gloves a little intrusive. Others simply object to paying a lot of money for something that is likely to get worn out before ever being used in anger. Well, there might just be a solution that keeps us all happy.

Racer gloves are made in Austria, which may go some way toward explaining some of the slightly odd names you'll find in the range. But hey -enough people buy bikes with stupid names that this probably won't be an issue, right?Anyway, the Aero Power is their top of the range sports glove, made from Analine leather with hard carbon armour and kevlar inserts. So that'll be the protection, then, and nothing obviously unusual so far. What is unusual is the inclusion of four moulded vents on the back of each glove with a fine wire mesh across each one to stop the bugs from actually getting in. Getting in intact anyway. Each vent is further protected with some chunky rubber surrounds which also act as ram-air scoops.

At a glance it is clear that styling is led more by function than form, so although they are quite good looking gloves you're unlikely to see them exhibited in the Guggenheim. Up close they exude quality and look trick enough to give a fair
amount of pitlane kudos if that's your bag.

Even the best looking gloves in the world are frankly, damn all use if they don't stay on your hands when you fall off. Not a problem here - as well as a sturdy wrist strap to keep them on, there is a large cuff fastener which stops them from riding up when things get messy. Similarly there's no merit in gloves which stay on but fall apart. Looking at them, it is obvious that the carbon armour is good quality and, equally importantly, has enough overlap to minimise the risk of said carbon getting hammered into the back of your hand in the event of an unplanned hand to tarmac interface. The palms, too, show a reassuring lack of joins, with a single panel running from fingers to wrist and the keprotec reinforcement panel (a kevlar based soft material that looks alarmingly like sharkskin and is even tougher) is sewn on top rather than joined to the edge as is more common.

In use they take a little getting used to. The leather is a little thicker than most gloves of this type, which you particularly notice when new. They need a few hours wear before they get really comfortable, but after that they are fantastic. I've now worn them for a few weeks and they are genuinely the most comfortable gloves I have ever used, as well as not being uncomfortably hot; thanks to the rather trick vents, which I confess I thought were just a gimmick at first but have proved to be remarkably effective. I am also happy to report that although it is rare for us to get rain during the summer here, if you are unlucky enough to get caught out the dye does not leech out and turn your hands a fetching shade of purple. Which is a good thing.

Of course, a top of the range glove with this sort of protection and quality isn't going to come cheap. But then, how much are your hands worth? Certainly £150 isn't an unreasonable price for a pair of gloves this well made and so highly featured. Which makes the actual retail price of just £79.99 even more astonishing. I can only guess that Racer are trying to break into the UK market and have set their pricing accordingly. Whatever the reason, this is one gift horse in whose mouth I have no desire to look.

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