six six one ( 661 ) 401 Gloves review

I remember many years ago when I obsessed over golf, one of the recommendations the "experts" would make when you got into a rut was to buy a new golf glove or new balls. Something small that would bring some interest back into the game. I think we do that in the cycling world as well, new bar tape, a new saddle, maybe new water bottles or a jersey.... However, I think we often overlook the importance of good cycling gloves and they become an afterthought (if we wear them at all). The hands are one of the three touch points of the bike. Not only are gloves critically important in making sure we have a good grip on the bar, but they also provide some padding and can help take the edge off some of the road noise that will inevitably make it through to our bodies.

A couple of years ago I realized that I really don't like gloves with Velcro straps. They are bulky, seem to be positioned right in the crease between your hand and wrist and are not very aerodynamic. The last thing may not be important to some, but when you sprint as poorly as I do and can only hope to win from a break, you need every 1/2 watt you can get.

So I began using Specialized half-finger gloves and overall I really like them and would recommend them. However, last year I decided to focus on crit racing rather than time trials and crashing became more of a consideration. Since my job requires me to type, protecting the finger tips and knuckles became more important to me. The big trade-off was it gets awfully hot and humid in TN where I do most of my racing and all of my training. The first gloves I tried were from Sugoi RS full glove, but it had a small Velcro closure on the inside of the wrist, plus there were other small issues with the gloves.

It was then suggested that I check out the 401 gloves from 661. When I first saw the gloves I was not sure if they were cycling gloves or men's figure skating gloves. However, once I tried them on I was pretty sure this would be my glove going forward.

 

Big plus number one for me is the fact that the gloves slide on and off easily, but fit snugly. Most gloves without straps are hard to get off when wet with sweat, but not these gloves. There is an elastic material around the wrist that has a lot of stretch, but it does not cut into your wrists at all. Next, the palms have a vented pad that really helps keep the hands cool. Not only do I wear these crit racing, but I wear them often when training. In fact, I could not tell any significant difference in comfort between these and half-finger gloves. The palms have what I would call a medium to thin pad. Not nearly as thick as a mountain bike glove and probably a touch thinner than the average cycling glove. The glove has the requisite terry cloth patch on the outside of the thumb for sweat and snot removal. But the reason that I really like these gloves is the grip material on the index and middle fingers. This allows you to feel around in your jersey pocket and pick out individual gels, cell-phones or pretty much anything else you need. The long-finger gloves actually help with touch phones because most seem to have problems with moisture and the gloves soak up the sweat pretty well but do not seem to hold the water. The grippers are also ideal for opening gels or powerbars and hitting the controls on a cycling computer.

Other than the absolutely garaish graphics on these gloves, I can find nothing but positive things to say about them. They are reasonably priced ($35 or less online), durable (I was them frequently), and I now believe they are better than riding with half-finger gloves. I would highly recommend these to any road cyclist.

For more information and updated styles http://www.sixsixone.com/Catalog_661Bike.aspx?id=c8f5fb89-ea27-4e9c-9e87-d71d07868bb5&product=5ed6d058-6034-43e2-8dcd-641293b40a6b