Exceptional riding gloves for the track or the street
Take a look at your hands for a moment. Make a fist, then flex your fingers.
The human hand is an extraordinary engineering marvel. A complex structure of three types of bones (phalanges in the fingers, metacarpals in the palms, carpals in the wrists), and a plethora of nerves, tendons, ligaments, and joints wrapped in several variations of skin, our hands grant us the ability to quite literally shape our lives and our world. Yet we’ve seen so many motorcycle riders neglect their most important tactile riding appendages with cheap gloves, fingerless gloves, or no gloves at all. We should always be wearing solid protective gear, and our “grippers” deserve no less.
The OneX USA Pro Race gloves in “Fluor Yellow/Blue” before I donned them at Road Atlanta.
As I preparing for a recent track test with the 2022 Yamaha XSR900 at Road Atlanta, I was accumulating my old track riding gear, stuffing my one-piece BILT suit, boots, inner wear, the bike-matching HJC i10 Robust helmet and an old pair of red/white Alpinestars race gloves into my duffel bag. It had been 6 long years since I’d last been on a race track at speed with a motorcycle, too long. The Saturday morning of the track day, hosted by Track Day Winner, I met Tulio of OneX USA at registration/tech inspection. Tulio and his wife had a booth set up nearby with beautiful race suits, gloves, under and outer shirts, and various other items for sale. He introduced himself, and we struck up a conversation while I stood in line. Exchanging business cards, I completed my check-in and walked back to fetch the XSR for inspection.
After the bike passed tech, I noticed Tulio and company had a set of track gloves that perfectly matched the colors in both the XSR and the HJC helmet. The gloves, one of their Pro Race line, looked fantastic, and when I slipped them on as Tulio shared with me the features, I was sold. These gloves perfectly rounded out my gear for a high speed day at Road Atlanta, and in the unlikely event that bike and rider were to go down, I knew my digits were secure.
Great match for the bike and helmet.
Founded in 2016, OneX USA produces high quality road and racing gear that match the leading manufacturers yet at more affordable price points. At the track and even in the MotoAmerica racing series, I’ve seen a growing number of riders sporting OneX gear, and with good reason. The fit, feel and comfort of these gloves are unlike anything I’ve ever worn on my mitts before.
Good sport bike/track/racing gloves share some common elements. They always have long cuffs and armored gauntlets to protect the wrists and lower forearms, rigid armor and impact resistant finger and knuckle protection, high-caliber leather able to withstand high speed slide-outs or crashes, and high flexibility with superior stitching. An added plus is breathability. These OneX USA gloves have it all, in spades.
Outstanding construction.
Tulio pointed out the unique palm construction, which consists of sewn-in dual sliders at the base of each palm, silicone grips at the base of each finger and the thumb, and soft yet durable kangaroo leather throughout. The index, middle and thumb fingers have a tactile patch for extra feel on the grips, and the pinky fingers both have sliders sewn in along the outside for added slide/impact protection. The whole package velcros up nice and snug at the wrist, with adjustable dual fold-over fastening and a small wrist strap above to ensure the glove won’t fly off in the event the rider goes down.
The outer portion of the OneX USA Pro Race series gloves feature pre-curved fingers, abrasion-resistant rubber armor over each finger as well as the thumb, and carbon fiber knuckle protection. I also noticed flex strips at the base of the thumb, the index and middle finger and at the wrist, as well as a breathable flap beneath the carbon fiber armor. There’s also a “finger bridge” between the ring and pinky finger, preventing the little digit from being snagged, broken or (God-forbid) removed during an off. I thought that to be a fine feature on this cool glove. Oh, and the armor is CE Certified Level 2 throughout. Good stuff.
The OneX USA yellow/blue gloves were the perfect match for the bike and helmet. Photo by Raul Jerez, Highside Photo.
Out on the track, throttling around on the Yamaha XSR900 in 20-minute sessions every hour, I found the gloves easy to pull on and off when needed, and they gave me good feel on the grips all day long out at speed. Plus, they just looked great with this bike and helmet. Superb motorcycle gloves, no doubt.
If you’re looking for a high-performance glove made for racing but definitely suitable for the street, I think you should give OneX USA a look. Their Pro Race line of riding gloves come in multiple styles and color/design patterns, all with superior construction at a reasonable price point. Also check out their “ready-to-race” suits or if you’ve got the quid, get them to custom fit you for gloves and a suit. They carry all kinds of ancillary equipment in the way of shirts, jackets, hats, undergarments, and leather care products. We love their lineup, and think you will too.
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One X USA makes the absolute best fitting and feeling gloves period. They feel 90% broken in when brand new and only feel better over time. With the cost of these being half what other leading brands offer, it’s worth picking up a couple pair for back-ups or just to keep one pair from taking all of your riding abuse.
Agreed.