Ride well, it's good! It helps to take care of yourself and your safety with quality materials, such as a good helmet, a jacket and gloves of course. A good opportunity to remember that from 20/11/2016, wearing motorbike gloves has become mandatory. More specifically, the approval label in EN 13 594 has become mandatory. This is the authentic label which carries the EC approval, so do not remove it from the gloves.
How do you know if your gloves are approved?
The label is complemented by another label that displays the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) pictogram. The one on the left should contain a figure between 1 and 2 which represents the level of approval. The bigger the number, the better the level. The second image on the right is optional. If the motorbike gloves are not coached, they may contain a KP, for joint protection with a shell located on the top of your hand and on the fore-wrist.
Motorbike gloves EN13594 Homopathing: how are they tested?
The gloves are subjected to various types of tests before final approval. The files that have to be filled in by the producers are enormously detailed and they feature the benefits of the results for the customer. As usual, some will strengthen the tested areas at the expense of others, but the standardisation such as offering protection is very reassuring.
The test conditions applied for the approval of motorbike gloves are resistance to
- Abrasion
- Tear
- Perforation
- Impact
- Shattering
The KP rating is granted after the metacarpals have been arranged. All other additional protection in motorbike gloves is the result of precise research in the field of glove approval to EN 13 594. On the other hand, each additional safety feature added by a producer makes your glove safer and better tested.
How to choose your motorbike gloves?
Choosing ergonomically modified motorbike equipment and ensuring the rider's sensitivity to handlebar control is a problem. These CE certified gloves and personal protective equipment (PPE) must be fitted to the rider's hands, must be waterproof and must cover the hands and wrists. There are different models for each station:
- Summer gloves: they have very light coating and fabric, but they are strong and they optimise protection.
- Winter gloves: They are lined gloves, made from effective materials to ensure optimal protection against cold and potential impacts. Some more luxurious models are heated!
- Gloves with 2 levels of protection (level one for urban use, level two for more intensive use)
The ideal material for quality motorbike gloves will be compound or real leather, reinforced at the seam.