Velomacchi Speedway Gloves
Text + Photo: Mike Blanchard
Gear | Like many motorcycle riders I have a bit of a glove obsession. I have a shelf of gloves that I have collected over the years. There is everything from ropers to super techie armored waterproof gloves in there. The warm puffy pair I bought on a freezing cold spring biker run up in the Sierras (to a place called Ice House) is still in there. The crazy white and blue ‘80s style racing gloves that I ended up with at the Moto Meeto Christmas party are on the glove shelf. I love the way they look but there is something inside them that rubs annoyingly on my hand when I wear them.
I am always looking for something kind of retro styled with some armor that’s no too robo grip and not too gaudy. Enter the Velomacchi Speedway Gloves. They are a modern take on the old elk hide ropers crossed with the first generation of racing specific gloves from the ‘60s and ‘70s. They are mid length and armored on the knuckles with a high impact molded rubber strip. It can be used to squeegee your visor on rainy days.
The palm features a metal studded gel filled section in the high impact zone on the heal of the palm. The studs do not go through to the inside of the gloves. Which I think is good. They feature Highland goat skin leather on the back and deer hide on the palms with a hook and loop wrist strap to make sure they stay on your hands in the event of the crash. Have you ever seen the clip from “On Any Sunday” where the guy lays it down at the end of the Daytona banking and as he is tumbling around in slow motion his glove comes flying off? Thats why you want the wrist strap.
“To belabor an old cliche, the Speedway gloves are buttery smooth right out of the box.”
To belabor an old cliche, the Speedway gloves are buttery smooth right out of the box. They feel great to the hand just holding them. The stitching looks good and done correctly with the seams of the fingers on the outside switching to the inside on the thumb and the outside of the index finger. This gives a flat surface on the inside of the fingers for better purchase on the grips.
The tips of the forefinger and thumb are cross stitched to make them work with cell phone screens. Taking a look inside the gloves, there is a synthetic liner on the back of the hand but the palms are unlined for a direct feel of the controls. I like this, it is always the back of the hand that is exposed to the wind (and the tip of the thumb) so an extra layer of warm on the back is welcome.
The gloves are comfortable with no lumpy seams or gatherings to worry at fingers and the rubber armor strips on the back of the hand are not too stiff or restrictive.
Speedways are mid level priced at $149.00 retail and they are the mid-sized glove in Velomacchi’s glove lineup. I like the cut of the Speedways. So far I have put in several hours riding and they did everything you want gloves to do. My only niggling thing is the design of the knuckle armor. And it is purely a design thing. The big loop of rubber strip up the index finger and around to the pinky finger is a little too designed for me. I don’t know, maybe it will grow on me. But again that is a purely personal thing.
I think these gloves will really look great with some oil and patina on them and I am sure they will fit even better after a few hundred rides. But that’s the case with all gloves isn’t it?