Introduction
It seems like the glove reviews never end. I guess
that's a good thing, right?
The problem is that it seems like it was just
yesterday that we finished a huge series of cold weather
motorcycle glove reviews for 2008.
And here we go again,
half-way through 2009 and ready for more. This
time, we're starting off with some hot weather riding
gloves. I'll have a follow-up on the new Sidi Design
Series with their Sidi Power glove coming up next.
Background
Sidi is best known for their motorcycle boots, of
course, but the company has also recently developed a
line of motorcycle gloves, called the "Sidi Design
Series" or S.D.S.
I had to chuckle when I discovered that
Sidi was using that particular TLA (Three Letter
Acronym!). Some of you may have clear enough
memories of the '60's to remember
that "SDS" was an acronym for
the Students for a Democratic Society, an activist organization known also for one of its
original leaders, Tom Hayden.
I'll guess that those three letters and
the times they represent are now long
forgotten and there probably aren't many webBikeWorld
readers who recall that particular bit of history, so don't worry Sidi --
you're safe.
On thing's for sure though -- big
credits go to Sidi for being very upfront about the Sidi
Design Series products. They come right out and
state that the Sidi Design Series "is a collection of
products that are designed by Sidi's engineering/design
team but are produced by outside suppliers".
They go on to say "Sidi prefers to keep it very clear as
to what items are manufactured at its own factories and
what items are sourced to outside suppliers. In
this way the integrity and value on the Sidi brand is
maintained for all its clients and riders while at the
same time providing the market some interesting new
products from the new Sidi Design Series brand".
This is an honorable thing to do; much
of the motorcycle gear available today is sold under a
made-up brand name, and that's fine, but don't try to
get me to believe there's some kind of long history
behind a name that just appeared in the collective
consciousness overnight.
I think this is also very important for
a company like Sidi, that is well-known for making a
focused, high-quality product; namely, their motorcycle
boots. There's a danger in
becoming too diverse; not "sticking to your knitting",
as they tell you in biz school. Apparently, Sidi
will remain focused on motorcycle boots but will offer
other types of related products under the S.D.S. label.
I'm not sure if or when Sidi will add
anything other than gloves to the S.D.S. label, but I
would think so -- otherwise why call it a "Design
Series"?
The Sidi Coibuss Gloves
As this is being written, there are four different pairs
of gloves and a rain suit sold under the Sidi S.D.S.
label. Since it's now summer, with hot weather the
norm, I figured we'd start with the new Sidi Coibuss
gloves.
Now I have absolutely no idea in the world where the
name "Coibuss" came from. I searched around but
came up empty. Perhaps some astute webBikeWorlder
can tell us more? (NOTE: See comments from
reader "P.P." below).
Let's start with the obvious: these are
lightweight gloves that, I think, are pretty much
designed for one crash only. But that's not
necessarily a problem. I consider all of my gear
to be single use (i.e., single crash).
If it serves its purpose as a one-time
protector of my precious and ever-aging hide, then I'm
ecstatic. I hang it on the wall (which is,
fortunately, rather bare) as a memento of what could
have been, buy another and move on.
Sidi says that the Coibuss gloves are made
from goat leather and textile. Goat leather is
good stuff for motorcycle gloves and other protective
gear because it's supposed to be lighter in weight and
more abrasion resistant than cow hide. Someday, maybe someone will prove this
to me, but in the meantime, I'll take their word for it.
The palms of the Coibuss gloves are made
from very soft goat skin, with extra goat leather on the
wear areas over the palm and underside of the ball of
the hand, and also on the back of the hand and over the
fingers.
The double layers on the palm are
double-stitched, and the rest of the glove along the
textile and fingers appears to be single-stitched with
blind seams on the fingers.
The goat leather extends all the way out
to the fingertips underneath, and along the edge of the
hand. Again, it's all rather thin though, which is
necessary to maintain the purpose of the Coibuss gloves,
which serve as what I would consider to be minimal
protection in the hottest of weather.
wBWFlash Slide Show - Sidi Coibuss Gloves
I'm not 100% sure what might happen in a
serious slide wearing these gloves; let's just say that
you won't be seeing Casey Stoner wearing them any time
soon during a MotoGP race.
But here's the deal: when the weather
gets really hot -- or even worse, when it gets really
hot and really humid, as it does here in our local
Mid-Atlantic summers -- it sometimes boils down to either
not riding at all or riding with minimal layers of
protection.
I'm more comfortable -- psychologically
comfortable -- behind a
nice, thick one-piece leather suit, full race gloves and
boots. But the problem with
that is there are only about, oh, maybe 6 days in the entire year when
the weather is right for wearing that much protection.
I absolutely will not ride without some
type of protective gear, so
back to the Coibuss gloves, which are designed for the
hottest weather I care to ride in. They're
comfortable and so far have proven to be just the ticket
for riding in our hot and sticky weather.
Besides the goat leather and the
double-stitched palms, the Coibuss gloves have a
thermoplastic protector over the main knuckles.
This is apparently going to be a feature on other Sidi
S.D.S. gloves, because the Sidi Power Gloves that are
currently going through the webBikeWorld eval process
use the same type of split protector.
It's a good design, because it helps
ensure that the gloves are flexible at this critical
flex point. I think this is extra important in
gloves to be used in hot weather, because the extra
flexibility is a bonus with sweaty hands.
The knuckle protectors have what seems
like a generous supply of plastic to grind down if
necessary, and the backs of the fingertips include some
thin goat hide. The middle knuckles also get a
layer of goat hide, along with some thin padding that
probably won't do very much -- I'd rather have a couple
of bits of the plastic used as knuckle protectors here
too.
UPDATE: I originally thought there
was a version of the Coibuss glove with a longer
gauntlet, but this is not the case; all Coibuss gloves
have the shorter style gauntlet as shown in these
photos.
I have mixed feelings about the short
gauntlet on the Coibuss -- on one hand (pardon the
pun), a short gauntlet works better in hot weather, but
on the other hand, I find it sometimes difficult to wear
a short gauntlet under some types of motorcycle jackets.
The gauntlet on the Coibuss has a bit of
an unusual shape, with an angled slant to the cut, which
give the gloves some extra style, but is a bit too short
to fit under some sleeves, but not long enough to fit
over the cuffs either.
This is a minor issue though, and
overall, the Coibuss gloves feel comfortable and once
they're on, I don't really notice the gauntlet/cuff
interface very much.
The only attachment is via a
hook-and-loop strap on the underside of the wrist, but
the gloves are cut with a slightly narrow waist just
before the wrist, so they actually fit very tight on my
hands. The gloves can be slightly difficult to
pull on over my hands, especially when my hands are
sweaty.
But once the strap is cinched up tight,
the Coibuss gloves are on for the long haul, which is a
very good thing, because many summer gloves of this type
can be pulled much too easily off the wrist. It's
crucial for the gloves to remain on the hands for
protection during a crash, and the design of the Coibuss
really works -- which is slightly amazing actually,
considering the simplicity of the design.
The gloves have good flexibility for
riding and they're also good at transmitting feedback
through the hand grips to the rider. Sidi doesn't
say whether or not the material absorbs moisture, but
there's enough air flowing through the gloves to
evaporate sweat. It's not like there's a breeze
blowing through the fabric, but the gloves have enough
mesh to allow the hands to remain comfortable.
Conclusion
The Sidi Coibuss gloves aren't loaded with radical new
features, but they're comfortable and they should
provide a minimal -- or more -- amount of protection.
These gloves are designed for hot weather riding, so
there are a few compromises made, but with gloves like
these, there's no excuse to go glove-less when the
temperatures rise.
The list price does seem a bit high, but
the layers of goat hide and main knuckle protectors,
along with the double-stitched palms set the Coibuss
gloves a bit higher in the pecking order than many of
the lesser known brands of mesh and leather hybrid
gloves I've tried.
They're also backed by the Sidi brand
name, which definitely gives some confidence.
Please
send
comments to
Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be posted. Posted comments may be edited.
From "P.P." (6/09): "As near as I
can tell, "Coibuss" is a misspelling of the Latin word "coibus".
"Coibus" is a contraction of "communibus" (Yes, the ancients sometimes
used contractions).
According to
this entry for "communibus annis", "common" here does not mean
"ordinary", but "common to every situation"
Hence, I think that Sidi is trying to say that the Coibuss gloves are
good for just about any kind of riding. Perhaps they are trying to
say that hard-core Harley guys and sportbike squids are both allowed to
buy the gloves. Perhaps they think that these gloves will be good
for all weather. At least I found your etymology."
From "K.H." (6/09): "Thanks for posting a summer
glove review. As you correctly noted, the tradeoff between comfort
and protection is a serious decision, particularly when you see that
most summer-weight gloves offer very little protection.
Wrist protection is an issue for me, because that's where I got hurt
years ago. I will no longer wear gloves that can come off or that
have a gauntlet that can fold-up off of the wrist in an accident.
The Sidi Coibuss has the wrist strap, so it won't come off, and it also
has goatskin, which is more breathable, provides better feel, and I
believe has higher abrasion resistance that cowhide. Overall, it's
a big step up from the average summer glove.
Unfortunately, without better wrist protection, and particularly at that
price, I can't get behind the Coibuss gloves. I trust the Sidi
brand, but I'd need to see the longer version that you saw brief mention
of the product literature if I was to consider buying these gloves.
I couldn't find the longer Coibuss on the Sidi website, so I presume
that it's not available.
So far, I'm still sold on the Spidi Air Vent gloves, which cost at least
$30 more, but provide full protection as well as ventilation."
