The FATE Carbon Gloves™ are about as core as you can get! Carbon-fiber knuckles and forefingers are internally padded, and are attached to a breathable Airprene top layer. The inside thumb and lower palm are genuine cowhide leather for maximum comfort and abrasion resistance, while the back thumb is sweat-absorbing terrycloth with a leather-reinforced tip. Woven finger gussets offer both excellent breathability and durability. Available in sizes Small through XXL.
Submitted by
GKJ MTB Rider
a Cross Country Rider
from Ann Arbor Mi.America Date Reviewed: June 10, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Any Where Wheels Roll
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
Treefort Bike shop
Strengths:
Great Construction, Very Good Quality
Weaknesses:
Gloves Are Made For People With ery Small Hands, If You Ware A Largea XXL is what you want And it will still be tight and i hope they wll stretch if they do they will be Perfect
Similar Products Used:
Fox Gloves No where nere as muth protection
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Rush, decked out as Sweet as it can be for urban freeride
Bottom Line:
havent had them for a long time, but i know they are gonna protectmy hands(and my bike if someone trys to get it from me,ie,carbonfiber) Because concrete rocks and dirt is not nice to nuckels and palms. So bottom line these should work out perfect, Remember TRY TEM ON! before you you buy them, Also im 5'9". If you have big hands make sure you Try them on, thier XXL is about a FOX large. but for me they work Great, And look Cool as They can Be
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Submitted by
kiloracer
a Racer
from Milwaukee Date Reviewed: August 27, 2008
Favorite Trail:
New fane - northern kettles
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
Bikesmiths -
Strengths:
comfy
Weaknesses:
short wear - solely from track racing
Similar Products Used:
Avenir, Fox, Louie Garnou, Spenco
Bottom Line:
I was inspired to buy these based on a similar design for Japanese Keiren racing gloves. These just do not have the quality. In a little over one year of track racing (alone) the palms are in tatters. I can't imagine what mtb riding would do to them. Comfortable while they held together, but cannot recommend them. I noticed most of the positive reviews were from folks owning them short term. A month ago I would have been one.
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Submitted by
single-track-mind
a Downhiller
from sydney Australia Date Reviewed: March 28, 2008
Favorite Trail:
ourimbah Thredbo Red Hill DH Oxford Falls
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
torpedo7.com
Strengths:
Good fit stitching has been great not as hot as they look really comfy you forget they are on , these ones have separate carbon for each knuckle so movement is great and the design of the floating neoprene works really well
Weaknesses:
none yet
Similar Products Used:
fox unibomber (rubbish palms wore out in two rides) fox digit good but thin fox mojave really good
Bike Setup:
Judge DH replica 07 all the sh#t saints codes on and on
Bottom Line:
So far the best i have used
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Peter
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, TX Date Reviewed: March 11, 2008
Favorite Trail:
North*
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Good knuckle protection.
Weaknesses:
Poor durability-thin palms wore through very quickly.
Similar Products Used:
661, Axo, TLD, Technic
Bike Setup:
Bullit
Bottom Line:
Holes showed up in palms after 10-150 miles of riding. Called and was told this problem was unusual. They sent a 2nd pair-same problem. Called again-different person (woman) said they were "changing manufacturers", so I left a message for the boss and never heard back.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Travis Fields
a Downhiller
from Charlotte, NC USA Date Reviewed: January 1, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$30.00
Strengths:
Lots of protection
Weaknesses:
Worst stitching of any gear I have ever owned! I have used them on less than 5 rides and the stitching has just decided to come undone in several places. Uncomfortable internal fabric rubs the hands.
Similar Products Used:
666 Cedric Gracia
Bike Setup:
06 V-10 nothing stock
Bottom Line:
I have the newest model with the seperated knuckle carbon fiber that looked like they would be great. I would not recommend them to anyone because they are not durable or comfortable. 661 are much better they lasted nearly a year before wearing out.
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Submitted by
Doug
a Weekend Warrior
from LI, NY Date Reviewed: September 3, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Great Design, protective.
Weaknesses:
None at the time
Bottom Line:
I love the gloves
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
James
a
from Cooper Landing, Alaska Date Reviewed: August 24, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Cresent Lake Trail
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Really, really good fit. Super comfortable. The airprene breaths unbelievably well... you can literally feel the wind blowing over your hand! Tough leather on palm stands up to a lot of abuse, terrycloth over thumb is great for mopping sweat off your face (super absorbant), and the wrist strap can fit tight enough (yet comfortably enough) to offer some wrist reinforcement.
Weaknesses:
Rub pads on back of fingers starting detattaching immediately. Some of the stitching easily starts to come undone. However, after immediately trimming these leads, I've had no further problems. The velcro wrist guard is hard to attach after putting on one glove b/c the fingers of the glove easy attach to the velcro, pulling apart the material slightly.
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that these are EXCELLENT gloves. They breath really well, fit really well, stand up to crashes really well (I've eaten gravel several times and they show nothing but dirt), etc. The only drawback is the somewhat easy to unravel stitching (especially on the rubber pads). However, this isn't a huge deal, is fairly easy to remedy, and doesn't remove from the functionality of the glove. I highly recommend it!
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Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Northeastern, NJ USA Date Reviewed: April 29, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Skyline Drive, Ringwood NJ
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$39.00
Purchased At:
Rockgardn.com
Strengths:
Comfortable, decent protection.
Weaknesses:
Horrible stitching!!!! Got a hole on my ring finger on the first day using them too.
Bike Setup:
07 Specialized Stumpy Comp
Bottom Line:
I'd never suggest to anyone to buy these gloves, I literally used them just today and the stitching is already working itself loose and I have a nice hole in one of the fingers on the right glove. I'm sending them back this week for a refund. The other reviews seemed pretty positive, which is why I ordered them, but wow what a disappointment.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ben
a Downhiller
from Massachusetts Date Reviewed: February 11, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$38.00
Purchased At:
Rockgardn.com
Strengths:
Very comfortable, super tough, look really nice, carbon fiber saves my knuckles.
Weaknesses:
None so far.
Similar Products Used:
Fox, Oakley, 661
Bottom Line:
Best gloves I've used. They are really comfy and they haven't fallen apart yet (can't say the same for some other gloves).
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Claro Evangelista
a Weekend Warrior
from Woodside NY USA Date Reviewed: October 21, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Stillwell Woods in Woodbury
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$38.00
Purchased At:
Direct from RockGardn
Strengths:
The fit and comfort level are exceptional. I'm very happy with this purchase. Looks really cool too.
Weaknesses:
I did not find any yet.
Similar Products Used:
661 Cedri Gracia Carbon gloves.
Bike Setup:
Trek Session 77
Bottom Line:
Ahhh, comfort at last. I purchased the Six Six One Cedric Gracia gloves after banging my knuckles on a tree. What a waste of money. The 661 carbon was hurting my pinky firger's knuckles. It was unbearable after a while. So I bought the latest 2006 RockGardn Fate carbon gloves with 2 carbons instead of one. What a difference in comfort. Unbelievable! The quality too is exception compared to the 661. Does not look cheap at all. And then the fit is excellent as well. And last but not least, is the look. These are really cool looking gloves. I highly recomment this product. Buy one and you wont regret it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dan
a
from London, England Date Reviewed: September 5, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Carbon peices are great. Thumbs have a nice proper leather used for them. Neoprene cuffs felt good
Weaknesses:
JEEZE. Well the Velcro eats at the tips of the fingers once taking them off. In turn weakens the material on the index and middle fingers. Finally the fingers end up breaking through the gloves. After about a month of use the cuffs began to come unstitched. I had to re-stitch them up.
Bottom Line:
GREAT looking gloves and the carbon is real nice. Pick them up if you want the look. Pass of them if you want a glove that will last moer than 2 months.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
wes
a Downhiller
from usafa Date Reviewed: July 14, 2006
Favorite Trail:
palmer
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
rockgardn site
Strengths:
the gloves are really comfortable and have a lot of protection. all the holes in the palm are great too. once they broke in they felt great.
Weaknesses:
the stiching is terrible.
Similar Products Used:
trek gloves that lasted a couple years
Bike Setup:
giant vt2
Bottom Line:
i bought these gloves and wore them for a xc ride just to see how they felt and the seam along the thumb ripped about an inch. i didn't even fall or ride hard at all. i had already returned one pair b/c i got the wrong size, so i just stiched up the tear. next time i went riding i noticed that the velcro was coming undone also. i still need to stich that up too. if you know how to stich stuff up, then these are great gloves. otherwise, i've heard good things about specialized carbon gloves.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle Date Reviewed: July 9, 2006
Favorite Trail:
all of them
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
rockgardn.com
Strengths:
These are my first carbon gloves. They look good and have good protection for my knuckles.
Weaknesses:
These gloves have a bunch of holes on the palm and fingers, which are there for cooling I suppose. I've ridden about 80 miles on these gloves and the holes are starting to stretch out and tear. I think they will give out very soon and have already started shopping for new gloves. I had high hopes for these gloves and it is too bad they have a weakness like this.
Similar Products Used:
various Pearl Izumi fingerless and full-finger (no knuckle protection), 661 (plastic knuckles, not-carbon), some REI brand with knuckle padding but no carbon
Bike Setup:
Nomad w/ Z1 Sport on the front and DXH 5.0 coil on the rear
Bottom Line:
If you aren't hard on the palms of your gloves, these gloves will do the job very nicely. I just can't see how they could work out for me unless they change the gloves to remove the holes in the palm and fingers.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
James
a
from Fort Hood Texas USA Date Reviewed: April 14, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
primerides.com
Strengths:
This product is great. I am in the US Army and my whole platoon uses these gloves and they have come in handy more than we thought they would at first. I love the fact that the knuckles are carbon fiber so that if we need to hit out a window or something you dont need to look around you just put your fist right through it.
Weaknesses:
The only weakness is that the protection on the finger-nail tore off within the first couple of months
Bottom Line:
These are great gloves but the only downfall is that they dont come in any all black or dark colors. We had to paint the white parts on them to be more tactical or we weren't allowed to wear them. I havn't found anyone that carries them in any color except with the white lables on them. Performance wise they are excellent
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Asa Salas
a Downhiller
from Orangevale, CA, USA Date Reviewed: January 30, 2006
Favorite Trail:
any trail in Downieville
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
rockgardn
Strengths:
These gloves are sick! Full of carbony goodness. I did a full frontal palm slide on sandy hardpack with these and rode away unscathed. NO DAMAGE to the gloves either. They are awesome on the tight manzanita knuckle whacker type trails too. The stitching on these gloves is top notch, they didn't fall apart in a month like my Oakleys. They have great bar feel and don't bunch up in the palm. Also, if you have small hands, the small size is truly small. They felt almost too small at first, but broke in perfectly. Nice breathability too for a full protection glove.
Weaknesses:
Your friends will try to steal them. You can have them in any color you like, as long as it is black.
Similar Products Used:
Troy Lee, Oakley, Fox
Bike Setup:
V-10 big and bad
Bottom Line:
If you ride off road, get some.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kat
a Downhiller
from New York Date Reviewed: October 2, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Anything At Diablo (NJ)
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
Rockgardn Site
Strengths:
The ultimate in durability and protection. Wicked coverage on knuckles. Terrycloth thumb good for wiping your eyes, nose, whatever.
Weaknesses:
Palms are thin. Carbon takes some getting used to as it doesn't flex easily. Nothing on index/middle finger to prevent slipping off levers.
Similar Products Used:
Fox, Specialized, 661
Bike Setup:
2004 Santa Cruz VP Free
Bottom Line:
I purchased these Rockgardn gloves because I keep catching my knuckles on tree trunks. They offer protection like no other glove I have had. The back is incredibly strong but stiff because the carbon areas don't flex. That also cuts down on the ventilation so your hands get a little warm. The palms are a bit thin and I did slip my right hand off my grip once as I moved way back off the saddle for a steep section. I recommend these gloves for DH use. They are a bit overkill for a XC ride or just messing around on local trails.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
LORD DEST
a Weekend Warrior
from NYCITY Date Reviewed: September 2, 2005
Favorite Trail:
devils freeride park
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
bellite bikes
Strengths:
carbon fiber all over
Weaknesses:
not enough padding on the palm no grip for bakes lever just a regular golve bottom...
Similar Products Used:
speaclized forest golves
Bike Setup:
cannondale prophet 800 stock
Bottom Line:
good golves but they need more padding on the palm and fingers..
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a Downhiller
from Cleveland, Ohio Date Reviewed: June 10, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Mohican DH
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$39.00
Purchased At:
UltimateCycle
Strengths:
Carbon Fiber knuckles!!!!!!!!!
Weaknesses:
no finger grip for brake levers (Fox Bomber gloves have it)
Similar Products Used:
Fox Bomber
Bike Setup:
Iron Horse SGS Team Mavic DeeMax rims, FSA Pounder cranks, 5th Element Coil
Bottom Line:
These gloves are great!! I bit the dust in a rock garden already and my hands don't have a scratch!!! The fit is excellent, like a second skin thats bulletproof!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
alex
a
from belgrade Date Reviewed: April 29, 2005
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
manufacturer
Strengths:
These glover rock! Not only do they look super cool but theyre also well made and relatively breathable. They are by far the best gloves i have had so far.
Weaknesses:
I have a big hand and the carbon mold is perhaps for people who have smaller hands than mine. I wish the carbon plate was just a bit wider.
Similar Products Used:
661/fox ect.
Bike Setup:
stevens f9 race
Bottom Line:
The best gloves you can buy for 45$ period. As the guy above me said you will be SO glad you had them on if you fall on your hands or hit your knuckles.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Eric Rider
a Weekend Warrior
from PORTLAND,OREGON-USA Date Reviewed: March 29, 2005
Favorite Trail:
not favorite, but secret
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$39.00
Purchased At:
Universal Cycles (portland)
Strengths:
Unless you were born on Mars, I think everyone knows by now that carbon fiber is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to "thermal dynamics". Super strong plastics and fibers do what they are designed to do in the mountain bike world. Oh yeah, I also will have to agree with the other reviewer about going to a bar with these on....
Weaknesses:
Upon your first few rides you will notice some mild discomfort, especially around the knuckle region. This will go away with time as you get used to carbon pads opposed to standard whimpy pads. Just spend quality time trying them on and maybe even "grab a bar" and see how they feel.
Similar Products Used:
Hmmm,FOX/AXO/ANSWER/SPECIALIZED/RACE FACE/SIX SIX ONE(661)/PEARL IZUMI/TROY LEE/?ETC.?
Bike Setup:
'04 Soul Cycles Titan jumping hardtail/'05 Marzocchi 66RC 150mm/and more than a few mortgage payments worth of hardcore aftermarket parts for the Superman in all of us.
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is to buy what makes you happy... If a Huffy and a pair of super burly Rockgarden gloves makes you happy, then I think you need mental help. But if those same gloves (minus the Huffy) make you happy to wear, even when you're not on a bike, then I would have to say that you might have found the best and strongest mountain bike gloves made for quite some time.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Vokes
a Downhiller
from BC Date Reviewed: March 26, 2005
Favorite Trail:
The Ponytail Express
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
Manufacturer
Strengths:
Awesome Look - Ultimate protection for the knuckles
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Fox Racing Gloves
Bike Setup:
Demo 9 DH
Bottom Line:
What a pair of gloves. Yeah they cost a few bucks, but they are definitely worth every penny. I will never wear another flimsy pair of gloves again.
I just wish these gloves were made back in my high school days. I could have worn a pair to the bar and knocked a few clowns out cold!
If you crash, you WANT these on your hands.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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