Words and pics by David Podolsky

When it comes to riding protection, it is pretty simple what we want – good fit, protection, style and price.  Getting there can be more difficult.

There are many players in the suit, glove and boot market, so it can be tricky to navigate what you are getting for your money.  It is common that big distributors decide that most motorcyclists are not that educated about the technical side of the products so they choose to offer flashy, sort of juvenile, cool looking products that have big profit margins.

Typically these don’t fit well or protect well since look and cost are the main focus.  Enter Heroic Racing Apparel - a small company that has been getting a lot of attention in racing circles – the main focus of the riding gear has been fit, protection and style.   

Who is Heroic?  Company founder Todd McNabney is track day rider and avid race fan who saw that there was a large gap between the low end market and high end market in terms of price and quality.  The low end stuff didn’t fit well, was not made of with quality materials and didn’t have much more to offer than a splash of a style and a price point.  The high end products were over-priced in his opinion and still fell short in the fit/comfort department.  Todd thought to himself “where are the cool, quality items that I can afford?”.  Rather than complain, Todd began to create designs for racing suits, jackets and gloves.

The Heroic Racing Apparel line of products has been showing up on the grids of racetracks in greater and greater numbers during the past few seasons and I have had a chance to sample the newest model of gloves – the SP-R Pros.

As you put the glove on the first thing you notice is that it is comfortable right off.  The leather is soft compared to other racing gloves and the ergonomic shape lets the glove simply fit naturally.  Pre-curved fingers are “articulated” with elastic built into them; a really innovative way to eliminate bunching and gathering seen on other gloves.

The gauntlet of the glove has two closures, one right at the wrist and another at the end which of the gauntlet.  This unique design has a closure from each side which makes is secure and close nicely - even over the leathers.

The back of the hand has tear drop shaped protectors over each knuckle and a unique flap of leather at the base of the thumb for protection should you be sliding on it.

Another protective feature is the use of Sting Ray skin on the heel of the hand, outside the pinky and on the gauntlet.  This is because when studying accidents and the damage sustained to gloves Todd noted that these areas had the most impact and abrasions.

I had the chance to meet Todd at the most recent AMA Superbike Round and ask him some questions about his company and product.

INTERVIEW:
DP – Tell me about Heroic gloves and what is different about them:
TM – Fit is one strong key to Heroic products. Just like a pair of jeans fits well in the store and then not so well after wearing them, gloves are the same.  We recommend to buy the product snug and once it relaxes it is an exact fit.

DP – Tell me how the fit comes into play.
TM – Well I met with an orthopedic doctor who specialized in hands; I learned that hands have a rest point which is a relaxed handlebar hold.  We’ve created a system that brings fingers naturally back to the rest point, the Heroic Articulated fingers is an innovation that after a few seasons with top racers using them, we know makes sense.  It helps reduce arm pump as well.

DP – We need a nice fit and comfort but what about protection? 
TM – I’m glad you asked.  Protection is square one; the product must allow you ride comfortably, but also must protect you in the event of a crash.  Our gloves are made of Kangaroo skin, and not just any Kangaroo skin.  We use the pouch skin which is not grained.  The grain, just like with cow hide, can provide weak areas.  This thin Kangaroo skin makes a comfortable glove that is less prone to tearing than any cow hide. We also use 4 ply Kevlar thread and exotic stingray skin on top of shock foam.  These high-end materials and our experience in construction makes the gloves have superior protection.

DP – ThanksTodd.

As you know if you’ve followed this web site, I race and am very serious about protective gear.  As a racer I know that crashing is a part of racing and I don’t like being injured.  For years I raced only in Held Gloves from Germany.  These gloves were indeed amongst the best in terms of protective quality and I had good results with them being durable.  However the comfort of the Heroic gloves made it an easy choice to decide which gloves to pack in my gear bag when my next race weekend came along.

Now I am not known as a crasher and I don’t end up on the ground too often. However I must say that I have “tested” the crash worthiness of this product and even after 4 falls the gloves show nothing more than cosmetic wear and still have their integrity.  Two of the crashes were at about 100 mph and the gloves slid for awhile and I’m still racing in them; pretty impressive.

As for fashion and style, that is for you to decide for yourself.  I do seem to get more inquiries “what brand of gloves are those?”  Go see the line of Heroic Racing Apparel at www.heroicracingapparel.com

Thanks to our Sponsors: Chicken Hawk Racing, Dunlop, Seacoast Sport Cycle, ECS, Catalyst Bodies, Speedy Moto, Vesrah, Shoei, Sidi Boots, DucShop, Ohlins

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Comments (2)

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eric j said:

	leathergloveshop What a great looking pair of gloves.
	report abuse vote down vote up

November 08, 2011
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david brizuela said:

	gran pooba This article is really helpful. I'll surely be out checking Heroic soon.
	report abuse vote down vote up

November 10, 2011
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