A Keen Grasp of the Obvious...

 I'm beginning to believe that I am the only one out here who has it.  For years I have been wearing bike gloves, most of which look something like these cotton backed gloves with the familiar padded palm.  There's nothing wrong with that.  I've had some of the more modern fabrics, supposedly special fabric etc, but they are all the same basic idea.  They protect your hands in case of a fall and provide protection for sensitive nerve endings in critical places on your palm.  The newer ones look a little different, but I still kinda like the cotton backed style.

The only thing that I want to change is the color.  A few years ago, when gas prices went all gaga and stayed there, I started riding more for utilitarian than recreational reasons.   I found myself riding in more traffic and realized that a brighter colored glove would make sense and make it easier for drivers to notice my hand signals.  I started looking, and looking, and looking.  There is nothing out there.  I even talked to the product development people at TREK and suggested a more visible backing with a reflective logo.  They were amazed and said, "I can't believe we didn't think of that!  We'll get somebody on it."  I waited, waited and, not only did they not send me the custom made TREK Madone I expected for my suggestion, they didn't even send me a sample.  Five years have passed and their idea of visible seems to be grey because that's the brightest color their dealers stock.  

I end up buying these $5 specials in the safety department at Lowes'.

They're OK for visibility but don't have the strategic padding for nerve endings, and they last like you would expect a $5 glove to last.  When I mention this idea to other bikers, or shop owners, the light bulb goes off and every body universally agrees the idea just makes sense.   I have seen one made by a small company in Great Britain and that's it.  White and Red are the closest to colorful I can find among the big brands. So why doesn't any bike brand sell a glove made with visibility in mind?