Lizard Skins Monitor 1.0 Glove - Review

As an important contact point with the bike or sometimes the dirt, riding gloves see a lot of abrasive wear, sweat, dirt, and frequent trips to the washing machine. If you ride hard, gloves can sometimes show signs of fatigue sooner than a soft compound tire. Long fingers and hard braking can further stress most gloves leading to finger tip holes that can leave you feeling like a trail hobo. I generally have moderate expectations for a light weight pair of gloves and so far the Lizard Skin Monitor 1.0 has managed to meet them.

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Materials and Construction

The Monitor 1.0’s backside construction is pretty much seamless and mostly made from Nylon Spandex. It's a lightweight, stretchy, breathable fabric that makes for a snug fit. The glove’s palm side is thicker and made from Clarino, a synthetic leather-like breathable fabric that is generally more durable than many glove materials from years past, and used by other mountain bike glove makers. Fingers, thumbs, palm pads and wrist trim all appear to be single stitched with thread. An outer thumb panel uses a medium weight absorbent material for a sweat wipe. Index and middle finger tips have small silicone laminated strips supposedly for better grip and to help make the gloves compatible with touch screens.The glove stops just above the wrist bone and is closed with a 1.75 inch long rubber and velcro closure flap.





Fit and Function

Putting on fresh pair of gloves is always a nice way to start your ride and the Monitor 1.0 was a comfortable fit. The extra-large gloves were test ridden using both firm thinner lock-ons, and softer thicker slide-on grips. In dry conditions the contact was very positive and I almost asked ‘are these too tacky' , but I think not. In wet conditions the palms did soak up water and stretched out a bit, but still felt good and didn't slip even with a relaxed grip on the handlebars.



All the fingers and thumb have a split and gusset at the knuckles for articulation and this feature is noticeable and works well. Having long fingers I initially could feel the seams at the end of each digit and found this a bit irritating. After a ride or two the finger tip seams softened up and it was not an issue. A small pad is located on the palm and allows for a rest position on the handlebars when cruising or climbing. The Monitor 1.0 is sometimes listed as a downhill glove but lacks any padding or firm outer protection that I normally associate with downhill or freeride models. Usage really comes down to person preference. I’ve had problems with velcro gloves closures in the past and will just cut them off if they fail me. To date the Monitors velcro flap has worked well and has never pulled open while riding. After the first machine wash you can notice the Clarino palm begin to pill. However it did not continue to degrade after several washes and even some time in the dryer (which the care and content tag does not recommend!)The outer thumb section made from a black medium weight material was adequate, but lacked some of the softness and absorbency for good sweat or nose wiping action on the trail.


Touch screen compatibility is a newer feature glove makers have been thinking about and the two most common screens types used in devices are resistive and capacitive. The first relies on mechanical pressure while the second uses changes in the screens electric field caused by something conductive like a finger. There are of course other variables that can affect touch screen function on the trail including wet weather, dirty gloves, and the manufacturer. We had mixed results testing touch screens in these gloves and found that some iphone screens were more problematic to use on the trail than Samsung. The Monitor 1.0 performed no better or worse than similar styles from other brands. You might want to test your glove and phone combo.




Pinkbike's Take:

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Gloves Lizard Skins