The best cycling gloves reviewed and compared

Do you really need some top road cycling gloves? Will a pair of top road cycling gloves improve your riding experience? Numb fingers are something that affects all cyclists at some time or another and the best way of alleviating this is to wear a pair of padded gloves. Padded gloves not only reduce the chances of numb fingers, they also prevent you getting blisters on your palms. A top quality pair of cycling gloves is an important bit of kit and many people seem to gloss over this.

There are loads of different pairs of cycling gloves on the market ranging from the cheap and nasty through to the overpriced and designer, and everything in between. Just because a pair of cycling gloves is expensive it doesn't always mean they are the best.

If you need some ideas on some top road cycling gloves make sure you check out the rest of this article before parting with your hard earned cash.

If you are a lady looking for some top rated cycling gloves don't click back just yet since there is a range of woman's cycling gloves immediately after the men's cycling gloves.

Pearl Izumi Gloves

If you are looking for a short fingered pair of cycling gloves for the spring and summer months the Pearl iZumi gel gloves should be right up your street.

First off, these gloves are cool. These gel gloves are stylish and make a statement but are also understated, and look like something a professional cyclist would wear. If you prefer more "colourful" gloves the Pear iZumi gel gloves are available in several other colours as opposed to black.

These cycling gloves are very comfortable although they are on the small side so make sure you buy at least one, if not two, sizes larger than you would usually wear. The gel padding on the palms is sufficient to stop your hands going numb but not too much as to upset your grip on the bars. In fact, the palm of these gloves is quite tacky, which makes for a better grip.

The gloves are made of a supple and stretchable material which is fully breathable, which will keep you cool and comfortable during your ride. Overall, the Pearl iZumi gloves are a top pair of gloves that are good for all types of cycling and not just road cycling.

Canari Gel Gloves

The Canari Cyclewear Evolution Gel Plus gloves are 95% polyester and 5% nylon, which means that are ultra comfortable. These gloves are available in white, crimson and sapphire, all of which look classy and stylish. Some gloves are bright, garish colours but these definitely aren't, which is a plus point. The leather palms have a lot of padding in them, all of which are in just the right places, to ensure you don't get numb hands whilst out on your cycle ride. The palms have a tacky feel to them, which makes gripping the handle bars comfortable.

These gloves are well made and are tough and durable. The stitching is strong and doesn't easily unravel like it does on many pairs of cycling gloves.

These Canari cycling gloves are on the small side so you need to keep this in mind when buying them. In fact, buying one or two sizes larger than you would usually wear is advisable to get the best fit.

If you are looking for a decent pair of short fingered cycling gloves for the spring and summer months the Canari Evolution Gel Plus gloves are well worth investigating. They are not the cheapest cycling gloves around, but they are good quality and are built to last.

Giro Bravo Cycling Gloves

The Giro Bravo cycling gloves are another pair of short fingered gloves that are ideal for use in the spring and summer months.

One of the first things you will notice about these gloves is the build quality, which is exceptionally good. The Giro Bravo gloves are tough, durable and the stitching is strong. The leather palms are tacky and makes gripping the handlebars very easy and the palm padding is in the right places to keep numb hands at bay. The uppers are made from moisture wicking material to ensure your hands remain nice and fresh during the entire ride. The Giro Bravo cycling gloves also look the part and are cool.

The Giro Bravo cycling gloves are a nice fit and a medium actually is a medium, so when buying these gloves make sure you get your "normal" size for the best fit. The Giro Bravo cycling gloves are reasonably priced and offer fantastic value for money.

Overall, the Giro Bravo cycling gloves are a good pair of spring and summer cycling gloves that are well worth looking in to if you want some short fingered gloves.

Planet Bike Gloves

The Planet Bike Aries cycling gloves are a light weight pair of short fingered cycling gloves that are ideal for riding in the summer months when it is warm outside. These gloves are not going to be useful in the cold.

These gloves are extremely comfortable and are a very nice fit but there is no padding, which means they are no good for long rides where hand numbness is going to create some real problems. So, if you have a short commute or only like short rides you won't have any problems with these cycling gloves.

The Planet Bike Aries cycling gloves are not as tough and durable as other types of cycling gloves, but this is to be expected. These gloves are made to be ultra lightweight and comfortable and not ultra tough. That said, these gloves are still well made and will last a long time, provided you treat them with a bit of respect. One of the best things about these gloves is the low price which won't break the bank and also makes them excellent value for money.

So, if you are looking for a pair of cycling gloves that are lightweight, cool, extremely comfortable and perfect for short rides where numb hands are not going to be a problem the Planet Bike Aries cycling gloves are a great buy.

Cycling gloves will soon get sweaty, skanky and start to smell therefore if you want to get the most out of your cycling gloves and prolong the life of your gloves you are going to have to clean and maintain them.

Cleaning and maintaining cycling gloves isn't difficult but there are some "Do's and Don'ts" you should abide by to ensure you don't damage your cycling gloves. When cleaning them. For my list of cycle gloves cleaning do's and don'ts check out the following.

Cleaning and maintaining cycling gloves - "Do's"

Cleaning and maintaining cycling gloves - "Don'ts"

The companies detailed above not only make top rated cycling gloves for men but they also make top rated cycling gloves for women too. For some of the most popular women’s cycling gloves take a look at the cycling gloves below.

Pearl iZumi are well known for making top quality cycle clothing and their range of woman’s cycle gloves is no different. For some of the popular Pearl iZumi ladies’ cycle gloves take a look at the products below.

Giro cycling gloves are exceptionally good and their range of woman's cycling gloves is no different. Don't believe me? Take a look at the following woman's cycling gloves.

Canari also has a great range of ladies cycling gloves, all of which are tough, durable, high quality and comfortable. As well as being functional these women's cycling gloves look cool too.

Buying the correct cycling gloves isn’t difficult, you just need to ensure the cycling gloves are comfortable and well padded, and my advice to is go for comfort and functionality over looks and style.

1. Make sure you buy the right size. This may sound obvious but it amazes me how many cyclists wear the wrong sized gloves. If the gloves are too small they will restrict blood flow to your fingers and make your hands go numb. If the gloves are too big they will move around during the ride and are likely to take off some skin and give you blisters, which is painful. It is important you buy the right size of cycling gloves.
2. Make sure the palms are well padded. You put a lot of weight on your hands, and in particular your palms when cycling therefore you need to ensure the cycling gloves are well padded. If there is insufficient padding you will find you will get uncomfortable very quickly and get numb hands, which is not good.
3. Make sure the cycling gloves are breathable. When cycling your hands are going to sweat and if the moisture has nowhere to go, because the gloves aren’t breathable, it will sit no your skin for the entire ride and may cause irritation. To prevent this you need to ensure the cycling gloves are breathable.
4. Make sure the gloves are fit for purpose. By this I mean ensure you use the correct type of gloves for the prevailing conditions. For example, long fingered cycling gloves in the summer months will leave your hands to hot. Similarly, fingerless gloves in the winter months will leave your hands too cold. This may seem obvious, but think about those fresh spring mornings that start off cold and then get progressively warmer. Or think about those mild fall days that get progressively colder. In these situations I make sure I carry a pair of long fingered and fingerless gloves with me. On the spring days I start off in the long fingered and change to the fingerless and on the fall days I tend to start off in fingerless gloves and change to long fingered.

For some tips and advice on buying cycle gloves check out the following footage from Youtube.

Some people prefer full fingered gloves and some people prefer fingerless gloves. Which camp do you fall in, and more importantly, why?

Fingered or fingerless gloves

When the cold months set in and the temperatures drop it is important to keep your hands cold to ensure you remain comfortable on your bike. Cycling gloves are breathable and let the air in, and when its cold your hands and fingers are going to freeze. The best way to keep your hands nice and toasty is to wear some glove liners.

Many people think that glove liners can only be sued with long fingered gloves, but this is not true. I use glove liners with my fingerless gloves and in the winter months I actually prefer to ride with glove liners and fingerless gloves as opposed to long fingered gloves.

I find long fingered gloves restrictive but this is not the case when only having a glove liner over my fingertips. I find glove liners and fingerless gloves offer both warmth and movement, and are better than wearing long fingered gloves in the colder months.

Terramar Glove Liners

If you are looking for some top glove liners you won't go far wrong with these. The Terramar glove liners are thin, comfortable, allow you to move and will keep your fingers nice and toasty at all times, even on the coldest rides. The only problem with these glove liners is they are white, which makes them prone to dirt but don't let this put you off buying them as they are machine washable and are tough enough to

withstand several washes, even at high temperatures.

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