summer cycling gloves
Wearing the best summer cycling gloves while riding is just as important as a pair of winter gloves for cold weather rides.
The benefits may be less obvious, but the best summer cycling gloves – sometimes called mitts if they are fingerless – feature padded and textured palms, helping you to grip the bars better while providing cushioning. They’ll also help absorb sweat, so that your palms stay drier and more comfortable.
Should you fall, mitts or gloves will also help to protect your palms from cuts and abrasions.
As when buying a pair of the best winter cycling gloves, an ideal pair of summer cycling gloves will have a close and comfortable fit. Too tight, and they will dig in over longer rides and can potentially cause pins and needles if circulation is affected; too loose and you’ll lose the benefit of the grip, and in the case of fingered gloves, find changing gear a challenge.
Also found on some of the brand’s higher end ranges, it is designed not only for comfort and greater control of the handlebars in tough terrain, but to help prevent damaging the main padding on your hand (pronator teres muscle), which, when subjected to prolonged and excessive impact, can compress the median nerve, often know as the labourer’s nerve.
There are long and short finger versions available. Both use a mesh backing to help maximise breathability, and have a microsuede nose wipe on the thumb to prevent soreness.
The long fingered version is increasingly popular and offers whole finger protection, helping to improve shifting and brake grip in dusty and wet conditions, so great for gravel and slightly cooler weather too.
The mostly black gloves do come with some primary colour and high viz accents to choose from along with traditional full black.