Cycling Gloves Selection Guide: Choosing the Right Partner
Choosing the right cycling gloves must be a problem that every cycling enthusiast can hardly avoid. I think the correct choice of cycling gloves is no less important than a barber choosing the right hairdressing tools, a chef selecting the right cooking utensils, or a painter selecting the right brushes.
Bicycle riding gloves are protective and assistive tools designed specifically for cycling, which can effectively protect your hands and enhance the cycling experience. They play different roles in different cycling scenarios.
In this article, we will look at the types of cyling gloves, types of riding, riding seasons, and riding needs to help you find the most appropriate “riding partner” to make your riding trip more comfortable and safe.
Types of Cycling Gloves
Before choosing the right riding gloves, we need to clarify the main types of riding gloves.
Riding gloves can be categorized mainly into half-finger gloves and full-finger gloves.
Half-finger gloves:
Pros:
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Breathable: Exposed fingers are good for heat dissipation and suitable for hot weather riding.
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Flexible control: Exposed fingertips make it easier to control the handlebars, suitable for cyclists who pursue a sense of control.
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Convenient touch screen: Exposed fingertips allow direct operation of touch screen devices like cell phones.
- Insufficient protection: Naked fingertips, can not effectively protect the fingers, easy to be scratched or bruised.
- Insufficient protection against cold: Fingers are exposed and are prone to frostbite when riding in cold weather.
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Poor sun protection: Fingers are exposed and easily sunburned in sunlight.
Applicable scene:
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Mainly suitable for summer riding, short-distance riding, urban road riding, etc.
Selection suggestions:
- Material: Choose fabrics that absorb sweat and moisture and are breathable, such as polyester and mesh.
- Palm: Choose a palm with a non-slip pattern or silicone particles to enhance grip.
Full-finger gloves
Pros:
- Strong protection: Fully protect your fingers, effectively preventing scratches, abrasions, and frostbite.
- Good cold protection: Can effectively block wind chill suitable for cold weather riding.
- Good sun protection: It can effectively block UV rays and protect the skin on the hand.
- Poor breathability: Fingers are wrapped, less breathable, and tend to get stuffy.
- Limited flexibility: Wrapped fingertips, slightly reduced dexterity for maneuvering.
- Inconvenient touchscreen: Requires gloves to be removed to operate touchscreen devices.
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Mainly suitable for long-distance riding, mountain riding, fall and winter season riding, etc.
- Material: Choose wear-resistant, non-slip, breathable fabrics, such as synthetic leather, polyester, mesh cloth, and so on.
- Palm: Choose the palm with thick padding material, which can effectively cushion the road vibration.
Choosing Riding Gloves Based on Type of Cycling
The type of riding is an important consideration when choosing riding gloves. Road riding and mountain biking have very different requirements for riding gloves, so choosing the right style can better protect your hands and enhance your riding experience.
Road cycling:
Road Cycling mainly involves flat roads with speed and distance as the main goals.
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Light and breathable: road riding is fast, hands are easy to sweat, need light and breathable gloves, and easy to dissipate heat and sweat.
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Good anti-slip performance: road riding requires high maneuverability, and requires palms with anti-slip patterns or silicone particles to enhance grip on the handlebars.
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Half-finger gloves: light and breathable, better control flexibility, suitable for summer road riding.
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Full-finger gloves: choose light material, suitable for spring and fall season road riding.
Mountain Cycling:
Mountain riding is predominantly rugged and mountainous, with cross-country and challenge as the main goal.
Required gloves
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Sturdy and wear-resistant: mountain riding road conditions are complicated and prone to bumps, need sturdy and wear-resistant gloves to protect your hands from injury.
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Good cushioning performance: mountain riding road bumps, the need for thick padding material, effective cushioning road vibration, reduce the impact of the hand.
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Strong anti-slip performance: Mountain riding requires a stronger grip, and needs a palm with anti-slip patterns or silicone particles to enhance grip on the handlebars.
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Strong protection: Mountain riding is prone to accidents and requires extra protection features such as knuckle protection and palm protection.
Recommended gloves:
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Full Finger Gloves: Choose styles with thick padding, strong anti-slip properties, and protection.
Choosing Cycling Gloves According to the Cycling Season
Season is also an important consideration when choosing riding gloves. Factors such as temperature, humidity, and sunlight intensity in different seasons can affect the riding experience, so you need to choose the right riding gloves according to the season to ensure a comfortable, safe, and efficient ride.
Spring
Spring temperatures are gradually rising, but the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, so you need to choose cycling gloves that are both warm and breathable.
It is recommended to choose light and breathable full-finger gloves with windproof function, which can adapt to the temperature difference between morning and evening and keep your hands comfortable at the same time.
Summer
With high temperatures in the summer, your hands tend to sweat easily during riding, so you need to choose riding gloves that are breathable and absorb sweat quickly.
It is recommended to choose light and breathable half-finger gloves, which can effectively dissipate heat and sweat to keep your hands cool.
Autumn
Temperatures gradually drop in the fall, but the sun still shines during the day, so you need to choose riding gloves that combine sun protection, warmth, and breathability.
It is recommended to choose full-finger gloves with sun protection, lightweight and breathable, which can effectively block ultraviolet rays and keep your hands comfortable at the same time.
Winter
In winter, when the temperature is low, you need to choose cycling gloves that are warm, windproof, and waterproof. For thick, warm, windproof, and waterproof full-finger gloves, choose a style with a padded lining or waterproof coating to keep your hands warm and dry.
Choose cycling gloves according to your needs
Touch screen function
The touch screen function of the cycling gloves allows you to operate electronic devices such as cell phones directly without removing the gloves, which is especially suitable for cyclists who need to use their cell phones to navigate, and record cycling data and other functions.
When choosing touchscreen gloves, it is recommended to select materials with conductive properties and ensure that the touchscreen area covers your fingertips for easy operation.
Night Riding
Night-riding gloves are designed to enhance safety with a reflective design and are suitable for nighttime and low-light riding. It is recommended to choose gloves with reflective strips or reflective materials to enhance visibility at night, and to consider the touch screen function to facilitate the use of cell phones at night.
Waterproof and water-resistant function
Windproof and waterproof cycling gloves can effectively block windchill and rain, keep your hands dry and cool, suitable for rainy and cold weather cycling. We recommend choosing a style that is waterproof and able to withstand rainwater soaking through, as well as windproof performance to block wind chill.
How to find the best Cycling gloves
Define your needs: first of all, determine your type of riding and environment, as well as the need for functionality.
Try on experience: try on the gloves to feel the comfort and fit, make sure that the palm, fingers, and wrist fit comfortably and that the glove size is not too big or too small.
Summary recommendation:
Choosing Cycling gloves is just as important as choosing riding gear, as they protect your hands and enhance your riding experience. When choosing gloves, it is important to consider the type of glove, the type of riding, the season, and the need for special features.
Half-finger gloves are suitable for summer short-distance cycling and urban road riding, while full-finger gloves are more suitable for long-distance, mountain, fall, and winter riding.
Road cycling pays more attention to lightweight, breathable, and non-slip, while mountain cycling requires strong wear resistance, good cushioning performance, and strong protection.
Choose a breathable half-finger in summer, sunproof and breathable full-finger in fall, warm windproof and waterproof full-finger in winter, and windproof and warm full-finger in spring.
The touchscreen function is convenient for operating your cell phone, choose a reflective design for night riding, windproof and waterproof function is suitable for rainy and snowy weather.
For night riding choose gloves with reflective strips or reflective material to enhance night visibility.
For rainy and snowy weather riding, choose gloves with waterproof and windproof performance to withstand wind and cold.
Finally, don't forget to try on the experience and choose the most suitable riding partner for you to make your riding trip more comfortable and safe.