The best cycling gloves are often treated as one of those products you can ignore to save some cash. Although wearing gloves in winter makes sense so you can protect your hands from the cold, most cyclists ride in the summer when the idea of wearing gloves seems almost ridiculous. Yet with the best pair of mitts for your hands, you can protect your palms, obtain a better grip, and reduce vibrations.
You also gain protection from abrasions, rubbing, and cuts on your hands. That means the best cycling gloves can be worn all year long.
| Picture | Name | Our Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 | VEBE Professional Outdoor Cycling Gloves | 4.9 | $$ |
 | Pearl Izumi Thermal Lite Glove | 4.2 | $$$ |
 | Giro Bravo Gloves | 4.3 | $$$ |
 | Zookki Cycling Gloves | 4.5 | $ |
 | Louis Garneau 1 Calory Gloves | 4.3 | $$ |
 | Huwaih Shock Absorbing Cycling Gloves | 4.3 | $ |
 | Kutook Full Fingered Gel Pad Bike Gloves | 4.0 | $ |
 | Pearl Izumi Ride Cyclone Gel Glove | 4.4 | $$$ |
 | Boodun Cycling Gloves with Foam Pad | 4.5 | $$ |
 | Freetoo Full Finger Cycling Gloves | 4.4 | $ |
| Picture | Name | Our Rating | Price |
How to Find the Best Cycling Gloves for Me
Cycling gloves are one of those items you never think you need… until you use them for the first time. To find the best cycling gloves, the first thing you’ll need to do is measure your hand size. Most manufacturers assign a specific size to their gloves (i.e. small, medium, large, etc.). The problem is that the actual dimensions of that specific size can be a little different.
By measuring palm width, palm length, finger length, and sometimes your ring size, you’ll be able to find a better fit through the standard sizing mechanisms.
Once you’ve sorted your measurements, you’re ready to look at the additional features that the best cycling gloves tend to have. This way you can have confidence in your purchase today.
- Reflective Materials. If you have reflective materials on your cycling gloves, it provides automobile drives with more visibility when you need to signal for a turn or lane change. Look for reflective portions on the tabs of the glove or within its piping.
- Knuckle Guards. This reinforced portion of the cycling glove will give you better protection against abrasions and chafing. The best gloves for cycling are reinforced with Kevlar or carbon fibers.
- Pull Tabs. This makes it a lot easier to put on the cycling gloves or take them off at the end of the day.
You’ll also find that most cycling gloves feature one of two types of standard closure: Velcro or Elastic. Velcro closures are easy to adjust for changing conditions. Elastic gloves tend to stay in place a little bit better.
Consider these features when going through the best cycling glove reviews and you’ll be able to find the right pair for your needs today.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cycling Glove Padding
The primary benefit of wearing cycling gloves is a reduction of vibrations that are transmitted to your body through the handlebars. The best cycling gloves will also prevent your sweat from creating grip issues on the handlebars after riding for some time. They’re able to provide you with these benefits due to the padding that is included in a vast majority of cycling glove designs.
This means the palm of the glove is the most important component that you can examine while shopping. It is the palm of a cycling glove that does all of the work while you’re out riding on a trail or the street. It’s also what will protect your hands during a fall.
You’ll find that most cycling gloves have palms that are made from three material options. Each has its own advantages to consider.
- Cycling gloves with leather palms are flexible, soft, and offer the most protection from a fall. They can also stiffen somewhat when dry and be hesitant to absorb sweat, but overall these tend to be the most durable cycling gloves on the market today.
- This type of palm material offers the lowest ongoing maintenance responsibility. You also receive a sure grip because of its textured surface and the material stays very soft, even with regular wear. You may also find that suede does not wick away sweat well in hot-weather conditions.
- Grip Enhancements. Some palms also offer grip materials that may be rubber, plastic, or silicon-based. They may be added to natural or synthetic core materials or be molded into the very shape of the glove itself.
Once you have the palm materials sorted out, you can take a look at the structure of the padding in the cycling gloves. The padding may be in different shapes and sizes, but will either be a foam pad or a gel pad.
Foam pads tend to have a long half-life, but can change how the handlebars are gripped. Gel pads are usually thicker than foam pads and absorb most vibrations with great success. They also tend to wear out more quickly than foam pads do.
Every cyclist has their own preference when it comes to padding size, palm materials, and pad type. There isn’t one “good” answer that works for everyone. That’s why the best cycling glove reviews are such an asset. You can sort through each feature, each material option, and find your personal preference with greater ease.
Price Guide
Cycling gloves are one of the most affordable investments you can make to improve your experience on the bike. Many glove sets are priced at less than $20 and your hands will thank you immensely for buying them a pair or two.
Full-fingered gloves tend to cost a little bit more than mitts do, averaging between $20-$30, because of the added materials and insulation they provide during colder weather rides.
Shopping for brand-name cycling gloves may add up to 30% to the final cost. Although some premium brands do use better quality padding and materials in their gloves, this isn’t always the case. That’s why the best cycling glove reviews are such an integral component of the shopping experience in this category.
Here’s Our Reviews:
VEBE
These mitts give you the classic riding experience. With a triangular-pattern series of venting holes in the palm, the sweating issues you’ll find in other cycling gloves and mitts is all but gone here. They stretch well, but stay firm to the hand, and reduce the impacts and vibrations that are felt during a rougher ride. When you do sweat, the gloves take the moisture away pretty effectively. Choose your size, pick your color, and take advantage of the 1-year hassle-free guarantee.
Click here to view pricing on Amazon and get an awesome deal.
Pearl Izumi
If you’re riding in a cold climate, then having the best cycling mitts isn’t your best option. You need real gloves that will keep your hands warm, but still be lightweight and usable. The Thermal Lite fabric in these gloves accomplishes that goal very well. We also appreciated the finger tips on these gloves, given a silicone screen, so that you can maintain your grip with relative ease. There are even reflective elements on these gloves to make you more visible. All in all, these gloves are a solid investment option.
Click here to view pricing on Amazon and get an awesome deal.
Giro
Although these mitts are made from a synthetic leather, they don’t provide you with the slimy feeling on your palms like other synthetics. This is due to a microfiber layer included in the design, which absorbs the moisture from your hands so they stay dry and you stay happy. The overall fit of the mitt is good, with padding including in strategic places along the palm to reduce riding discomfort. They stay on during an all-day ride, have a low-profile closure that is easy to adjust, and fit true to size.
Click here to view pricing on Amazon and get an awesome deal.
Zookki
The problem with mountain biking, even if you’ve got a great full suspension bike, is that you feel a lot of fatigue in your wrist and forearm at the end of the day. You’re also fighting the environment when you’re cycling at a higher elevation. These great cycling gloves give you tools to use to combat both issues. The fabric is elasticized on these full-fingered gloves, with a microfiber leather giving you a great fit. Touch recognition is also built into them, along with a triple mesh upper that keeps the gloves breathable. Try them on and we think you’ll be just as pleased with the results as we were.
Click here to view pricing on Amazon and get an awesome deal.
Louis Garneau
These are your standard cycling mitts. There’s nothing fancy about them, though you can choose from several colors to match your gear. It’s your hook-and-loop strap for a closure, foam palm inserts, and a spandex/Amara/synthetic leather 3-part combination to give you a comfortable wearing experience. The grip is firm with these mitts and the value at this price is almost beyond compare. Just purchase a size larger than normal – we found these gloves ran just a little small compared to their sizing chart.
Click here to view pricing on Amazon and get an awesome deal.
The best cycling gloves will give you the hand up you need for a solid ride on any street or trail. It’s a small investment that will pay some big dividends over time. Whether you prefer the mitt-style glove or the full-fingered option, make sure you grab the pair that works best for your needs today.
