Best Road Bike Gloves Reviews: How to Pick The Right Pair
When it comes to choosing a pair of biking/cycling gloves, admit it, we all want tier-1 quality. There’s nothing worse than pedaling your heart out, only to hear the ripping sound of your gloves beloved stitching giving up the ghost. Besides that, who wants loose-fitting, sweltering, fabric bunching trash acting like bike gloves? Nobody!
Choosing the best road bike gloves is as simple as finding an amalgamation of various parameters that come together to create heaven on your hands. A mix of breathability and flexibility, combined with a fit custom-tailored, and just the right amount of padding is a nice start. Combine that with durability and high-quality stitching, and your well on your way to finding the best cycling gloves man has ever been gifted.
Road Bike Glove Comparison
The below links will bring you to Amazon:
Best Road Bike Glove Reviews
Finding a product on today’s market can be a nuisance and quite tedious. Hopefully, these reviews can make choosing a quality cycling glove an easier undertaking, or, at least, that’s the goal, anyways…
1. Fox Ranger Gloves — Our Top Pick
Fox Ranger Gloves would have to be our pick for bike gloves. Not only do they look freakin’ awesome, but they are the epitome of quality biking gloves, whether it be for mountain biking, racing, off-road, or simply cycling. Lightweight, durable, flexible, and with awesome designs and colors, these gloves are must-have!
An Amazon Customer had this to say! “Fox continues to blow me away. These gloves are fantastic! Great grip, fit as expected, and offer a decent amount of protection. However, the thing I can’t over is how well ventilated they are! I literally feel a breeze on my hands while I bike and my hands kept cool even in 90+ degree weather. They look great too, I get compliments on them all the time.”
Carter S. said “A very nice glove that fits well and stands up to regular use. It is not heavily padded but I don’t need that for a lot of my riding. I like it for hot summer mtb riding in my local woods with the occasional crash or whipping branch where you need full finger protection. I plan on purchasing these again.”
Even Chris Buscaglio shared:
“I have worn several different gloves throughout the years of mountain biking. Some have been, finger-less and others full finger like these. I decided I wanted to stick with full finger again and after what seemed like an endless search, I decided to stick with a known brand like Fox. My last pair was 661 and I was a bit hesitant to stray as they worked very well for my needs. Once I decided that based on price, size availability and style I took a chance and bought these.
Once they arrived I was a bit concerned that the size wouldn’t match and I would have to go through the painstaking process of returning but upon opening the package and trying them on I was pleasantly surprised how comfortable they felt on my hands. The colors were exactly as described and the style was even better than depicted.
Now that all of that was out of the way it was time to put them to the test. After hitting my first trail I knew these were going to be exactly what I wanted. They are tough, yet comfortable and they were even a little moisture wicking which was a surprise especially since I ride in AZ. I will say that from first search, through delivery and testing, I have been very happy and am I glad I took a chance to switch from my normal brand. I recommend these to not only people who already wear full finger gloves but anyone thinking of moving away from half fingers.”
2. Luxo Bike Cycling Gloves — Best for Summer
Luxo Bike Cycling Gloves are an excellent choice for any time of the year, but namely those hot, humid, miserable summer months. The back of the gloves is perforated and made of stretchable Lycra for optimized breathability and flexibility. Not only that, but these gloves are optimized for no slip, padded contact with your bike’s handlebars.
If you wipe out because your hands slipped off the handlebars, you can’t really blame anyone, but yourself. You might as well put a broomstick in the spokes of the wheel and then be mad at me for wrecking. Here is what some users had to say! Amaka Ofoegbu said “Bought two pairs for aids lifecycle ride. They were great!” A’ra Blair was enthused, stating that they were “Awesome, I love them.” You can snag these at Amazon.
3. Giro Bravo Gloves — Best Half-Finger
Giro Bravo Gloves are made to fit as if their tailored to each individual hand. Made from synthetic leather, these gloves find a way to still wick away moisture and optimize the padding in the palms. They also have a minimalist Velcro closure, which means no Velcro burn when you have fast-paced bike chases. RTB on Amazon.com said “I’ve been wearing this type of gloves for a while now – I’m on my 4th or 5th pair. They are comfortable for long rides, come in a range of colors (I prefer the red and the white ones), fit my hands well and are easy to wash and dry to keep them looking like new.”
4. Louis Garneau Women’s Biogel RX-V Bike Gloves — Best for Women
Louis Garneau Women’s Biogel RX-V Bike Gloves are an excellent choice for any female rider or an excellent gift for any lady cyclists in your life. With vented portions to minimize the build-up of heat in the glove and moisture wicking technology, these gloves keep your hands cool while you work up a sweat. Don’t believe me, just check out some of these reviews.
Nat.N said, “Nice gloves, they fit perfectly and look great too!”
Joanna, of Amazon.com, said, “Like very much good padding.” You can check these out at Amazon.
What Makes a Great Pair of Road Bike Gloves?
If you ask us what makes a great road bike glove, we’d say that it takes a combination of factors, such as breathability, fit, comfort, mobility, protection, durability, and a few others. A lot of times, it depends on the rider and what style of glove they prefer. Some cyclists prefer more padding, whereas other prefer minimal padding. This is only one example, but we all know there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Can I say that? Will PETA get involved now?
Comfortable
Comfort has to be one of the key parameters when choosing a set of gloves. If they don’t fit comfortably, why would you keep wearing them, right? So, right out of the chute, comfort should be the first quality sought after, and having found that, look for the other factors.
Breathable
When it’s hot and humid outside, sweat building up on your hands, in your gloves, is a horrible feeling. Breathability, along with moisture-wicking material, is an absolute must. While, not the best during winter months, during the summer, your gloves have to be breathable.
Aerodynamic
When cycling full-tilt and accelerating more and more with every pedal-stroke, the worse thing to experience is a glove that is catching the wind and creating the odd feeling of wind resistance on your hands.
Fingerless, Half-Finger, or Full-Finger
Fingerless and half-finger gloves are best during the hot months, or when you want to feel the wind on your fingers. Full-finger gloves, though, are absolute when it comes to the winter months, mountain biking, or even off-road biking. Nobody, allow me to reiterate, NOBODY, wants a kamikaze branch smacking them on the knuckles while barreling down an off-road trail. You will die. Well, probably not, but it’ll sting pretty good.
FAQs
Are these gloves waterproof?
Generally, they aren’t as waterproof as they are moisture wicking and breathable.
Do these have good grip?
These gloves are all specifically made to ensure the best grip on your bike’s handlebars and many manufacturers take pride in the optimizing of their glove’s grips.
Where can I find a size chart?
Size charts are available on each individual glove’s respective website link. The links to each brand of gloves are found at the bottom of each review.
Can I use it for mountain biking, and/or off-road biking?
The gloves with padding are usually better options when mountain biking or off-road biking. The padding helps keep your hands from being jarred and taking a beating on the jagged rocks or unforeseen bumps on the trail.
Which one is the best for winter?
Most of the full-fingered gloves are going to be the best choices when it comes to winter riding. Keeping the chilly wind from biting at your fingers, and also eliminating the possibility for moisture to get on your fingers should keep your fingers moderately warm and free of frostbite.