The Best Gloves to Wear with Your Mountain Bike

For biking purists, a good pair of cycling gloves is essential to the overall riding experience. Helmets ensure safety for your head and face, while a pair of gloves can dramatically decrease the potential pain and sensations you may feel on certain terrain. A good pair of cycling gloves can keep your hands warm on frosty days, keep your hands dry on summer days, and above all else, they can provide a rider with the necessary grip to maintain a hold on their handlebars when the going gets tough. If you’re in the market for a new pair of weatherproof, tough-as-nails cycling gloves, here are some we recommend.

Finding the Perfect Fit for You

Here are the factors to consider when buying a new pair of cycling gloves:

• Purpose: Cycling gloves are cycling gloves, but some are designed to handle specific situations and climates better than others. It’s important to figure just what kind of environment you live in and how often you’d need a certain style of gloves over the other.
• Material design: You should pay attention to the material of your glove, less so for climate reasons and more so for safety. Material designs like anti-slip fabric or gel pads on the palms of your glove will ensure stable riding with little room for error.
• Sizing: Another aspect of your purchase where there should be little room for error is the size. You want to be comfortable, after all, and a size too big or small could have a discomforting effect on how you ride your bike. Take the time to measure up and refer to a product’s sizing guide if available.

Best for Hot Weather: LuxoBike Cycling Gloves

You’re likely going to bike in some fairly warm temperatures throughout several months of the year, and when you do, you’re definitely going to sweat. So, to combat the heat, LuxoBike’s Cycling Gloves offer those who don them a variety of sweat-proof options to keep their hands dry and firmly on the handlebars. This pair of cycling gloves features a breathable and stretchable Lycra mesh on the back of the hands, so the wind can circulate throughout and cool your hands. The purchase of these gloves also includes an absorbent cloth towel so riders can wipe the sweat from their thumbs. Similarly, the material on the palm of these gloves is made from a supple micro suede material that promises an anti-slip, maximum grip.

Best for Cold Weather: Inbike Cycling Gloves

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you could be cycling on those days that just chill you to the core, causing your hands to develop a burnt red hue and dry out your knuckles like the dickens. For those frostbite mornings, Inbike’s Cycling Gloves are designed to keep your hands feeling toasty and steady. This pair of windproof gloves is lined with ultra thermal fleece and reinforced at the wrist with a hook and loop fastener, so riders can tightly lock in warmth and keep the cold out. This glove is more than capable of handling stress on the outside, too, with its three-piece gel pad palm absorbing any shock along your ride. A pretty neat bonus to these gloves is the reflective ribbon lining the back of each hand if you’re looking to get some night riding done in the cold.

Most Versatile: RIMSports Cycling Gloves for Men & Women

To craft a great cycling glove is a feat all on its own, but to handle weightlifting, rowing, kayaking, and general exercising as well? RIMSports puts its Cycling Gloves to the versatile test with a one-glove-achieves-all mindset. Each hand is infused with shock-absorbent comfort gel padding that holds up after long durations of cycling, so you feel less pain or numbness at the end of a trip. Fingerless gloves can tend to feel oversized and uncomfortable, but this lightweight pair’s efficient design, combined with a premium lycra spandex blend that allows sweat to evaporate faster, was made for comfort when in use, right down to its microfiber thumb towel.

Most Comfortable: Leobaiky Ultrathin Cycling Half Finger Gloves

A skin-tight option that manages to feel comfortable to the point of almost non-existence, the Leobaiky Ultrathin Cycling Half Finger Gloves are, indeed, very thin. This pair of gloves is constructed from Lycra measuring only 0.1 millimeters in thickness, that’s about on par with the average thickness of a sheet of regular copy paper. What you’re getting is an immensely breathable pair of gloves that, while thin, still stands up to the wear and tear most cyclists put their hands through. Equipped with 4-millimeter soft gel pads inside the palm, these gloves are shock-absorbing, anti-slip, and ready for the trail ahead.