Road gloves – lightweight cycling gloves for training and races

A good pair of cycling gloves are an essential part of every rider’s kit. Especially if you spend long hours on your road bike, high-quality cycling gloves will absorb micro vibrations caused by uneven roads and thus guarantee a more comfortable ride experience. We have put together a buyer's guide with all important tips and tricks to help you choose the right gloves for fun road cycling. Ranging from the right padding of cycling gloves through to the right materials for summer or winter, you will find all information needed for buying a good pair of gloves for road cycling here.

Our product range includes a big choice of road gloves for women and men in all common sizes and price ranges by renowned brands like ROSE, Roeckl, Chiba, GripGrab, GORE WEAR, Ziener, Shimano, Mavic, assos, Castelli and many more. In the ROSE online shop you are guaranteed to find the right model!

Gel or foam – which padding do I need?

• Foam padding: Riding on uneven roads or trails causes micro vibrations that will reach your hands, even if your bike has a suspension fork. An integrated foam padding on the palm can absorb these micro vibrations and thus prevent your hands from premature fatigue.
• Gel pads: The alternative to a foam padding is a gel padding. A gel padding on the palm absorbs shocks even more efficiently and offers thus even better protection from vibrations caused by uneven roads or trails.

Road gloves for summer

On hot days, your cycling gloves should be first and foremost: breathable. The material should absorb excessive moisture and heat fast and wick it off to the outside to ensure a dry and cool feeling on your skin.

Particularly light mesh materials and a perforated technical material on the palm are preferred during summer, as these allow for perfect ventilation of your hands.

Some cycling gloves in our range have another interesting feature that prevents tanning lines. Sunlight gets though the fine and light fabric of the gloves on the back of your hands. This is how these gloves allow for even tanning of your hands. Cycling gloves with tan-through material are marked as such in the product text.

Road gloves for winter

Especially for the cold season, we offer a big choice of lined, warm winter gloves that offer effective protection thanks to their insulating material. Differences between winter gloves:

• Softshell: If you only want to protect yourself from light rain or spray on cool days, a windproof and water-repellent softshell fabric is the material of choice.
• Windproof membrane: Manufacturers often use a windproof membrane for winter cycling gloves. This is a light layer of plastic sheeting that is integrated into the material. It prevents cold wind from entering. Microscopically small perforations in the plastic sheeting, however, allow water vapour produced when sweating to escape to the outside fast. This ensures a dry and warm feeling on your skin. A popular windproof membrane is for example GORE WINDSTOPPER.
• Windproof and waterproof membrane: On cold days with unsettled whether, a wind- and waterproof membrane offers great protection! The microporous plastic sheeting that is integrated in the material not only keeps off wind, but also prevents rain from entering. Ideal for rainy weather! Popular windproof membranes are for example GORE-TEX or EUROTEX.
• Touchscreen compatible: Many long finger cycling gloves for winter come with integrated fibres at the fingers or thumb that allow you to use your smartphone.

Our extensive choice of winter cycling gloves against cold fingers can be found here.

How should my road gloves fit?

Your new short finger or full-finger gloves should be snug enough to feel like a second skin, yet not too tight as to be restrictive. The cuff goes around your wrist and should be snug and comfortable, too.

Which features should my gloves have?

Depending on the model, some gloves offer additional features. These are the most important ones that might even improve your cycling experience:

• Slip-resistant silicone prints: Many gloves come with silicone prints on the palm. These ensure extra grip on the bars and levers.
• Terry thumb: The thumb of some cycling gloves is made of a particularly absorbent material. You can wipe off your sweaty front with it during riding.

With this helpful buyer's guide, you should easily find the perfect road gloves for your cycling discipline. Our experts will be happy to give you more advice on cycling gloves anytime. Our product range includes a big choice of road gloves for women and men in all standard sizes and price ranges by renowned manufacturers such as ROSE, Roeckl, Chiba, GripGrab, GORE WEAR, Ziener, Shimano, Mavic, assos, Castelli and many more. In the ROSE online shop you are guaranteed to find the right model!