fingerless gloves

Giro helmets are well known, but this brand also produces a wide range of padded fingerless gloves (or 'mitts') including these Bravo Juniors for the bike-keen offspring in your family. They're well-constructed, look very nice and are comfortable to wear, but they don't provide a huge amount of padding.

I'd not heard of Tenn until very recently, but they sell stuff direct from their website or via Amazon and Halfords. Some of their kit is ok and some of it is good - I really liked their Sprint Jersey which I reviewed recently, but these Tenn Outdoors Fingerless Cycling Mitts made me grateful for specialist retailers, because they really are dreadful.

There's nothing fancy about these Italian-made gloves but they do a straightforward job well and they're cheap to boot.

The lowers are hugely breathable polyester mesh with foam padding across much of the palm, the base of the fingers, and the area between the thumb and the forefinger. The padding is low profile and low tech but it has provided enough cushioning to avoid numb fingers throughout testing. You might want deeper padding for extra comfort on long rides.

These elegant racing mitts from Swedish kit masters Craft are stylish and understated. At least, they are at the moment. I'm not sure how the gleaming white mesh will cope with a mid-ride wheel change or emergency chain splitting incident. Of course, if you're sensible you can always take them off and there are some handy removal loops between the fingers to assist you there. Alternatively, you could just buy them in black instead.