Winter in the UK often drives many of us indoors to the turbo trainer rather than braving the wind, rain, and freezing temperatures. But, if you’re a hardy outdoor rider or commuter, you’ll inevitably find yourself facing the chill. Since our hands are usually the first to feel the cold, it’s well worth investing in a robust pair of winter gloves to see you through to spring.
As much as that chap at the lights in bare hands might look like a hero, it’s a pretty fruitless show of machismo that isn’t going to help you get the best out of yourself at all if you decide to venture out in the cold with no gloves. No one wants to be stuck in the big ring up a climb because your hands are simply too cold to allow you to shift and change gear, which we have actually heard of in an ultimate worst case scenario example.
A decent pair of winter cycling gloves will keep your hands both warm and dry no matter how nasty the weather gets; although, it’s important to know that there are usually some trade-offs with regards to bulk and dexterity as protection increases. Look for windproof and waterproof outer shell fabrics, combined with soft, warm liners that keep you comfortable even if the weather seeps in. Reflective patches can also be a useful feature for signalling and general visibility.
With regards to sizing, luckily most brands will also provide a wide enough sizing range to cater for larger and smaller hands. Therefore, regardless of your gender, age or size, you can pretty much opt for whatever takes your fancy unlike items such as bib shorts and tights, where any worth buying will have been designed with anatomy in mind when it comes to the shape and padding.
If you aren’t entirely sure where to start, given there are so many different types of cycling gloves around, we’ve put together some top picks from our best-rated winter gloves of recent times. Some are very toasty and ideal for deep winter, others are more for mid-season and some could be paired with a thermal liner so you can wear them in a wider range of temperatures. A liner could be essential if you suffer from Raynaud’s syndrome, so allow for some extra room if you need an extra layer under your main pair of gloves.
Be sure to couple whichever pair takes your fancy with some winter bib tights and a cycling jacket, and you’ll be ready to face the elements… well almost, as some decent overshoes are also absolutely essential for keeping your feet warm!
If you’re curious about how we select the products for these guides, you can read more about the process here. Without further ado…
27 thoughts on “Keep your digits toasty on the bike: the best winter cycling gloves for riding through the colder months”
Ive broken out the thicker
Ive broken out the thicker gloves from storage and i have worn
Endura Strike II’s
Aldi CRANE gloves (the thick ones with the reflectives strips going across the top)
and both left my fingers rather cold.
What worked for me was an wearing an old North Face E-tip glove (which is a thin softshell glove with a light fleece lining) over the Altura microfleece glove pictured above.
They were by no means warm but my hands/fingers werent completely frozen either and I could easily operate my phone or garmin with no issue since there was no bulk around the fingers.
While this worked for me I do run hot so it might not work for you.
(I also have a old pair of Castelli Diluvio’s but I use these for fishing instead)
Yes , another vote for
Yes , another vote for Galibier Barrier gloves. I have Rapha’s Pro winter gloves – bought as a present for my 40th and they don’t come close in insulation.
2nd Pair
I’m on my 2nd pair of Galibier Barrier Deep Winter Gloves. The original version with the silver reflective backs are my favourites of all time. Still being used but a bit tatty.
Now using the current model.
However, I find that the sizing has changed (got smaller in this iteration) and it’s now harder to fit a slim pair of silk underliners below them. Also the length of the fingers seem to have shortened slightly. Not sure if its the thermal lining bulking it out? Grip on the bar is harder to attain/maintain too – fingers less flexible.
There is also less room at the wrist – so wearing a (garmin) watch can be a bit uncomfortable, especially if you have 2 or 3 layers on your top (long sleeve base, mid layer, shell).
They still do a great job of keeping the cold and wet out. For the price, I haven’t found any others that come close to them for value and overall performance.
Me too, and I also find the
+1 for the Galibier Deep Winter gloves, and I also find the fingers a bit short. I’m forever easing them down a bit at traffic lights. They’re good though, keep my hands warm, even up to 3 hours at zero C, with snow blowing around, and this week when it’s been well minus in the mornings. If only the fingers were a bit longer, they’d be perfect.
First real cool morning of
First real cool morning of this season, sunny but 2 °C (36 °F) and my Pearl Izumi AmFIB Lobster mits are still going strong after at least 8 seasons. Yesterday was 5 or 6 °C and I was riding in just thin liner gloves.
I have snowboard mittens with liners that are cozy down to maybe -8 °C (18 °F) then the pogies / bar mitts go on. Below around -18 °C (0 °F) I’ll have hand warmers inside the pogies.
Also, there can be huge variance on glove requirements depending on what’s on your arms. If your arms are under-insulated and the blood is getting chilled going down to your hands, your hands will be cold even inside a thick glove.
On the other hand, I’ve ridden at around freezing with no gloves and my hands have been fine when I’ve been borderline overdressed with a toasty core and warm arms.
My goto’s are the Galabier
My goto’s are the Galabier Light winters for shoulder seasons and Stolen Goats Winter Gloves. The SG’s are available as another brand. Both got Road.cc 5* reviews if I remember rightly.
The SG’s are worth looking into as they appear to be a traditional woolen kids mitten with a neoprene inner (dont tumble dry like I did). They seem weirdly warm for the lack of bulk.
Apart from the touch screen finger needing a couple of licks to work they seem remarkably good for the size and dexterity on offer.
For my next purchase it would probably be the Galibier Deep Winters. The Lights are just so good – only a reflective or 2 missing from them.
SIZE
SIZE
It seems to me that the cycling retailers thinks we’re all midgets. I’ve got some old Decathlons that the lining is worn so they are not very warm – I now realise I was lucky to find them at all in size 3XL.
Only half of the Decathlon range with 3XL sizes – and they’re all sold out.
Altura don’t make any 3XL gloves.
FABRIC COLOUR
Almost all you show are black, some have retroreflective spots. Winter gloves needs to be in colours visible to all – not just following motorists with headlights on, but pedestrians and other cyclists. When driving at night preparing to safely overtake a cyclist (who did have a rear light) I only just noticed his black gloved hand on the end of a black sleeved arm make a hand at hip signal.
All except the Chiba Neons don’t deserve any stars
This review is out-of-date ?
Why re-publish this review in October 2024 without updating it? For example, the Assos gloves mentioned in the article were superseded by the brand’s brilliant Winter Evo gloves 1-2 years ago.
Also, if we’re including premium products, De Marchi and Velobici have interesting options (e.g., winter gloves with Elastic Interface’s seamless palms).
Skytec Argon freezer workers
Skytec Argon freezer workers gloves. Good enough for winter climbing, allowing dexterity and insulation down to -50C. Not particularly bulky as they’re well sized (true to glove sizes). Thick knitted nylon material type with dipped fingers and palms – the undipped backs and cuffs shed water for a while and stay warm even when wet then dry fairly quickly if the get soaked. The big plus is wide availability at ~£7 to £8 a pair so having a couple in rotation is feasible. I’ve had a couple of pairs in regular use for about 3 years so they’re not in the disposable PPE camp, but just about the perfect balance of cost v durability. I often wear them winter hillwalking and tech climbing.
Basemetal wrote:
Thanks – they look like great value. However, I’m not sure that I like the sound of their Pu-Palm gloves.
The PU dip on the palm and
Oops
Re Skytec Argon
The PU dip on the palm and fingers is over the knitted nylon so not chilly in use, and the material is thick enough to provide some cushioning. It’s also very resistant to cracking or splitting -none yet in 3 years so still 100% waterproof -which is surprising as it’s quite a supple coating. I’ve not found Argons sweaty in use on the days I’ve needed them . They tend to look far bulkier in photos than in reality, and they do allow a lot of dexterity. The only downside I can think of is you can’t use a touch screen with them on, but buttons are no problem.
Barrier Deep Winter sizing
I won’t argue at all over the nod for the gloves, but will add a caveat on sizing.
The sizing on Galibier’s website is usually spot on for all their gear, and recommended size L for me. I was dubious about this as I’m always XL in gloves, and should have gone with my instinct as they were way too tight. I could have possibly even gone up one more size as XL is just about big enough. That said I do always struggle with gloves – those wide enough usually have fingers way too long – so others milage may vary.
Suffice to say the exchange was no problem at all with Galibier’s always excellent customer service
I was tempted to try Galibier
I was tempted to try Galibier gloves but opted for Endura Freezing Point from LBS last year. Not cheap (£60, I think). I’d prefer a shorter cuff but otherwise I’m very happy with them.
My main problem is cold fingers in the first 40-50mins of a morning ride due to poor circulation. My core can get hot quickly, the buff or cap comes off, but it takes an age for the warmth to reach my fingers, even with my big Pearl Izumis worn over merino liner gloves (both pre-warmed on a radiator) will prevent it.
For milder conditions (above ~6°C) I find the Endura FS260 Pro Thermo work well. They are lightweight, seem breathable, give good grip and dexterity and take up very little space in a pocket.
I’ve also just bought some Polaris RBS Reflect for the silly-cheap price of £5 (plus postage) direct from Polaris for the commute as I think drivers need extra help seeing my arm/hand when I’m wanting to turn right and the extra reflectivity can’t hurt at other times too.
https://www.polaris-bikewear.com/polaris-bikewear-rbs-reflect-glove-black-fluo-yellow-size-s-m-l-xl-xxl.html
Buy the Galibier gloves. Mine
Buy the Galibier gloves. Mine are 5 winters old and still the best I have ever owned.
A worthy recommendation,
A worthy recommendation, which I would follow if I weren’t so satisfied with my Aldi gloves, some of which are also pretty good for ice climbing
I’ve found really thick
I’ve found really thick gloves hard to dry after a wash, so use a glove liner and a medium thickness outer for very cold rides.
Top tip for any cold finger
Top tip for any cold finger sufferers – decathlon do a great range of thin fleecy gloves that cost about £4.
I found that going up a glove size and wearing fleecy under gloves makes a massive difference to my hands during very cold weather.
For ultra cold conditions on really cold rides I’ve also used the self heating hand warmers between the under glove and outerglove placed on the back of the hand above the fingers. It completely stops cold fingers.
+1 for that. For any
+1 for that. For any sufferers from Raynaud’s phenomenon or who otherwise particularly feel the cold in their fingers I can heartily recommend these specialist inner gloves that have silver threads woven into them to retain heat, they work brilliantly. Also, an expensive option but worth it if, like me, it’s a choice between having them or not riding at all when the temperature approaches zero, electrically-heated gloves are worth considering. I have a pair of Sealskinz electric gloves that are a godsend in cold weather. Oh and finally, they may make your bike look a bit daft but bar mitts (aka pogies or elephant ears) are wonderfully warm and particularly useful when a cold wind is blowing.
+2 on this. A thinner woolen
+2 on this. A thinner woolen glove inside a larger winter glove makes a huge difference.
I suffer from Raynaud’s
I suffer from Raynaud’s syndrome. My way of dealing with this is to wear a thin pair of gloves underneath Sealskinz lobster mits. Having the pairs of fingers kept together helps retain heat and the mist allow enough dexterity to brake and change gear.
It also helps if you warm your hands before going cycling.
Sealskinz lobster gloves +
Sealskinz lobster gloves + thinnish wool gloves are the ultimate for winter riding. Easily warm enough down to -10 for me. (Maybe even lower than that, but -10 is the lowest I ever cycled in).
Easily warm enough down to
Easily warm enough down to -10 for me. (Maybe even lower than that, but -10 is the lowest I ever cycled in)
Well, I’m amazed at all this kickass, Captain Oates talk of -10 (I’m assuming this is real temperature °C- if it’s stone-age °F that’s -23°C) cycling, and even more amazed if these superhero cyclists are in the UK. Because, in the UK, even in the very dry conditions some of us have enjoyed for about 2 weeks, such temperatures mean a dead cert for coming around a corner and seeing your lane covered in fractured-hip hard ice and the oncoming lane occupied by a psycho BMW/ Audi driver going far too fast. The limiting feature is the potential death not the cold fingers for most of us (pause for outrage about Raynaud’s etc.) 10 days ago I avoided the hills and opted for an anti-clockwise low level tour of Fylde/ Wyre. It was 100% sunny all day, but I still encountered hard ice in the afternoon right down at sea level for a frightening 1/4 hour- and that was above freezing nearly all the daylight hours
This was in that big freeze
This was in that big freeze in the UK and Ireland one spring about… 8 years ago? I think 2018? The one that lasted about a week or so where the supermarkets started to run empty of essentials (milk, bread, etc.).
It was about -10 in the coldest part of my commute IIRC, out past fields between Paisley and Erskine.
It was -4 last Monday, not cold enough for the Sealskinz lobster mits. Ordinary thermal, insulated, winter cycling gloves were still just enough.
And yes, that’s Celcius. I’m not some heathen! 🙂
I’m intrigued by the results
I’m intrigued by the results that the “Best overall” is cheaper than the “Best budget” by £2.69. Is this an artefact that different gloves were crowned in class at different times in a ‘living’ report?
Like others I suffer with
Like others I suffer with Raynaud’s.
I’ve found that industrial freezer gloves matched with industrial liners are a godsend, especially for dog walking.
Even the liners with a thin silk liner are great.
Or the liner paired with my Sportful No Rain, my preferred choice unless it’s really cold.
I’ve also got the Galiber gloves, but like others should have sized up. I never found that they helped my Raynaud’s though.
Galibier barrier gloves still
Galibier barrier gloves still performing in this morning’s snow. I think I have them 4 years now