Castelli Aero Speed Gloves

The Castelli Aero Speed Gloves are a smart set of time trial mitts which smooth out lines nicely and stay in place very well.

• Pros: Aerodynamic, hold their shape well
• Cons: Only really useful for TT

The idea of marginal gains is perhaps best demonstrated through the technology development within time trialling, where everything needs to be aerodynamic. This is where the Aero Speed Gloves come in – designed to provide maximum aerodynamics during TTs.

> Find your nearest dealer here

One thing that really sets these apart from regular mitts is that rather than having the standard individual finger holes, they instead have a thumb hole, index finger hole, and then the final three fingers have one large opening. The idea behind this is that your hands are the first things that break the air when time trialling, so it makes sense to make them as aero as possible.

Castelli doesn't make any specific claims about performance with these gloves, but it is clear that they have better aerodynamic performance than traditional mitts. This comes not only from the layout of the openings, but also that they come considerably higher up on the fingers, creating a smoother surface over which air can pass. It's impossible to calculate the impact this has in the grand scheme of things, but doubtless there is some gain from the design.

As you would expect from highly specialised kit, these are not made for regular road riding and the design shows that. For one, there is very little padding because you do not put your weight on your hands when TT riding, so there are essentially just two areas with silicone grippers which are effective for gripping the bars. These work well and although I didn't test on unwrapped bars, I would be confident that they would grip well. On the palm they also have some ventilation elements with a few holes through the fabric to allow air to flow.

Another element that makes it clear these are not your average cycling mitt is their length – reaching well down the forearm. They also have a strip of slightly thicker material running down the centre of the wrist which stops rubbing against the bars too. This elongated wrist area is also well elasticated, so even on wet rides they are held firmly in place, so they consistently maintain their aero shape.

The mitts are very much high performance gear and as is often the case with such kit they are lightweight, with thin material used throughout. This has definite benefits, for instance they are impressively breathable, especially on the wrists. However, it does mean that if you come off they are unlikely to prevent much damage. They do seem well made, though, with strong stitching used throughout, and pulling them off doesn't cause any seams to feel like they could rip apart.

The mitts come in two different colour options, sky blue or black. Interestingly, they also come with two different options in terms of fingers, with either the layout here or the tradition five-hole option. Looking at images of the team time trial at the Tour de France, you can see that most in Team Sky wear the five-finger versions, but with just a couple wearing this option.

> How to get more aero without spending a fortune

The gloves come with an RRP of £32, which isn't bad for a set of high-performance mitts. Their closest competitor is probably the GripGrab Aero TTs, which come in at around £45 (depending on exchange rate) but have basically the same features.

Overall, I was impressed with these mitts. They offer good grip, they keep their aero shape well, and they are surprisingly breathable. There aren't really many negatives; even if you don't like the non-traditional finger layout, there is always the option to get the traditional version.

Verdict

A strong set of time trial mitts for those looking at marginal gains