Rivelo Ashurst Softshell Gloves

The Rivelo Ashurst Softshell Gloves are stylish to behold and offer excellent dexterity. They're okay for milder temperatures in autumn and spring, but don't offer the warmth you need for cold winter rides.

In Rivelo's defence, it claims the gloves 'see you through all but the coldest weather' and pitches them towards those days when your fingerless gloves just won't quite do. At this they're adequate, providing that slight extra insulation you need.

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As well as providing a bit of extra warmth, though, there are other reasons for wearing gloves – to protect your hand's pressure points, and to shield you in the event of a spill. It's here that the Ashurst gloves, for me anyway, fall short of expectations.

I like padding in my gloves, and here only one pad is provided, on the luna and mars negative areas of your palm (the long strip of natural padding beneath your little finger). Although effective in this area, it's obviously limited in terms of providing overall comfort; your carpal areas and the rest of the hand is left exposed. If this is important to you, you'll need to look elsewhere.

The surface of the glove is covered in knobbles for grip, and affords ample levels of such when the bar's wet and slippery. The fabric is a thin softshell, which also gives decent water resistance in most wet conditions. Those conditions tend to be gloomy too, so Rivelo has gone to the trouble of including reflective finger strips to aid visibility while indicating.

The thinness of the fabric does have an additional bonus in that it really allows your fingers fantastic dexterity, and therefore excellent feel of the brake levers and shifters while riding. Subtle inputs are a doddle to make, much like they would be if you were in fingerless mitts.

> Read our guide to the best winter cycling gloves

However, the fingertips aren't designed to work with smartphones and the like, so although you have the potential to use the gloves in this way in terms of flexibility, you simply can't. The thumbs are covered in a touchscreen-compatible material, but I found this hit and miss, and a bit of a shame when pinch functionality is often important when navigating things like maps.

Additional features include pads for snot wipeage (always welcome!), and a soft cuff that doesn't require fastening but instead fits flush to your skin, helping to keep out unwanted draughts.

As a result, the Ashurst gloves are a mixed bag. I wouldn't want to use them for a long ride thanks to the lack of padding, but for short commutes in mild conditions they do fill a niche. They're also half-price at the moment, £14.99 at sportpursuit.com.

Verdict

Full-fingered gloves for milder days; they lack padding for longer rides but do have other applications