dhb Aeron XC Full Finger Gloves

The dhb Aeron XC Full Finger Gloves are lightweight, grippy and breathable, making them suitable for milder conditions, and being thin they allow an unhindered grip and feel of the bar.

At just 40g the Aeron XC gloves are certainly lightweight, a stripped-back summer glove for no-nonsense riding. If you're after padding, then these aren't for you. There's none. What this does mean is that thanks to the ultra-thin construction, connection with the handlebar is superb, and having used them when riding both mountain bike and gravel bikes I can sing their praises for use with both drop bars and flat bars.

The silicone print ensures no hand slippage and is more than up to the job, even on rocky descents in both dry and wet conditions. Unlike some gloves, such as the Endura Hummvee Lite Icons, the grippy silicone spreads across all the fingers as well as into the palm. On a mountain bike I found that this made little difference, but on a gravel or CX bike the added surface – especially on the little fingers – really helped you cling on when using the drops.

The generously sized nose wipe panel on each thumb is lovely and soft and doesn't have nasty seams around the edge like I've found on some gloves. That theme continues throughout the glove, with seams being kept to a minimum. There are no seams across the palm, which aids comfort, and also none across the knuckles or backs of the hands, which also helps breathability.

The majority of the glove is made from 90% nylon and 10% elastane, and then the palm is 100% polyester. Both front and back, including the fingers, are perforated which has meant that during some pretty hot months of testing the breathability of the gloves is excellent; even on rides in the mid-20s they have been comfortable.

A downside of being so thin and breathable is that they don't offer much protection from the wind as your speed picks up, nor do they offer much protection against prickly bushes and brambles, but you can't have it all.

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At £25 the Aeron XC gloves don't fare badly against their opposition, especially as they perform really well. Of the gloves we've tested that they're similar to, the Supacaz SupaGs are £10 more expensive, as are the Specialized Grail long fingered gloves. The Endura Hummvee gloves mentioned earlier are slightly cheaper at £20, but for drop handlebars the extra grippy fingers of the dhbs really help.

Overall, these gloves perform really well, their lightweight construction resulting in a positive and confident connection with both drop and flat bars, but because they're so thin, protection from the elements is near non-existent. They're ideal for mild weather riding on all sorts of bikes!

Verdict

Flyweight gloves for excellent connection in mild weather