Winter gloves for road cycling, mountain biking and touring

If you want to continue riding your bike in winter conditions, a good pair of winter cycling gloves is definitely an essential part of your kit! When temperatures drop, you need to prevent your hands from getting cold. High-quality winter gloves made from warm materials will help you keep your extremities toasty. We have gathered the most important tips here to make sure you will find the ideal pair of gloves for your type of use.

Our product range includes a big choice of winter cycling gloves for women and men in all common sizes and price ranges by renowned brands like ROSE, Roeckl, GripGrab, Chiba, GORE WEAR, Ziener, SealSkinz, Castelli and many more. You are sure to find the right cycling gloves for winter here!

Which are the ideal cycling gloves in winter?

Gloves vary in material and application – depending on your intended use, you should keep in mind certain features to prevent your fingers from freezing in the cold season. The first important decision is whether you go for classic winter cycling gloves with five fingers or rather for lobster gloves.

• Classic gloves: Standard winter gloves come with five separate fingers. This ensures high dexterity, uncomplicated shifting and braking.
• Lobster / 3-finger gloves: Instead of five fingers, lobster gloves only have three “fingers”. There is no separate box for each of the four fingers, but only two – either for index/middle finger or for ring finger/small finger. Another option is that the index has its own finger box and the other three fingers share one box. Lobster gloves offer even better insulation, while also guaranteeing great dexterity for shifting and braking.
• Mittens: Classic mittens are almost not used at all in cycling, as they would require taking off all fingers from the bars for braking. This loss of control would be a clear disadvantage.

Windproof, waterproof, softshell etc. – what should I pay attention to when buying cycling gloves for winter?

At first glance, full-finger gloves and winter cycling gloves are identical – both are cycling gloves with long fingers. The big difference, however, is in the material used. A thermal material offers ideal protection from wind, rain and cold when the mercury drops.

• Softshell: When you are out on your bike on cool days and you want some protection from light rain or spray, then softshell is the material of choice! The fabric is windproof, water-repellent and insulating. Moreover, the softshell material is very breathable, comfortable and warm – ideal for winter tours on dry days.
• strong>Windproof membrane: Many cycling gloves have an integrated microporous membrane that stops wind from getting inside. In this way they offer great protection from getting cold. Another advantage is the fact that windproof membranes are also water-repellent, which means they also protect your hands from light rain and spray. The most popular windproof membrane is GORE WINDSTOPPER.
• Windproof and waterproof membrane: Some gloves have a microporous membrane integrated in their material. This fine layer keeps off wind and rain, yet it allows water vapour caused by sweating to escape to the outside. Popular wind- and waterproof membranes for protection from cold and unsettled weather are for example GORE-TEX or EUROTEX.
• Insulation: Many winter cycling gloves have a light insulation for extra protection from cold. This synthetic fibre insulation offers an additional barrier against cold and keeps your fingers toasty. Popular insulations are for example PRIMALOFT or POLARTEC.

Foam or gel – which padding should my thermal cycling gloves have?

Just like long finger gloves and short finger gloves, winter cycling gloves also leave you the choice between unpadded gloves and gloves with foam or gel padding. In the following, we would like to explain which advantages the different versions have:

• Foam padding: Riding over uneven roads or trails causes micro vibrations that will reach your hands despite a suspension fork on your bike. An integrated foam padding can prevent your hands from premature fatigue.
• Gel pads: A gel padding on the palm is a great alternative, as the material absorbs shocks even more efficiently and offers thus even better protection from vibrations caused by uneven roads or trails.
• Without padding: For those who ride short distances only or who prefer direct contact with the bars, we also have unpadded thermal gloves in our range.

More interesting features:

• Cuff: Cycling gloves that are too short cannot offer sufficient protection from wind. Cold air can enter easily between glove cuff and sleeve. When buying winter cycling gloves you should therefore make sure the cuff is snug and long enough to go under your jacket or sleeve cuff. This creates a perfect barrier against the cold!
• Slip-resistant silicone prints: For better grip on the bars and on brake or shift levers, many cycling gloves come with special prints on the palm and between the fingers. These offer enhanced bar grip and minimise slipping.
• Touchscreen compatible: Thanks to special fibres at the fingers, some winter cycling gloves even allow you to use your smartphone. Of course this won’t be enough for a finger scan, yet you can surely choose a song or use an app with it. Our product texts will include a note if a glove is compatible with touchscreens.
• Hi-vis: Those who ride in poor light conditions, should go for so-called high visibility cycling gloves. These come in striking neon colours and with several reflective elements to make you more visible for other road users. A choice of hi-vis winter gloves and more accessories can be found here.

With these practical tips, you will certainly find the perfect pair of gloves against cold hands. Our product range includes a big choice of winter cycling gloves for women and men in all common sizes and price ranges by renowned brands like ROSE, Roeckl, GripGrab, Chiba, GORE WEAR, Ziener, SealSkinz, Castelli and many more. In the ROSE online shop you are guaranteed to find the best cycling gloves for winter!