Gloves - light and windproof
 

Seasons changes and I need new gloves. What have you used? What did you like?

I’m looking for relatively light, full fingered gloves that will cut the wind chill on morning rides into the 40s F. I’ve got decent winter gloves for colder weather.

Thanks!

I use leather gloves. They work for me.

I like Bontrager RXL Thermal gloves. Comfortable from cool to hot days even in chilly rain, tough fabric, easy to wash. I've had a pair for two years and the only wear is to contact points on the little silicone rubber dimples. I've crashed a couple of times, no abrasion through the fabric. The palm material is tough faux-suede, no excess padding.

I got a pair in large so I could add thin poly knit fabric liners on cold days, so without the liners the fit is a bit sloppy. But I like 'em so well I'll probably get another pair in medium.

The LBS had another similarly lightweight full glove with windproof fabric on the back but I can't remember the brand or model. Might have been Cannondale or something else. But I haven't needed full windproof protection down into the 40s, just the poly knit fabric glove liner.

I'm picky about more rigid gloves because my fingers are weird. My thumbs are unusually long and my pinkies unusually short, with long slender hands overall. Off the rack rigid gloves that don't stretch never fit right. If the pinky is sized right, the thumb is cramped, and vice versa. Acceptable for general wear, but impossible for bike rides where I need full dexterity. So I prefer knit gloves with some stretch. I have a couple pair of rigid ski gloves that I can manage with my flat bar hybrid and thumb shifters.

DeFeet Wool Duraglove is brilliant for me:

DuraGlove ET Charcoal Wool w/Black - Defeet International

They’re not windproof per se, but do afford a surprisingly broad range of comfort, getting me right down pretty close to freezing, and including misty and damp.

I have a raft of gloves for fine tuning, with Mechanix gloves occupying a couple of important spots, but these DeFeet are my go to Fall/Winter shoulder season glove.

$15 for the running gloves at Target. I’ve never found a cycling glove that’s the right weight for the winters here, they’re all either too heavy, or wool which are awful in the wet, or full-finger summer gloves not designed for warmth anyway.

If it is only in the 40s, try just simple liners inside of the regular gloves you already wear. Liners are cheap.

No, wool is a pretty good perform in wet weather. I mean, it's not waterproof, for damp, light rain, and mist, it's really pretty good.

picked these up at Costco, so far they're pretty good: https://www.costco.com/Head-Unisex-U...100363031.html

Been using lightweight Pearl Izumi for a while; like them a lot. I highly recommend to get them from
a store where you can try them. As opposed to buying online. A good fit can really make a difference.

Seconding these. Work really well for in-between temperatures and cheap enough to buy a couple pairs.

I'm currently using a pair of Perl Izumi Thernal Lite gloves:

https://www.amazon.com/Pearl-Izumi-M.../dp/B004N62I7U

Second pair and they are ok. Minor complaint is that the original pair wore out kind of fast on the right lower palm. But I also use them to rub my tires so they do take some beating. Before them I used to use Firm Grip gloves from the local hardware store:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Firm-Gri...5203/206170456

They were fine except for the threading coming loose on some fingers. It might have been that they were L instead of XL. I'd try them again in an XL size. I liked them...

Edit: the Perl Izumi Thernal Lite don't have any touchscreen connection. So that's a minor annoance (I just roll down the right hand glove part way to thumb scan for access to my cell).

I use this type for liners, either under regular 1/2 finger gloves

or full finger gloves depending on temp & wetness.

Easy to remove & stash if it warms up.

Work well when wet.

https://www.amazon.com/Wells-Lamont-...+coated+gloves

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KJGO2F4...l+izumi+gloves

I was given some of these Pearl Izumi gloves and like them a lot for a lightweight glove. Good for me down to about the mid 40's. They work well with a touchscreen if that is important to you.

Louis Garnneau wind protect. About $25, fairly lightweight and comfortable. I bought a pair on amazon last year and am very happy.

They look nice, are cheap, and have the touch screen connection. May have to hit up the local Costco...

VERY happy with this lightweight pair: https://bbbcycling.com/en/bike-wear/gloves/BWG-11W.
Even when they’re soaking wet they keep your hands warm!

Add a liner and you got instant semi-winter gloves :-)

Each to their own, but my experience growing up in Irish winters was that at the first hint of rain, wool knit gloves offered absolutely no wind protection any more. They just turned into heavy sodden lumps on the ends of your arms. You’d need a pair of rubber gloves over them to get any positive insulation.

Not that the Target gloves I mentioned are so completely weather proof as to keep your fingers toasty through the worst, but they offer that bit more water repelling, and what they do absorb they keep warmish.

Specialized deflect are nice..

That's the advantage to the Bontrager RXL Thermal. I compared 'em with the Pearl Izumis. Fabric feels very similar. But the Bontrager has a tougher palm -- just a thin layer of faux-leather that wears really well, even when I've skidded on pavement or dirt.

As I said, for damp, light rain, and mist, wool works fine; soaking rain is another matter. There is also variability in the type of wool, like worsted vs. woollen, and how the fabric was processed, e.g. washed and dyed, things which affect the behavior of the fibers, and in particular, how much lanolin is in it, which may be the prime determinant of water repellency.

In the 40s i was good with a coppertone glove (like a pantyhose material), with open fingertips. around freezing i was good with thin satin gloves, then went to a somewhat thick polyester in colder temps.

I've been using simple leather work gloves for years

Agreed.Like a simple driving glove. Looks and feels great. I ride in the am around 40' and i don't even think about my hands more so my ears.

I use over-sized (thin) wind gloves from REI to fit over my standard bike gloves.

I wear some lightweight PI gloves in the slightly-above-freezing temps. I like cycling specific gloves for the snot wipe function.