Polyester liner enhances warmth and repels water to keep you dry and comfortable in hostile conditions. Compared to both the Castelli and Gore gloves in this section, the Sportful offering isn’t quite as warm. On the interior you’ll find Primaloft Silver insulation which is still impressively warm but not quite the warmest out there. Unlike other gloves though, Sportful constructs the fleece interior in a way that it won’t pull out when your hand is wet. The other useful thing to remember is that you should bring more than one pair of gloves. In some ways, this is the counter to my first piece of advice. Not everyone is as cold as me and having another option solves that challenge. It's not always about options though, changing gloves mid-ride is the only way to manage a long winter ride if it's raining. I promise you will not mind the extra bulk of a second set of gloves when you change into them. Is there such a thing as waterproof gloves? When it's raining and just above freezing it's nearly impossible to keep your hands warm. That also happens to be very typical weather for Portland Oregon and the winter weather I regularly spend seven hours riding in. Out of necessity, I've worked out strategies over the years. Admittedly, this form of hand heating is not for everyone – but if you want a pair of gloves that allow you to move your hands as though they were encased in lightweight, spring gloves, but will the bonus of internal heating, they are for you.

On a road bike, in most circumstances, the GripGrab gloves are perfectly fine; there's a little bit of relearning to do as hand dexterity is obviously compromised with your fingers being both separated and bunched together, and it might feel a little odd initially, but you get used to it. Lobster gloves keep the fingers together to enanche warmth. They are not the most comfortable but can be lifesaving in colder climates.These aren't bargain basement pricing but there's nothing warmer at this price level. Pearl Izumi doesn't cut corners to get there either. The lobster glove design pairs your first two fingers and your last two fingers for warmth at a much lower price. It's still easy enough to handle braking and shifting, and there's even touchscreen compatibility, but it does require a little bit more thinking about it at first.. On dry winter days, I find these really effective in keeping my hands warm, happily managing fairly long rides (up to 2.5 hours). I wore them this weekend (~5-7 degrees C) and my hands overheated!

Wind and Waterproof fabric are designed with a perforated internal membrane that keeps the elements on the edge. Windproof fabrics are designed according to the volume of air passing through 1spm of the fabric.But my tatty flat-barred town bike with old rim brakes definitely needs a lot more ooomf on the levers than one finger can provide, and it's at least a two-finger stopping machine, so having to brake with all four fingers of the GripGrab gloves felt very strange and having just a thumb wrapped round the bar certainly made control nervous. There's another thing to consider about these gloves though. If you ride where it rains and it's near freezing, like it is most of the winter in the US Pacific Northwest, then the Castelli Diluvio gloves are the other half of your winter riding system. Pair these with one of the shell options here and you can happily ride all day in heavy rain and temperatures just above freezing. With the shell protecting these from the wind and cold air, your body can heat up the water exactly the way neoprene gloves work in warmer weather. You'll be wet but warm and you won't need to change gloves every few hours. It's a serious game changing option.