Whether you're serious about improving your speed, pedaling further, or just having fun on the weekends, GOREWEAR has the bicycle gloves you need. There are many reasons you should invest in a pair of high-quality gloves designed just for the needs of cyclists: Gore-Tex obviously has a very strong household brand name and it protects that with a very specific language. Here are translations of the keywords you need to know when navigating the range. How to choose the best winter gloves for your riding Match your gloves to your typical riding conditions There is more to a glove design than wet weather performance though. Leaving that piece behind, the Gore C5 Gore-Tex Thermo gloves perform well in cold weather. Expect them to be comfortable for a day of riding anywhere from freezing, or a little below, all the way up to around 45F/7C. The challenge is that this is a highly competitive part of the market and there are a lot of options vying for attention here. The Sportful Sottozero gloves, POC Thermal gloves, Assos Ultraz winter gloves, Castelli Espresso GT gloves are all very similar. They all perform about the same and it ends up being about the small details.

With the Gore-Tex membrane sitting below the insulation and outer shell, those layers will soak through. That leaves you with a soaking wet glove that is also, technically speaking, completely waterproof. The promise is that your hand will stay dry, not that the glove will stay dry. The inner lining of the gloves uses a polyester fleece material. You'll recognize it from almost every glove on the market and there's nothing unique here. Outside of that layer is where you'll find the Gore-Tex membrane. The membrane uses an expanded PTFE (commonly called Teflon) layer with millions of tiny pores. The pores allow water vapour to exit but are too small to let in liquid water. The third layer is polyester insulation. Like the liner, it's similar to other gloves on the market. Primaloft is more common but the C5 Gore-Tex Thermo glove does a similar job without the need for any third-party branding. When I test gloves, I have certain expectations. I expect that my hands will get wet eventually and so initially I felt like that was the same situation here. It's not helped by the fact that I was testing these near freezing and when it's raining hard, everything is wet. When the gloves get wet your hands get cold but does your skin actually get wet?The C5 Gore-Tex Thermo gloves fall into a class of gloves that's perfect for a lot of people. The lightweight insulation keeps them sleek, they fit incredibly well and there's tons of dexterity retained. Expect ideal temperatures to range from 5C/41F down as low as 0C/32F. A bit of rain won't be an issue but don't depend on them for more than a couple of hours in sustained heavy rain.

All full Gore-Tex fabrics are covered by Gore’s 'Guaranteed to keep you dry' program under which it claims: However, if you're of the more shapely persuasion and want something that performs extremely well without cutting off your circulation, this is an ideal option for you. The fit is true to size, with sensible arm widths and a perfect length for full splash coverage at the rear. As they’re a full Gore-Tex fabric they actually keep water out for a decent amount of time, even in the heaviest rain, and the adjustable cuff reduces draughts and sleeve leak. They breathe really well and dry relatively fast from inside out too, and they stay far more comfortable for longer than any other ‘waterproof’ glove we’ve used. When the temperatures take a dip, a full finger glove designed for cyclists are ideal. You may even want to keep a pair of heavy mountaineering gloves around the house if you like to bike in extreme temperatures.You won't find a pull tab but the finished edge of the cuff is strong enough that you shouldn't need one (Image credit: Josh Ross) Performance By combining fabrics Gore has made a pair of tights that feel too light and thin to fend off the elements remarkably well. In fact, they’re so light it took us a while to actually try the C7 Partials when they arrived last winter and when we did, it was only for a short loop with a guaranteed warm up at the end. Turns out the thin Windstopper fabric that runs from mid-shin, up the front of the legs and around the seat and sides is very effective at fighting off wetness and windchill. There’s enough stretch in the material and clever enough multi-panel shaping that they don’t tug over the knees or shuffle down if you’re in and out of the saddle either.