Knit gloves are a staple of winter riding in the cold and wet and there is a somewhat endless range of choices for them. Lots of companies make them and I've yet to find a particular advantage to one brand. The Giro Xnetic H20 gets the nod because they have a high visibility colour and some of the best pricing. There are lovers of these style gloves that manage to make them work through an entire winter. I run cold though and I find that in the US Pacific Northwest, these are strictly an option for milder days.

We really rated these Specialized Prime Series Thermal gloves for a more of a mild winter option, ideal for the late autumn and early spring riding in changeable conditions.

Winter Cycling Tips

The only real down side is their lower temperature range limitation, meaning that it's likely that you'll have to invest in something like the Rapha Pro Team Winter Gloves, or even the Rapha Deep Winter gloves for real freezing rides. Finance is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Performance Cycling Limited FRN: 720557 trading as Tredz are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a credit broker not a lender – credit is subject to status and affordability and is provided by Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC. Terms & Conditions Apply.

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. Instead they use a blend of fabrics that keep the weight down and dexterity levels up while still offering protection against the elements. Keeping out the wind is crucial: fabrics such as Gore Windstopper and similar will do this, and feature on the best winter cycling gloves,as well as offering water repellence and breathability. The inner padding and/or membrane varies from glove to glove and on what sort of temperature the glove is aimed at, whether deep winter or chilly and wet. Not many people enjoy riding in the rain, but if you're going to keep your training up through the winter, then you're going to want the best winter cycling glove to handle even the wettest weather. When you pull the Sealskinz gloves on without the battery you can tell right away that these are its warmest five-finger option. The interior is soft and fleecy and the goatskin really does stand out. There is no denying the high price tag that the Rapha Pro Team Winter Gloves command, more than both the other 'elite' brands winter offerings, such as the Castelli Perfetto RoS gloves. However, if you want the perfect winter cycling glove for racing, then these are spot on.In case you need to wipe your face, or maybe not, since you can't throw these in the wash (Image credit: Josh Ross) Pearl Izumi calls the Summit WxB glove a mountain bike glove. Don't worry, they work great on a road bike. Many of the best unpadded long finger gloves carry the mountain bike tag and this is yet another one. In the mountain bike world they are often summer specific but the Summit WxB is a bit more robust than that.