Instead of a hook and loop closure, Castelli uses a zippered closure. The Espresso GT also uses a longer cut at the wrist, a squared-off fingertip shape, and lots of silicone grip material on the palm. The overall effect is a less bulky feeling that is faster to get on and off and has a better connection with your bars than the Gore glove. The first layer of protection on the best winter cycling gloves should be an impermeable windproof layer designed, as you can guess from the name, to keep cold air and wind away from your hands. You will want to mostly save these for drier days though. Pearl Izumi uses a technology called PI dry to apply DWR at the fibre level. It won't ever wash off but it's still a durable water repellent and that only goes so far. After enough time these will soak through and it becomes hard to get your hands out when they are wet. I'm hardly breaking new ground here by recommending the Pearl Izumi AmFib Lobster Glove. Talk to most cyclists who've been riding in seriously cold weather for a long time and these will come up. The reason they are so well known and loved comes down to what it takes to keep you warm. You can make exceptionally warm five-finger gloves but after a certain point, the price starts to really jump.

When the weather is dry, then running cuffs over sleeves is by far an easier option, especially if you have to remove your gloves to use a touchscreen.Inside the Velocio Alpha gloves you will find Polartec Alpha. Basically this is the newest wonder material. It's incredibly warm for the weight and it breathes better than any other modern synthetic insulation. Velocio wraps a stylish outer with plenty of colours available around Polartec Alpha and makes a glove that covers a huge range of temperatures while keeping the bulk low. 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. However, I did find that while the triple layers made for a reasonably warm glove, they felt slightly bulky on my hands. That was not a problem when just holding onto the handlebars, but when performing additional, more detailed movements such as changing gear there was not as much flexibility as I would have liked. It was more of an issue when riding off-road, where the terrain can be more changeable, than on-road.

Read more details in our full Eddie Bauer Guide Pro Smart heated gloves review . Wet weather winter cycling glovesNeoprene gloves work by holding water close to your skin and allowing it to work as insulation. The problem is that they don't work when the outside air is near freezing. The outside air overcomes your body's ability to warm the water and you have both wet and cold hands. You have to keep the outside air away from the neoprene and if you put them inside of a shell glove it solves everything. The shell will leak but the water that comes through will become a part of your insulation. You can remain warm and comfortable for hours with a pair of neoprene gloves inside a shell. What are the warmest winter cycling gloves? 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. The Xnetic's low weight also means that once on you barely notice that you're wearing them. This can also be attributed to the high level of stretch, which sees the glove forming to your hand shape with ease. It also creates a good seal at the wrist, stopping any unwanted drafts from entering. Put the Sealskinz gloves into the highest heat setting and your hands will be ready to handle whatever riding you want them to. The heat radiates down the fingers almost all the way to the tips. If it's not bitterly cold, you will have sweaty hands in not much time. I didn't phrase the question asking "do you need more than one pair of gloves for winter riding?" That's because you absolutely do, the question is only how many do you need? You could think about it from the point of view of changing conditions. The longer you ride in the winter the more gloves you are going to add to your collection. Throughout the winter the temperature changes a lot and there are gloves available for very small differences. From this point of view, most people will want something from the early season section plus something from the all-around section. Rain and deep winter gloves are more specialised, so you’ll have to decide if you are willing to ride in that kind of weather.