Altura Podium Elite Mitt

Lightweight and loud, the Altura Podium Elite Mitts give a race-orientated first impression. They're perfect for short rides when you need something that's trim and grippy to give you the edge over your mates/competitors.

On arrival, the first feel was pleasant as they're light and the materials are soft to the touch. There's no Velcro or fastening involved – they're a purely pull-on affair – so there's a weight saving benefit there, and one thing less to irritate your hands. The colour is distinctive and the fluorescent colour is noticeable, making your hand visible (from the rear at least) for arm signals.

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One concern I had before pulling the gloves on was the level of padding. There's distinct gel pads in specific areas of the palm, something that I usually shy away from when selecting a glove as I find that's all that can be felt on the bar. My fears came to nothing as the padding is moderately thin and well designed, positioned in the correct points for bar/palm contact.

The thing that I didn't foresee was the seam that runs in the crook between thumb and forefinger. I found this uncomfortable on long rides, especially if you spend a fair amount of time on the hoods. Anything under two and a half hours is fine; over that and I noticed the seam.

The other issue I had in the early weeks of testing was the suppleness of the fabric around the thumb. It took a long time to develop some elasticity, but fortunately its gain wasn't offset by any other parts of the glove fabric becoming looser, as the fit on the palm, finger and back section of the gloves has been great from the start. The lack of give in the fabric mainly came to light when riding with my hands sat on the bar tops, but it has now relaxed after plenty of washes. This is welcome, as the fabric on the thumb is a soft suede-type feel, which is great for brow/nose wiping.

The palm fabric is wonderfully grippy, especially when in contact with soft-touch bar tape. It also works well on smoother bar tape and has had a few successful outings on mountain bike grips. This is combined with the super-thin fabric on the rear of the hand, which comes coloured either fluorescent yellow or red.

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The detail around the finger and cuff openings is well executed, with neatly finished stitching and soft edges. Two tabs on the inside of the ring and middle finger make pulling the gloves off an absolute cinch, Altura has really got this detail spot on, and you can tug the gloves off without fear of ripping any stitches.

Overall, these gloves have worked well for shorter rides once they wore in – don't be put off by the initial feel of the thumb fabric.

Verdict

Give them time to wear in and these will be your go-to glove for short, fast rides