Mavic Elite glove

These mitts offer plenty of grip and good breathability. The Pittards leather palms have a criss-cross texture that doesn’t slip on your bars even when wet while the synthetic Coolmesh back section lets the air flow right on through to keep the temperature down.

You get a just-big-enough towelling wipe on the back of the thumb, a hook and loop closure to adjust the fit around your wrist, and reflective print that’s positioned well to help you get seen from both the front and rear. The section between the thumb and index finger that you rest on when you’re riding on the hoods is reinforced, and little tabs at the ends of the middle and ring fingers help you get them off easily too.

Squishy gel padding is positioned over the heel of the hand, the base of the thumb and along the joints at the bottom of the fingers (the metacarpal heads, if you want to get all scientific about it). It’s the heel of the hand area that sports scientists say is most important to avoid cyclist’s palsy – numbness in your fingers caused by pressure on the nerves that run through your hands, mostly the ulna nerve.

We didn’t get any numbness using these gloves, the padding soaking up vibration well, but we’d still have preferred a larger padded area across the centre of the palm for long-ride comfort. When we’re riding on the tops, we find there’s a lot of pressure slap-bang in the middle of the palm and on these gloves, in common with many others, there’s a gap in the padding there. That can lead to achiness. It’s a personal thing, though – plenty of people prefer this less bulky design, and it only became an issue with us on rides over about three hours.

Putting our individual preferences to one side, these are high-quality mitts for all-round summer riding, including racing.

Verdict

Cool and grippy mitts – but check the padding is positioned where you like it