Bike gloves in summer? At first that sounds pretty pointless. Here you’ll find out why you should wear gloves on the bike even in summer and how to find the right ones.
The absolute most important reason for wearing summer gloves right away: We wouldn’t wish it on anyone… but if you have a crash, (even in summer!) bike gloves are worth their weight in gold!
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If you fall off your bike, you instinctively catch yourself with your hands. A good pair of summer gloves protects your hands from abrasions. |
Has that already convinced you? Great! But there are more arguments. So on to reason number 2:
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Bike gloves help you complete your bike training safely, because in the best case they prevent a crash from happening in the first place. They stop your wet hands from slipping on the handlebar. |
Safety is good, but the comfort is also important! And that’s where bike gloves are crucial! They’re padded and prevent calluses, blisters or tension.
Who needs gloves on the bike in summer?
Anyone who gets on their bike for longer periods in summer rides better with gloves. But two groups of people benefit particularly, even on shorter rides.
- Mountain bikers are especially crash-prone; gloves are simply part of the protective gear.
- Many cyclists who already struggle with problems like numb or tingling hands, painful wrists, shoulders or neck, or conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, can also benefit from bike gloves in summer to reduce their symptoms .
Quick decision guide to the right summer glove
There are different models. If you don’t want to read on, you can decide in a flash what you need:
- Long-finger gloves or short gloves?
- Summer gloves without padding, with gel padding or with foam padding?
- Do you need an absorbent surface or an area that cleans the glasses?
- Do you need touchscreen-compatible gloves? If so, which finger?
- What glove size do you need? The size chart is further down.
Bike gloves (here for women) make your summer riding safer. Image © Roeckl
And now in detail: Why are bike gloves important in summer?
In winter, your fingers on the handlebar get cold particularly quickly – that’s not really a question; you need gloves! But even on warm summer days there are good reasons for them:
- Sweat-damp hands are the enemy of controlled steering movements – light bike gloves significantly improve grip and ensure the grips sit firmly in your hand. This becomes safety-relevant – a well-controlled line can prevent accidents!
- A little summer rain in between isn’t necessarily a bad thing for sweaty cycling sports – but the moisture makes your grips slippery! Bike gloves also improve grip on the handlebar here.
- If your hands are sweaty, you have to grip harder. In the long run, that makes your arms tire faster. So in summer, bike gloves also give you more riding comfort and provide unrestricted bike fun.
- Even though good grips and handlebar tape are supposed to prevent it, the sweat film can still cause painful calluses and blisters on your hands. With good bike gloves, you can ride through summer without worry.
- Last but not least, your hands are exposed to the sun on the handlebar all the time, so there’s an acute sunburn risk! Sunscreen would help, but with frequent hand washing using lots of soap, the cream is washed off in no time. Light bike gloves for summer cover the sensitive skin on the back of your hand and protect it from nasty UV radiation.
These features make bike gloves in summer especially practical
While the palm of a bike glove mainly needs to be abrasion-resistant , the back of the hand should be particularly elastic ; in the past, this often resulted in the exciting combo of leather + Spandex.
The summer bike glove is abrasion-resistant and elastic
Today, the most varied synthetic materials are usually used, adapting the properties of the bike gloves to summer and heat; leather is becoming less common. And incidentally, the gloves are vegan too. Gloves for mountain bikers are also made from a very tear-resistant material. Many manufacturers also use recycled materials when selecting synthetic fibres today, because that greatly improves the sustainability of bike gloves. The outer fabric is usually breathable and elastic so your hand can move well. Inside, a layer that absorbs sweat creates a pleasantly dry climate.
As little glove as possible – for summer, bike gloves are made from as little breathable material as possible. Image © 100%.
Stick the silicone on!
To improve grip on the handlebar, many bike gloves have silicone elements glued on the inside. In addition, there are such silicone pads on the fingers that operate the brake, so you have perfect contact and don’t slip. These glued areas are especially helpful in summer rain. In some models, the entire palm is sewn from a fabric with good grip and additional overlays are omitted. If dust and fluff reduce the adhesive strength, you can simply wipe or rinse the siliconeised areas.
Short bike gloves with silicone adhesive for perfect grip. Image © Endura.
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If you know you’ll be out riding even in the rain, you should look for gloves that offer particularly good grip when it’s wet. You’ll recognise them by names like All-Weather-Grip or Allwetter-Grip. |
Wipe & go – bike gloves for clear vision
- An absorbent terry cloth area: In winter, a runny nose bothers you; in summer, a sweaty forehead is annoying. Here, an insert made from a fabric that absorbs moisture helps. You can wipe sweat away before it runs into your eyes and blinds you.
- A piece of “window leather”: Whether you ride a mountain bike, road bike or trekking bike, even in summer you need clear vision! That’s why some bike gloves have a microfiber insert that cleans your visor. You can use it to quickly and easily wipe your sunglasses or goggles, so a separate lens cloth becomes unnecessary.
The thumb of this summer bike glove is made of terry cloth; it wipes your forehead, nose or glasses. Image © Roeckl.
More features
- Touchscreen-compatible: With bike gloves with long fingers, today one or more fingers are usually covered with a surface that can control a touchscreen. This coating is usually built into both the left and right glove, so left-handed and right-handed riders don’t need to look for special models. But it’s available on the thumb or on the index finger! A touchscreen-compatible glove is particularly important if you want to control a bike computer or the on-board computer of your e-bike via touchscreen and still wear long bike gloves!
- Reflective elements: If you plan especially long tours that go into the evening, your bike gloves should have reflective areas. That way, your hand signals won’t be missed when you turn.
- Knuckle protection: For downhill or Enduro- (and other) mountain bikers, there are gloves with knuckle protection. Neoprene pads or plastic elements turn your summer gloves into real protectors.
Also required in summer: mountain bike gloves with knuckle protection: Image © Fox Racing.
Soft or direct – padding affects steering feel
In principle, summer bike gloves are really only there to fix a soft layer inside the palm.
There are also for summer bike gloves with and without padding, because some riders prefer a direct feel while others like to ride with a bit more padding. What you prefer is best found out in a practical test.
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The fact is: Soft padding distributes pressure and reduces friction, so you don’t get calluses or blisters. Padding also dampens vibrations and shocks, which relieves your hands and arms. You’ll find the soft pads not only in the palm area; you can also treat yourself to a cushion at the thumb bend to prevent blisters. |
You’ll find this padding in summer bike gloves
Foam pads: More shape-stable EVA foam can minimise impacts and distribute pressure better across the entire inside surface of the bike glove. That relieves particularly stressed areas of the hand. The downside: the foam loses elasticity over time and then it’s simply “flat”. Then you need new gloves. But don’t worry: “good” bike gloves last a long time, often even through several summers.
Gel pads: Gel padding is soft and provides particularly good shock damping. It flexibly adapts to your hand and the shape of the grips and distributes pressure evenly across the palm. Because the material isn’t compressed, the problem of reduced elasticity doesn’t apply here. Gel pads have another decisive advantage over foam padding: the gel doesn’t soak up fully; in foam pads, rain or sweat can set in, so they dry more slowly.
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When choosing padding, you should always also think about your grips, because there are softly padded bike grips too. Soft grips plus soft gloves can be too much of a good thing, and your hands lose grip. Your hands shouldn’t “float” on too much padding. |
It’s quite rare, but with some summer gloves you can even see the gel pad. Image © Roeckl.
When are long-finger bike gloves better in summer?
At first it seems logical to go for bike gloves with short fingers in summer. In reality, though, that’s not always the best choice.
- On MTB , long-finger gloves are highly recommended because they protect the whole hand from branches and in crashes.
- On cooler days or early in the morning, when riding at high speeds (downhill or on the E-Bike), the wind from riding shouldn’t be underestimated either! Long bike gloves made from thin fabric can prevent cold, clammy fingers.
- If you’re riding in the rain, long-finger bike gloves are also the better choice in summer; you should make sure the fabric is breathable and still waterproof .
- Waterproof, long gloves are also suitable for the transition period until you need to switch to warm winter gloves .
- For Gravel tours, road bike training or trekking riding, short gloves are usually enough in summer.
The right size for bike gloves
The right fit is important so the gloves sit properly. Bike gloves should fit snugly. If they’re too loose, your hand will move around inside and you won’t be able to control the handlebar safely. The stretchable material in all directions provides the necessary comfort. Simply measure your hand to find the right glove size.
How to measure glove size:
Measure the circumference of your hand at the widest point. For many people, the widest point is just below the fingers, at the knuckles. Note: the thumb is not included! Don’t pull the tape too tight; it should sit loosely around your hand.
Glove size chart for women
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Hand circumference |
Glove size |
US size |
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15cm |
4 |
XXS |
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16cm |
5 |
XS |
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17cm |
6 |
S |
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18cm |
6,5 |
M |
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19cm |
7 |
M |
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20,5cm |
7,5 |
L |
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22cm |
8 |
L |
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23cm |
8,5 |
XL |
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24cm |
9 |
XL |
Glove size chart for men
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Hand circumference |
Glove size |
US size |
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18cm |
6,5 |
XS |
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19cm |
7 |
S |
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20,5cm |
7,5 |
S |
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22cm |
8 |
M |
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23cm |
8,5 |
M |
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24cm |
9 |
L |
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26cm |
9,5 |
XL |
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27cm |
10,5 |
XL |
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29cm |
11 |
XXL |
And a few notes about glove sizes for women and men:
- Glove sizes are not standardised, so there may be small differences depending on the manufacturer.
- In most cases, women’s bike gloves are slightly narrower than men’s.
- Of course, there are also women with rather large, broad hands and men with very narrow hands. There are suitable gloves for them too, but they may have been cut for the other gender.
- Many summer bike gloves are unisex models. Because the material is elastic, they then fit many hands.
- Especially manufacturers from the USA often split their bike gloves into sizes like S, M, L, XL and XXL . If you want a more precise indication, sometimes you’ll find a chart directly with the corresponding product that compares sizes with measurements in centimetres. If not, visiting the manufacturer’s homepage often helps.
Do the new gloves fit?
No matter whether you ordered your new summer bike gloves online or bought them in a shop, they have to fit.
- Put the gloves on; they shouldn’t pinch or cut in, even if you make a fist or test-grip the handlebar.
- No creases should form in the palm. Creases would increase friction and encourage blisters.
- But they also shouldn’t be too loose ; your hands shouldn’t “float”, because then you’d have to counter with hand strength again to get a good grip.
- If you place your hand flat on the table and pull your fingers slightly upwards, small creases can form at the knuckles, but the elastic material usually prevents that too.
By the way, just like your feet, your hands can also retain water. You should choose bike gloves that still fit if your fingers get a bit thicker!
How to wash your summer bike gloves
The palms sweat quickly, so bike gloves often end up in the wash, especially in summer. As with most other functional garments, you can usually wash bike gloves in the washing machine at low temperatures. But you should definitely follow the manufacturer’s instructions ! Especially if leather is used, it may be that your gloves need special treatment. Like all small items, they’re well protected during washing in a laundry bag . After washing, let them dry first lying flat.
However, washing gloves while you’re out riding in summer can become problematic.
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Too much moisture can increase friction inside the glove and thus lead even more to blisters and calluses! |
If you know your hands sweat a lot, you should pack an extra pair of bike gloves!
Into the washing machine! (But please only wash bike gloves according to the care instructions.)
To stop the gloves from “smelling”, you should air them out or wash them as quickly as possible after training. If after a while they develop an unpleasant odour , it can help to freeze them for 24 hours in the freezer.
Have a great ride with the right bike gloves!
So, grab a measuring tape and find the right size for a pair of summer bike gloves, or – if you’re riding a mountain bike – a good pair of MTB protective gloves. That way you’ll have your handlebar perfectly under control. We wish you lots of fun on your summer bike adventures!
