dhb Neoprene Cycling Gloves

dhb's Neoprene Gloves make for good company when riding in cold, wet weather – so long as you're not fussy about hot, soggy hands. A fairly heavyweight neoprene, combined with an exceptionally long cuff, provides perfect insulation against biting temperatures thanks to the layer of moisture trapped against the skin which is heated by your own body warmth.

dhb has certainly taken a minimalistic approach where design is concerned. One single reflective logo on the outer edge, a very useful silicone tab to pull the gloves on, and a full palm-side expanse of very thin, unbroken, silicone gripper strips. That's it. No extra coloured trims, no Velcro cuff adjuster (despite what it says in the tech spec online), no extra padding.

The lack of padding is the only 'extra' that I missed – on rough roads they offered virtually no protection, and taken off-road, well... need I say more? This was a shame as, considering the weather conditions these neoprene gloves are designed for, I frequently opt to give the mountain bike an outing rather than the road bike.

The fit is very snug; the silicone tab is essential to pull the gloves on and get the cuff extended, and it then moulds to your wrist. Once on the hand, they give a feeling of compression but also restriction. The neoprene is so thick that even making a fist is a workout. Although they offer sufficient dexterity on the bike, the thickness of the neoprene really doesn't lend itself to doing up a helmet clasp or fiddling with a padlock.

From the minute you put the gloves on you sense a build-up of heat, that's without the fist pumping! Certainly putting them on needs to be the last thing you do before rolling out, otherwise you'll be losing body fluid before starting to ride!

> How to keep your hands warm and dry on chilly, wet rides

Pull on the gloves with warm hands and they will remain toasty warm for the duration of your ride, however long, cold or damp it might be. I found this quite a revelation as my Raynaud's Syndrome hands do not handle temperatures below 4°C very well at all.

Naturally, this warmth comes at a cost – a sweaty, damp palm that the gloves stubbornly resist being parted from when the time comes to take them off. They really are not café-stop gloves – though the fight to get them back on is a small distraction from the cold, damp enclosure you are forcing your hands into. The layer of moisture is soon reheated and you quickly forget just how unpleasant it was.

If you put these gloves on with cold hands you will struggle to benefit from the insulating properties; they really are reliant on your body's own generation of heat to perform well.

Overall, these are very much a 'love or hate' glove. They will serve you well if you don't mind the texture of neoprene and permanently damp, sweaty hands – a high price to my mind, but perhaps worth it for a pair of functioning hands at the end of a four-hour-plus ride in temperatures close to zero and maybe some rain to boot.

Verdict

Competitively priced and do exactly what they're claimed to, but they limit dexterity and lack palm-side protection