Castelli Rosso Corsa Espresso Gloves

The Castelli Rossa Corsa Espresso Gloves are an exceptional pair of bike mitts for those who like to combine breathability with padding.

• Pros: Breathable, great shock absorption
• Cons: Padding won't be for everybody

As with almost everything cycling-related, what may be one person's perfect will be another person's hell. Mitts, despite their apparent simplicity, are no different.

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Personally, I like mitts with tons of padding and so the Espressos are ideal as they have that in abundance. There are four pads across the bottom of each finger, another on the thumb, then three sitting across the bottom of the hand, one circular pad in the middle of the palm, and a long thin one running from underneath the little finger down to midway down the wrist.

Each pad is gel and the seams allow the hand to move easily without any kind of restrictions – something that heavily padded mitts sometimes suffer from. On each pad there are silicone grippers to maintain grip regardless of the conditions, and these work impressively well, even in the wettest conditions.

The pads do a good job of damping bumps from the road, no doubt helped by the 'Castelli Damping System'. This is basically one much firmer pad that sits in the middle of the bottom of your palm and protects key nerves by damping vibrations in that area of your hand most heavily in contact with the hoods. There was a noticeable difference when I was riding on bumpy north Kent roads compared with other gloves I have used.

On the top Castelli has used a 'textured mesh with stretch and recovery' which has the obligatory Castelli red showing through the black upper when stretched. This material is very effective when it comes to breathability and wicking, making them a great choice for hot weather rides.

Elsewhere, Castelli has included a microfibre panel for wiping sweat or glasses, and has also considered the gloves' robustness, including a slightly thicker material running from the forefinger down the wrist and up the thumb, with an even thicker suede material on the inside of the thumb and forefinger where you're most likely to grip the hoods.

There's a pull tab between the two middle fingers to help when taking them off – something that I believe should be a legal requirement for mitts in 2019.

With an rrp of £40, they're undoubtedly an expensive pair of mitts, but given their performance this actually seems quite reasonable. When you compare them to the Hirzl Grippp Tour SF gloves, which come in £4 more expensive, they don't have quite the same level of grip but have considerably more padding. The Assos Summergloves_S7 are the same price at £40 and offer slightly more breathability, but don't have the same level of padding. 

> 9 ways to make your bike more comfortable

I was very impressed with the Rossa Corsa Espressos. As somebody who loves padding on their mitts, they suited me down to the ground. Some may want to have a little more road feel, but for those who don't you can't go far wrong with these.

Verdict

An excellent pair of mitts for those looking to take the bite out of bumps