Galibier Zephyr All Surface Mitts

Galibier has a strong reputation for producing high-quality and affordable bike wear and the Zephyr All Surface Mitts don't buck the trend: they're well made and comfortable, and at less than £30 are well priced too.

Check out our guide to the best summer cycling gloves for more options.

Instead of using a Velcro closure, these mitts rely on a high-stretch knitted back to keep everything in place. And it's a very effective solution: the gloves are in full contact with your hands and don't slide around at all. It does make them harder to get off, though, so pulling them on and off for bike fettling or nature breaks is a bit more of a faff than some. There are finger tabs, but the gloves are snug enough that I didn't find them that effective.

> Buy now: Galibier Zephyr All Surface Mitts for £28.90 from Galibier

The padding on the AX suede palm isn't thick but it is effective, and Galibier says that it's optimised for multiple hand positions on the bars. Certainly after a few rides I found them very comfortable, and a fit-and-forget option for road and gravel excursions.

I say 'after a few rides' because some of the stitching between the fingers took a couple of washes to soften up and form itself into shape, and for the first couple of rides the gloves were rubbing a bit between first and second fingers.

It probably didn't help that their first outing was on a long ride on the hottest day of the year, where I definitely wouldn't have worn any gloves had I not had some needing some miles. These Zephyr mitts are thicker than many, and when it's very hot – 'very hot' here in the British sense, so over 25°C – they're probably not your best option.

Luckily this summer I've not had to think about overheating too often. They're fine in the rain, though, I can report after extensive testing, and that's no doubt helped to form them to my hands as well.

The Zephyr mitts are very well made, and after 1,000km or so on the bars they've made it to the top of the mitts pile and they're first out of the drawer; they definitely wear in rather than wear out. I wasn't sure about these mitts at first, but now I'm really happy with them.

I've got them nice and sticky with dust and sweat and rain and snot a few times, and they wash up just fine. There's no specific snot wipe on them but the whole of the back sort of works, so I didn't miss it.

Just under 30 quid for a well-made pair of mitts certainly isn't expensive: you could pay double that for some Giro Supernatural mitts if you wanted (although Ben did think they were excellent). Equally, good cheaper options such as Lusso's summer gloves (in various designs) are available.

These Zephyr mitts are good value without being the huge bargain that some Galibier kit is; they should last, though, so they're definitely worth adding to your wish list.

Verdict

Very well made mitts that work well on the road and are sturdy enough for gravel excursions