Mountain biking is the quintessential extreme sport. It requires all the skills and technicality of wind gliding and couples with thrills that could rival those of big wave surfing. Great mountain bikers know that in order to make the most of their uphill climbs and downhill descents, you’ve got to have your gear dialed in to the ‘T’, and that includes everything from tire inflation to the gloves covering your hands.
When it comes to the latter, we can’t help but recommend Troy Lee Designs Air as some of the best mtb gloves available today.
Best MTB gloves
Protects the Palm
A good pair of mountain gloves is anything but just a boost to the visual aesthetics of the rider. One of the key elements and reasons behind investing in a good pair of gloves, above all, is protection. The Troy Lee Designs Air gloves get this, and thanks to the Clarino synthetic leather palm it’s got all the bases, or at least your palm, covered.
You’ll be able to wear these gloves with confidence knowing your palm will be protected from the jostle of the handlebars as well as preventing scrapes from any unfortunate spills.
Silicon Grip
The most obvious responsibility of a solid pair of gloves, after protection, is that they somehow enhance the rider’s abilities and enable some sort of edge when tackling the most intense trails the outdoors can offer.
The Troy Lee Designs Air do just that, especially in terms of grip. Specifically, the Troy Lee Air gloves come with silicone grip enhancers on the palm and fingers to give some extra stick to the handlebars and the hand break. Grip is a nonnegotiable, especially if riding in hazardous conditions. The last thing you want is to lose your handle on the brakes and experience the disaster that ensues.
All Condition Riding
Getting your gear tuned in to fit your riding style is a feat in itself, so it only makes sense that having to alternate gear anytime the forecast shifts can be a tedious chore. The Troy Lee Designs Air gloves will be one less piece of equipment to worry about as their spec’d to hold up under practically any type of weather conditions.
Riding in the summer? No problem, these gloves are ventilated and breathable to keep sweat from compromising your grip. Cold weather rainy ride? Rest assured! These gloves seal well to keep heat in and grip tight to prevent exterior moisture from hindering a good hold.
Specs and Features
- The Troy Lee Designs Air gloves are 100% lycra spandex to allow for durability as well as flexibility.
- These gloves both breath well in the heat, as well as insulate the hand to prevent numbness in cold weather riding.
- Silicone graphics on the palm and fingertips allow for extra grip on the handlebars and breaks.
- The palms are fortified with synthetic leather to prevent blisters and collateral damage to the hands from spills.
- A Velcro backed TPR wrist closer allows the glove to fit snugly to the wrist.
- -The gloves are light, yet flexible, weighing in at 7.2oz and measuring 13 x 5 x 2 inches, and come in multiple sizes.
- -These gloves both fit and look sporty, cover the whole hand, and feature the company logo on the back of the hand.
What Customers are Saying
Thrill seeking mountain bikers everywhere are more than pleased with the Troy Lee Designs Air gloves. Sure, there are tons of varieties of gloves on the market, from light and fingerless to only a few plates shy of armored, but the Troy Lee Airs seem to just be a great holistic fit for most riders.
The breathable mesh on these gloves really have users talking as it keeps their hands dry with optimum grip for those long rides.
You’ll be hard pressed to find any bad comments made about these gloves, though perhaps something could be said about the lack of hard wrist support. The TPR Velcro does wonders to keep the gloves securely fashioned, and to opt for something sturdier would probably sacrifice the overall flexibility.
As such, I can’t help but recommend these as a great pair of mountain biking gloves for any rider!
Who Should Buy this Product
The Troy Lee Designs Air gloves are perfect for the versatile and flexible mountain biker. After all that’s basically how these gloves operate, so the perfect rider would likely have similar characteristics. These gloves are for the rider who wants to tackle to downhill descent or the long ride without having to worry about hand sweat compromising grip.
Who Shouldn’t Buy this Product
While the Troy Lee designs Air gloves do offer an optimum fit and function for most bikers, they aren’t without their limits. Bikers who opt for the more extreme varieties, mostly motocross or perhaps tackling treacherous terrain and jumps, may need to opt for something sturdier and closer to armored gloves.
The Troy Lees are great and do offer superb protection, but it’s important to know limits and adjust accordingly.
Conclusion
In all, these gloves are a well-rounded, durable, and trusted fit. They’re a great addition to almost any and every mountain biking set up, and will have you tuned in and tackling the trail with grip and confidence. I hope you like our review about the best mtb gloves.
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