Trek Meltdown gloves £10.99
Trek's Meltdown gloves are designed to be worn either as liners or, as I've found them most useful, as gloves for those days when you don't really need the warmth that thick winter gloves provide. The upside of which is far greater control of the bars and brakes/shifters.
They're made from Outlast material and they're thin enough to both provide ample levels of control and keep your hands warm. Granted, they struggle when it's really cold, which it invariably is at the moment. When they're worn on their own sticky dots placed on the fingertips provides a bit of extra grip on the brake levers and shifters, and the soft material is well suited to nose wiping.
The Outlast material is interesting stuff. It's an acrylic based fibre that claims to be able to absorb and store heat from your body, only to release it when your body temperature drops. While this does sound good in theory, in practice it was hard to identify any fluctuations in temperature.
This aside, they're perfectly ideal for warmer conditions, those days when the sun is shining and you can leave your thickly padded winter gloves at home. They'll make an great addition to an autumn and spring setup. As liners though, they're not so good, principally because it's virtually impossible to have any flexibility of the fingers. I tried them with several different pairs of gloves and couldn't find a happy setup, so reserve their use as liners for when the temperature drops down to, and below, zero.
Available in five sizes from S to XXL.
Verdict
For autumn and spring riding these gloves will provide all the warmth you're likely to need, without compromising control at the levers.
Warm when it's not too cold, value, control
Not so good as liners
www.trekbikes.co.uk
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