In this article I’m going to give you my top picks for the best cycling gloves for hand numbness.
I’m sure anyone who’s ever been on a bike for an extensive period of time knows the feeling of your hands going numb.
It severely detracts from the pleasure from riding a bike, so after my cheap thrift-store vintage-looking knitted cycling gloves tore at the seams, I decided to splurge on a new pair of cycling gloves.
Cycling gloves that would at least aid in adding comfort to my rides and reducing the risk of hand numbness.
So without further ado, here’s the overview of the best cycling gloves for hand numbness
Castelli Roubaix Gel 2 Gloves
The Castelli Roubaix Gel 2 Gloves reminds us of the grueling race taking place every year, with strips of demanding cobblestones sapping strength from the rider.
It’s a fitting name for a glove offering extra padding to deal with the jarring reality of such a course. Hence it’s a perfect option for both road cyclists and gravel riders.
If you’re an adventurous lady that often finds herself traversing less-than-optimal road conditions, or you simply are looking for a glove with more padding, this is the one for you.
- Extremely well-padded glove, perfect for road, gravel, and bikepacking
- None
Castelli Rosso Corsa Espresso Gloves
The Castelli Rosso Corsa Espresso Gloves is a lightweight allround summer glove with padding.
All Castelli gloves, including this one, feature padding sitting in close proximity of the ulnar nerve. Furthermore the glove features padding with every touch point your hands make with your handlebars.
I know from personal experience that if you favor padding in your cycling gloves, the comfort in Castelli gloves is virtually unmatched. And this very well designed, allround road cycling glove is one of the best options.
George Hill | Road.cc podcast host – June 03, 2019
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.
- Ulnar nerve protection, padding on entire palm, best lightweight all-round option
- None
Castelli Rosso Corsa 2 W Gloves
The Castelli Rosso Corsa 2 W Gloves are great all-round road cycling gloves that display every characteristic necessary for a premium product.
A velcro strap closes the glove around your wrist, which can be pulled down with the lip located on the cuff.
Once fastened the glove’s palm protects its entirety with gel padding sitting beneath a synthetic leather. Silicone striping ensures you retain a sure grip on the handlebars.
Personally, I’m a fan of their little but effective piece of padding sitting at the lower palm, an area often forgotten by other brands.
Charlotte Head | Contributor – June 29, 2023
During testing the CDS padding isolated my hands from road rumble effectively without impacting my grip or feel on the handlebars, while the silicone details helped prevent my hands from slipping. On +30°C rides, the breathability was somewhat lacking so I would say the 35°C max temperature is a bit too generous, though below this point they were fine.
The Castelli Rosso Corsa 2s would make a good choice for those looking to get quality shock absorption without compromising on range of movement or handlebar grip.
- Ulnar nerve protection, best allround option
- None
Castelli Endurance Gloves
The Castelli Endurance Gloves are very similar to the Rosso Corsa gloves.
The difference is in the material of the upper construction, which makes the glove a little bit lighter and cooler. Castelli calls it Endurance Evolution fabric, and this extra padded glove is meant to be used in long-distance touring in hot conditions.
The light gloves don’t have a large cuff, which could dig into your hands. This might make them just a tad more difficult to remove.
With padding covering almost the entirety of the synthetic palm, including the whole thumb, they do indeed provide comfort for those who are more quickly afflicted by hand pain.
- Best for hot conditions, fantastic long ride glove, padding on entire palm
- Difficult to remove
Castelli Arenberg Gel 2 Gloves
The Italian Castelli Arenberg Gel 2 gloves are nice-looking gloves, which are being offered in a variety of colors besides your standard black. They feature the Castelli Damping System (CDS) padding, which protects part of the ulnar nerve running through your hand.
I would consider the padding to be medium, which means your grip on the handlebar remains firm and it doesn’t really feel like you’re wearing a padded glove.
As with all my gloves I buy them a size smaller to prevent creasing between palms and handlebar. The cuff is closed with a velcro strap.
The glove has an extended lip to put them on. There’s also a tiny bit of excess cloth between the middle 3 fingers, meant for removing the gloves, which I never use, since the gloves are easy enough to remove with the strap not fastened.
Overall the glove is extremely comfortable and has the right balance between grip and padding.
Lex Spedding | Site Owner – April 29, 2022
I tested the Castelli Arenberg Gel gloves over several rides of varying lengths. On short, pacey rides the gloves provided excellent grip thanks to the the silicone print design. The micro-mesh on the back of the hand keep the gloves well ventilated – although the palms have less ventilation due to the large areas of gel padding.With regards to the padding, we tested the gloves on a 50 mile ride, around some not-so-even country lanes. The padding was very impressive and did a great job of dampening and road (and pothole) vibrations through the bars.
- Ulnar nerve protection, extremely easy to remove, great design
- Not the coolest
Pearl Izumi Select Gloves
The Pearl Izumi Select Gloves is a simple, lightweight summer road cycling glove with gel foam padding on top of a synthetic leather palm.
They are comfortable but superb-fitting gloves for a decent price, and are made in a number of colors. The padding covers almost the entire palm, supplying ample levels of protection against road buzz.
The short cuff has a velcro strap to close it tightly around the wrist. The velcro closure makes removing them easier, even with sweaty hands,
- Superb fit, affordable
- None
Pearl Izumi Women's Select Gloves
The Pearl Izumi Women’s Select Gloves is the female version of this bestseller.
Obviously it has the same characteristics as the men’s version. That means with what Pearl Izumi deems more female-oriented designs, you’ll get the same affordable superb-fitting glove.
With a synthetic palm and a lycra upper, it’s a very well-made summer glove.
- Superb fit, affordable
- None
Giro Supernatural Gloves
The Giro Supernatural Gloves use multi-density padding from the Elastic Interface Palm Technology.
Elastic Interface is a company whose core focus is on the development and production of paddings, which makes this glove the most tech-oriented one in this lineup.
This type of padding is anatomically molded with zero stitches and various layers of stiffness. The softest around the sensitive area where the ulnar nerve resides.
The result is an extremely comfortable glove, with an extraordinary fit. I’ve been using Castelli for a long time, but for those less brand-sensitive than me, this is the glove I would buy.
James Huang | Contributor – May 31, 2023
The fit quality is superb, with a genuine next-to-skin feel and none of the squirming that I find so annoying with far too many other gloves (this is the reason I usually prefer to go without gloves when riding on the road). The fit around the thumb opening might actually be a little too tight, but time will tell if it loosens up a bit.
- Fantastic fit, lightweight no-feel glove
- None
Giro Women's Supernatural Gloves
The Giro Women’s Supernatural Gloves made it on this list because of their exceptional feel.
It’s a glove which features padding made by a company Elastic Interface which specializes in it. They’ve created a multi-density foam that spreads the pressure exerted on the hands across the entire palm, reducing the risk of painful pressure points.
And they do so using a proprietary material that molds itself across your hand. The result is a truly extraordinary and innovative cycling glove that combines perfect road feel with high levels of comfort.
- Fantastic fit, lightweight no-feel glove
- None
Giro LX Gloves
The gorgeous Giro LX bicycle gloves come in three colors: black, white, and tan. And the punctured upper gives them a retro look. Especially when choosing the tan version, it would perfectly complement a vintage road or touring bike.
These full gloves are made of high-quality Pittards leather and offer thick padding to relieve pressure from the ulnar nerve and the inside of the thumb for brake levers used on road bikes.
It’s one of the very few summer gloves that are almost entirely made out of leather, which explains the price tag. And it’s one of the best-looking and most comfortable padded leather gloves money can buy.
- Made from leather, gorgeous vintage look
- More delicate than synthetic options, pricey
Giro Monaco II Gel Gloves
The Giro Monaco II Gel gloves are superbly comfortable gloves in a number of great-looking colors.
The entire palm of the glove is made of high-quality Pittards leather. This type of leather combines all the necessary characteristics you need in a premium cycling glove. Comfort, grip, durability and breathability.
The fingerless Monica II Gel glove is the perfect companion for your summer rides. The Pittards leather ensures perspiration has the ability to escape, while the mesh upper creates both a snug fit that’s still airy and comfortable.
Giro’s Technogel provides added comfort that takes out road buzz and adds comfort as well, without the rider losing feel with the bike.
- Leather palm, very well-padded palm
- None
Giro Women's Monica II Gel Gloves
The Giro Women’s Monica II Gel gloves are superbly comfortable gloves in a number of female-oriented colors.
The entire palm of the glove is made of high-quality Pittards leather. This type of leather combines all the necessary characteristics you need in a premium cycling glove. Comfort, grip, durability and breathability.
The fingerless Monica II Gel glove is the perfect companion for your summer rides. The Pittards leather ensures perspiration has the ability to escape, while the mesh upper creates both a snug fit that’s still airy and comfortable.
Giro’s Technogel provides added comfort that takes out road buzz and adds comfort as well, without the rider losing feel with her bike.
- Leather palm, Very well-padded palm
- None
Giro Women's Jag'Ette Gloves
With a great many flavors the Giro Women’s Jag’Ette Gloves will surely suit you from a design perspective.
But there’s more. The Jag’Ette features comfort-enhancing EVA foam padding. The padding resides underneath AX suede synthetic leather, which is moisture-wicking and durable at the same time.
It has a minimal lycra upper, with a velcro strap for a snug fit. A no-nonsense summer glove with comfortable padding.
- Beautiful designs, EVA foam padding
- None
Specifications cycling gloves for hand numbness
Name | Sex | Type | Back | Palm | Padding | Insulation | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Castelli Roubaix Gel 2 Gloves | women | fingerless | mesh | synthetic | extra gel padding | none | summer |
Castelli Rosso Corsa Espresso Gloves | men | fingerless | mesh | synthetic | gel padding | none | summer |
Castelli Rosso Corsa 2 W Gloves | women | fingerless | mesh | synthetic | gel padding | none | summer |
Castelli Endurance Gloves | men | fingerless | Endurance Evolution | synthetic suede | extra gel padding | none | summer |
Castelli Arenberg Gel 2 Gloves | men | fingerless | mesh | synthetic | gel padding | none | summer |
Pearl Izumi Select Gloves | men | fingerless | Nylon stretcch | synthetic leather | gel foam padding | none | summer |
Pearl Izumi Women’s Select Gloves | women | fingerless | gel foam | none | summer | ||
Giro Supernatural Gloves | men | fingerless | mesh | Elastic Interface® | multi-density padding | none | summer |
Giro Women’s Supernatural Gloves | women | fingerless | mesh | Elastic Interface® | multi-density padding | none | summer |
Giro LX Gloves | men | fingerless | Pittards leather | Pittards leather | 3MM technogel padding | none | summer |
Giro Monaco II Gel Gloves | men | fingerless | mesh | Pittards leather | 3MM technogel padding | none | summer |
Giro Women’s Monica II Gel Gloves | women | fingerless | mesh | Pittards leather | 3MM technogel padding | none | summer |
Giro Women’s Jag’Ette Gloves | women | fingerless | EVA padding | none | summer |
Sources
Founder Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His cycling career has seen him at the starting line of classics such as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege. Realizing his racing capacity would fall short of what was needed he obtained a MS from the University of Amsterdam in engineering. His love for cycling changed into riding in an amateur capacity with his local cycling club TFC Weesp as a roadie and supporting MTB Noordwest as a mountain biker. He repairs, restores, and builds bicycles and shares his knowledge on YouTube, Facebook and this website.
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