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The Chrome Midweight Cycle Gloves are warm and practical when it's cold or damp, though snugger wrists, proper water resistance and some palm grippers would be nice given the pricing.
Chrome makes stuff with urban cycling in mind – 'Useful gear. Made for city,' as they say – but these are perfectly usable for regular road riding too.
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The uppers are built from two panels, with the outside three fingers and the majority of the back of the hand being ripstop nylon, whilst the rest is synthetic PU leather. The Chrome logo is reflective for a little touch of visibility.
Beneath this is a relatively thin layer of insulation that works well; I used these down to 2°C and they were fine, although that's pretty much the limit. The insides are soft and fleecy too, so they're comfortable as well as warm.
The wide, shortish cuffs don't do anything to seal out drafts though – it's a shame there's no Velcro to cinch them in with, as unless you have forearms like lamp posts the elastic inserts won't do anything.
These are at least impressively windproof everywhere they do cover your skin.
While not offering any 'official' water resistance, they cope okay with light showers or even short bursts of intense rain. Once soaked though, that PU leather holds a fair bit of water, especially in the palm.
> 25 of the best winter cycling gloves for 2021 – keep your hands warm and dry
The 'casual' look means you just get the two small pads on the outside of the palm for comfort – far less than many more dedicated gloves – but for me at least it worked well. I don't often feel the need for a huge amount of padding in winter gloves anyway.
I did miss having any silicone grippers though, as it would have been nice to have a little more grip on the levers at times.
You do get touch screen areas on the thumb and forefinger, at least, and these worked well on my iPhone. The quality of these seems to have markedly improved in the last couple years across the industry, which is great to see.
At £47 these are fairly expensive given the lack of bike-specific features such as water resistance, tight-sealing cuffs or silicone grippers. For instance, the Sportful WS Essential 2 Gloves offer the same low-bulk warmth but use water-resistant Goretex fabric and give better grip, and are just £3 more at £50.
Meanwhile the Altura Firestorm Gloves offer a similarly basic design to the Chrome ones (if a more cycling-y look), and are £39.99.
I like these gloves for their lack of bulk, subtle design (they don't look weird if you wear them off the bike) and effective touch screen elements. However, at this price I would expect them to be somewhat richer in actual cycling features.
Windproof, warm for their low bulk and stylish, but expensive given the lack of bike-specific features
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Make and model: Chrome Midweight Cycle Gloves
Tell us what the product is for
Chrome says these are: "Midweight cycling gloves built tough, stylish and functional. Thick enough to stay warm, thin enough to ride."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Insulated cycling gloves for fall/winter riding
Padded palm for riding comfort
Thick enough to stay warm. Thin enough to ride
They seem well made, with extra thickness in key areas. The stitching stayed secure throughout the test period too.
Keep out wind and most of the rain.
The wrists could be a slimmer fit, but otherwise good.
They come up small; the large I tested fitted more like a medium.
Nice fleecy lining and decent windproofing.
With no grippers, water resistance or other cycle-specific technical features, £47 seems high.
How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?
They take 30 degree washes without any issues.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
They performed well, keeping out the worst of the weather, although more waterproofing on the palms and a tighter fit on the cuffs would be good.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The touch screen elements work really well.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
At £47 these are fairly expensive given the lack of bike-specific features such as water resistance, tight-sealing cuffs or silicone grippers. For instance, the Sportful WS Essential 2 Gloves offer the same low-bulk warmth but use water-resistant Goretex fabric and give better grip, and are just £3 more at £50.
Meanwhile the Altura Firestorm Gloves offer a similarly basic design to the Chrome ones, and are £39.99.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes – in a sale
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
These are decent gloves, but arguably a little underspecced for the price – with water resistance and some bike-friendly grippers they would score higher.
I usually ride: CAAD13 My best bike is: Cannondale Supersix Evo
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed,
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George spends his days helping companies deal with their cycling commuting challenges with his company Cycling for Work. He has been writing for Road.cc since 2014.
When he is not writing about cycling, he is either out on his bike cursing not living in the countryside or boring anybody who will listen about the latest pro peloton/cycling tech/cycling infrastructure projects.
Yes, but this is one of the things they are allegedly there for. Ask them to explain how this a 'nuisance'.
Can't be soon enough for these to be brought in legally and should be used in lots of roadways, not just Motorways....
That scale in inches in full, and how with the 'bits' removed it can split into two...
That would a nice choice
I think I read the same thread. Some people are getting money back, I think someone said €1000? Tbh the bikes have devalued by WAY more than that...
Hg09foj. Google it. One Mile from there. Why should we help congestion. When idiots like her drive ?
I'd rather spend another £20 and get a refurbished GoPro 6 Black from eBay....
Me too, I like the extra walk and I hate door dings. I always park furthest away and with a forward facing exit direction. Even so, it is...
Great fitting, top quality, three-season gloves for all but the very coldest of days
Decent dexterous gloves with a strap that's quick to adjust and comfy padding, but a short cuff that limits versatility
Capable performers in cold, damp weather, but they're bad with screens and the fingers are small
Excellent gloves for very cold rides, bar the feature niggles
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