Winter riding can take its toll on the extremities. It doesn’t take long to turn your once-happy fingers into useless frozen hot dogs. Over the past few weeks, I’ve gratefully swapped out my un-insulated full-finger gloves for the new Giro Pivot Winter gloves.
Giro Pivot Gloves Features:
- Silicone detailing on fingertips
- Waterproof wiping surface
- Pertex™ waterproof/breathable fabric repels cold, wet weather
- Hipora™ 100% waterproof construction liner
- Clarino™ synthetic leather palm for maximum grip
- Adjustable cuff to seal out cold
- Super Fit™ Engineered with 3-panel palm for a tailored fit
- MSRP: $69.99
Giro Pivot Winter Cycling Gloves Review
Lately, the weather has been cold and dry, so I’ve been doing my best to keep the wheels rolling instead of skis turning. Gratefully, I’ve had the new Giro Pivot Winter cycling gloves at my disposal to stave off the cold, crisp air. The overall design of these gloves is on par with Giro’s other cycling gloves — ergonomically-shaped, the right mixture of materials for proper grip and feel — but with the addition of lightweight insulation and waterproof membranes.
The exterior is Pertex with a Hipora inner liner. I have several Pertex pieces and have been thoroughly impressed with every incarnation thus far — the Pivot’s are no exception.
I have the size Large, which is my typical glove size, but these initially felt little more snug than I’d like. Over time, they have packed out a tad and stretched just enough to provede a perfect fit. The only exception to that comes when trying to take them off after use or take them off and put them on again to use my iPhone mid-ride. In those cases, the cuff is very narrow and I have a hard time extracting or inserting my hand into the glove. This is magnified when the inside is damp with sweat. I will say that the grippy pull-tab on the cuff is absolutely essential for re-entry.
Further, you do have to be careful when taking your hands out after a ride so you don’t pull the lining away from the shell. Just take it one finger at a time and you’ll be fine.
The weather resistance of these gloves is superb. They are waterproof and still breathe extremely-well. After an hour in the saddle, they do get damp inside, but not overly so. And, though damp, my hands never felt cold. My riding temps have been down to the low 30’s, so I’d say their 35-degree rating is conservative.
Bar feel remains solid with the Pivot’s, but you will never be as precise as form-fitting gloves. I did find myself mis-shifting my Ultegra shifters on occasion, but that comes with the territory. I’ll certainly take that trade-off to keep my digits happy.
After enjoying these on Winter rides, I’ve since taken them out trail running and will likely give them a whirl for backcountry skiing as well. I like their low-profile design and durable materials, so they will work well for my other athletic pursuits in the cold.
The Good
- Excellent warmth down to 30-degrees and below
- Only a little tradeoff in bar and lever feel
- Weatherability is top-notch
- Durable fabrics and construction
- Versatile enough for trail running, backcountry skiing
- Cuff pulltab eases re-entry
The
- Hard to take off and back on after use
- Feels tight at first
- Velcro closure losing its grippyness after several years of use
Bottom Line: Giro Pivot Winter Gloves
Keep Winter at bay with the new Giro Pivot Winter cycling gloves. These gloves will keep your digits warm without adding too much bulk or reducing bar/lever feel.
Buy Now: Visit CompetitiveCyclist.com
7 Comments
How do these compare to the DaKine windstopper gloves?
I’m not quite sure exactly which gloves you’re referring to, but I’d say they are similar to the DaKine Tundra:
http://dakine.com/p/gloves/bike/guys/tundra
Jason,
I was speaking to your previous article here – https://www.feedthehabit.com/skiing/dakine-blockade-windstopper-gloves-review/
I am on the lookout for a dexterious lightweight glove that blocks wind and water, but breaths well. Something versatile that I can winter bike in the temps you described, as well as use for cold winter running/snowshoeing, spring alpine skiing, and all around use in that 20-45 range.
To be honest I get confused as there are so many segments that have gloves these days. Bike companies now make something (Pearl Izumi/Giro/Dakine/Endura…), ski companies make something (Hestra/Dakine/Pow/Stoic…), and then all the outdoor companies make something (Marmot,ArcTeryx,MH,TNF…).
I understand there is no ‘right’ answer, but given you have probably tried on and used a much larger variety of gloves than I ever will, which segment do you think offers the best to choose from that ‘does it all’?
(I am thinking bike company offerings because they really have to do everything well, including having more durable palms and fingers)
There are a ton of great options these days, but you might be onto something looking at Winter cycling gloves for all kinds of active cold-weather pursuits. The Pivot’s are the first Winter cycling gloves I’ve used extensively and I really do like them — hard to go wrong with them in this category.
Regarding the DaKine Blockade’s, they are great gloves that err on the breathability side more than warmth. I’m not sure how they would perform on the bike, but I’ll have to try them. They do get awfully cold on downhills if they are wet. I’ve had some frozen fingers when I’ve forgotten to swap them out for the downhill when backcountry skiing.
I bought a pair of Giro Pivot a few weeks ago because my older pair of Descente riding gloves were not doing their job in keeping my fingers from being painfully cold. I had high hope for the Pivot but unfortunately, my fingers still get painfully cold if i ride for more than 30 minutes in high 30s weather. I think i may need those lobster-claw style gloves with a separate removable liner, like my snowboarding gloves.
Sounds like a set of those lobster-style mitts might do the trick as you may have more serious circulation issues than I do. These have done me well in the 30’s while cycling (road/mtb) and backcountry skiing.
I recommend you to try INBIKE cycling gloves, and I believe you will love it.