Bontrager Gloves
Your hands are one of three contact points that actually govern how a bike feels beneath you, and Bontrager cycling gloves take that seriously. Built around proprietary inForm BioDynamic design, the range maps the bone structure of your hand to specifically relieve pressure on the ulnar nerve - the nerve responsible for that creeping numbness you get through the fingers on a long day in the saddle on rough UK B-roads. It's a genuine engineering approach, not marketing padding.
The range splits clearly by purpose. Road cyclists get the gel-padded Circuit for endurance comfort and the stripped-back Velocis for a barely-there aero fit. Trail and enduro riders are pointed toward the Evoke and Rhythm, where unpadded palms keep bar feel direct and reinforced knuckles handle the scrapes. For winter miles, Profila Softshell and Profila Wind fabrics do the work of blocking bitter headwinds without turning your hands into a sauna on the climbs.
AX Suede synthetic leather palms run through much of the range, offering grip that doesn't bunch or wear through quickly - a small detail that matters when you're 60 miles in and relying on consistent bar feel. Conductive thread means you can actually use your phone without stripping a glove off in the cold. Practical, well thought-through kit.
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Fabric Tech and Weather Performance
The palm construction is where Bontrager's day-to-day quality shows up most clearly. AX Suede is a synthetic leather chosen specifically because it grips the bar consistently without bunching into pressure ridges across your palm - something cheaper materials do within a few months of use. It's also durable enough to handle the abrasion of repeated gripping and the occasional unplanned acquaintance with tarmac.
On the back of the hand, Bontrager's winter gloves use either Profila Softshell or Profila Wind fabric depending on the model. Softshell versions carry more insulation and flex, suited to genuinely cold days. The Wind variants are the ones worth grabbing for that three-season gap - light enough to not cook your hands on a steady climb, but blocking enough to stop a 25mph headwind stealing all the warmth out of your fingers on a fast descent. UK autumns in particular, where it's 9°C and blowing from the north-east, are exactly the conditions these are made for.
A point worth knowing: the DWR coating on water-resistant models does its job in light rain and spray, but it's not a substitute for a full waterproof glove in a proper downpour. Think of it as keeping drizzle off rather than keeping hands dry in a Welsh mountain storm.
Conductive thread is woven into the fingertips across most of the range, so navigating your GPS or silencing your phone mid-ride doesn't require pulling the glove off with your teeth in February. A small thing, but genuinely useful when you'd rather not stop.
Understanding the Bontrager Fit and Range
The road range splits on how much hand protection you actually want. The Circuit is the endurance workhorse - gel padding placed under the palm to absorb road buzz and protect the ulnar nerve across long miles. If your regular rides involve cracked Surrey Hills lanes or the rougher stretches of Peak District roads, the Circuit's padding does real work. The Velocis sits at the other end: minimal, close-fitting, essentially a second skin over your hand. Racers and riders who find padded gloves feel clunky will gravitate here, though there's less protection if the road surface is agricultural.
The inForm BioDynamic approach worth understanding is that it's not just about adding foam - it's about placing gel and structure specifically where the ulnar nerve runs along the outside of your palm. Generic gloves pad the whole palm evenly; inForm targets the pressure points that actually cause numbness and fatigue. Over a four-hour ride on rough roads, that distinction becomes fairly obvious.
On the MTB side, the Evoke and Rhythm take the opposite padding philosophy - unpadded palms so you can actually feel what the bars are telling you, with protection focused on the back of the hand and knuckles instead. If you're comparing against options like Giro MTB gloves or GripGrab's trail range, Bontrager's trail gloves sit in similar territory: tactile feel, practical protection.
On sizing: road models like the Velocis are cut tight and wear true to size assuming you want that fitted feel. Winter gloves with more structure, or if you're planning to layer a thin silk liner underneath on genuinely cold days, size up without hesitation. If you're between sizes, go up - a glove that's slightly generous is far less miserable than one that cuts circulation at the wrist after an hour. That said, most riders find the standard sizing consistent and accurate compared to, say, Castelli's sometimes snug Italian cuts.
Layering and Care for UK Riding
UK seasons rarely commit. A lightweight windproof glove paired with a thin liner gets you through most of October to April without needing to swap between a summer glove and a full winter mitt every other week. The Profila Wind models sit exactly in that gap - use them as the outer layer and pull on a cheap silk liner when temperatures drop properly below 5°C. It's a more versatile system than buying dedicated gloves for every temperature band.
Washing these properly is worth doing right, because it's easy to quietly ruin a good pair of gloves. Stick to a gentle 30°C machine wash with a mild detergent. No fabric softener - it breaks down the DWR coating on weather-resistant models and degrades the AX Suede synthetic leather faster than normal use would. Always air dry, away from radiators. Drying gloves directly on a radiator or near a heat source warps the gel inserts and causes the synthetic leather to crack and stiffen. Hang them somewhere with airflow and let them dry slowly. It takes longer, but your gloves will last two or three seasons rather than one.
If you're overhauling the whole cockpit feel, it's worth pairing a new set of gloves with fresh Bontrager bar tape or updated Bontrager grips for MTB - the combination of consistent palm material against a consistent grip surface makes more difference to hand fatigue than either element alone. Endura's glove range is a reasonable alternative if you want to compare padding philosophies before deciding.
Bontrager Gloves FAQs
Are Bontrager gloves true to size?
Generally yes - most of the range sizes consistently. Road aero models like the Velocis run close-fitting by design, so if you want a less snug feel or plan to wear a liner underneath in winter, go a size up. When in doubt between two sizes, the larger one is almost always the right call.
What is Bontrager inForm padding?
inForm BioDynamic is Bontrager's ergonomic padding system designed to target the ulnar nerve specifically - the nerve that causes finger numbness on long rides. Rather than padding the whole palm evenly, it places gel and structure where pressure actually builds, which makes a noticeable difference over several hours on rough roads.
How do I wash my Bontrager cycling gloves?
A gentle 30°C machine wash with mild detergent is the method. Skip fabric softener entirely - it degrades the DWR coating and breaks down the AX Suede palm material faster than normal wear. Air dry away from any direct heat source; radiators warp gel inserts and crack synthetic leather over time.