Troy Lee Designs Gloves
Troy Lee Designs gloves have earned a serious reputation on the trail by doing something deceptively simple: putting your hands as close to the bar as possible without leaving them exposed. TLD brings a deep background in protective gear design to mountain biking, and it shows in how these gloves are put together - thoughtful material choices, proper impact protection where it counts, and a fit that doesn't fight you mid-descent.
The range covers a lot of ground. If you're doing hot, sweaty laps at a trail centre and want your hands to feel like they're barely gloved at all, TLD has you sorted. If you're pushing into enduro or downhill territory and need genuine knuckle armour between you and a rock face, there's a glove for that too. And when November bites on an exposed moorland loop, the Swelter keeps you out riding rather than cutting the session short.
Every model in the Troy Lee Designs mountain bike gloves range is built around a few consistent ideas: Clarino synthetic leather palms for direct bar feel, silicone-printed fingertips for brake lever grip in the wet, and touchscreen-compatible fingertips so you can actually use your phone without peeling a glove off in the rain. Practical, purposeful, and genuinely well-made.
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Fabric Tech and How It Performs on UK Trails
The palm is where TLD gloves live or die, and the Clarino synthetic leather they use is a strong choice. It's a single-layer construction - no extra padding, no bunching - which means the feedback from your grips comes through clearly. You feel the bar, not a layer of foam between you and it. For anyone who's suffered with gloves that bunch up under the heel of the hand on long descents, this matters more than it sounds.
Micro-mesh ventilation panels on the back of the hand do real work on hard climbs. When you're grinding up a long fire road on a warm day at Coed y Brenin and your hands start sweating, that airflow keeps things manageable. It's not a dramatic feature, but it's the kind of thing you notice when it's absent.
The silicone screen-printed grip on the fingertips is particularly relevant for UK riding. Wet brake levers, muddy gloves - it's a combination that can make modulation genuinely sketchy. The silicone print maintains purchase on the lever even when everything is coated. Not a cure-all, but a meaningful improvement over plain fabric in those conditions. TPR graphics on some models add a layer of abrasion resistance to the knuckle area without adding bulk.
Pair your gloves with the right Troy Lee Designs jerseys and you've got wrist coverage sorted across both ends of the sleeve.
Breaking Down the Troy Lee Designs Glove Range
Three models anchor the range and they're quite different animals. The TLD Air gloves sit at the lightweight end - minimal structure, slip-on cuff, micro-mesh dominating the back of the hand. These are the gloves you reach for when it's genuinely warm and you want your hands to forget they're wearing anything. No faff with velcro closures, no stiff cuffs. Brilliant for summer trail centre laps where ventilation is the priority.
Step up to the Troy Lee Designs Gambit and the proposition shifts. D3O ghost knuckle inserts are the headline here. D3O is a rate-stiffening material - soft and flexible when you're just riding, but it hardens on impact to absorb and distribute force. It protects without the rigid, clunky feeling of older hard-shell knuckle guards. If you're running enduro races, sessioning technical chutes, or just know that your hands tend to find rocks when things go wrong, the Gambit is worth the extra weight. The compression-moulded cuff keeps everything in place without cutting off circulation.
The TLD Swelter winter gloves are the cold-weather answer. Fleece lining, windproof backhand, and enough insulation to handle exposed Peak District rides in January without your hands seizing up. They're not designed for sub-zero temperatures - think chilly rather than arctic - but for the typical UK winter riding window, they do the job. Worth pairing with Troy Lee Designs MTB baggy shorts and a base layer for a coherent cold-weather kit.
If you're running a full protective setup, the Troy Lee Designs body armour range complements the Gambit's D3O knuckle protection logically - same protection philosophy, consistent sizing approach across the brand. You might also look at Troy Lee Designs elbow pads if you're building out a full-contact setup for rougher riding.
The honest trade-off with the Air: it's not a winter glove and it won't last as long as the Gambit in aggressive riding. The Swelter, meanwhile, isn't the most dexterous glove for technical riding - it's a warmth-first option. Know what you're buying it for.
Washing and Looking After Your Gloves
Gloves take a battering in UK conditions. Mud, rain, repeated compression on the grips - they need washing regularly, and how you do it matters if you want them to last.
Cold machine wash on a gentle cycle, or hand wash with a mild detergent. That's the approach. Clarino synthetic leather doesn't respond well to hot washes - it can stiffen and lose its suppleness, which kills the tactile feedback you bought the gloves for in the first place. The silicone print grip on the fingertips can also peel if it's repeatedly subjected to high heat or harsh detergents.
Air dry them. Draping them over a radiator to dry quickly will degrade the materials faster than the riding does. Hang them somewhere with airflow and let them dry at room temperature. It takes longer, but the gloves hold up significantly better across a full season.
Check the velcro closure on models like the Gambit periodically - fold it back on itself before washing to stop it snagging on the Clarino palm. Small habit, but it prevents the kind of surface damage that makes gloves feel rough before their time.
Troy Lee Designs Gloves FAQs
How do Troy Lee Designs gloves fit?
TLD gloves fit true to size with a pre-curved shape that keeps the palm flat on the grip without bunching. If you're between sizes on models with D3O knuckle protection like the Gambit, go up - the armour insert needs room to sit properly over the knuckle, and a tight fit will restrict movement on the bar.
Are Troy Lee Designs gloves touchscreen compatible?
Most current TLD gloves use conductive threads on the index finger and thumb, so you can use a phone or GPS unit without pulling a glove off. It works reliably enough for stopping to check a route - don't expect the same responsiveness as a bare finger, but it's far better than nothing mid-ride.
How should I wash my Troy Lee Designs MTB gloves?
Gentle cold wash, either by hand or on a machine's delicate cycle, using mild detergent. Hot water or aggressive settings will stiffen the Clarino leather and risk lifting the silicone grip prints. Always air dry at room temperature - keep them away from radiators or direct heat, which shortens the lifespan of both the palm material and the print.