off-road.cc

The Cube Performance women's long-finger mountain bike gloves are a stretchy and comfy pair that work well on hotter days as well as the cooler ones of autumn. The cuff could be longer and they're pretty hard to track down to buy, but these are the only complaints. 

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These gloves from Cube are well ventilated and great for all types of mountain bike riding. The palm is thin and gives good grip and feel on the bars, while ventilation holes prevent excessively sweaty palms in hotter weather. 

The back is a robust, stretchy material that withstands battles with brambles well (other bushes also available) without being too heavy-duty and therefore hot. They're ideal for summer, then, but also good for the milder days of spring and autumn.

Cube call them lightweight but I wouldn't necessarily agree – while by no means are they winter weight, they're appreciably less slinky than gloves such as the Troy Lee Designs Ace or the Alpine Stars Stella gloves.

The fingers and thumbs get silicone print on the tips for grip, while the forefinger works well with touch screens. Or as well as can be expected. As with any glove, it's easy to stab at numbers or take a photo, but don't expect to be able to type.

​If trying makes you cry there's a substantial snot wipe covering the whole top of the thumb, and it works well. Less successful is the seam between thumb and forefinger, which rubbed the top of my hand when on the drop bars. It's minor though, and these are mountain bike gloves first and foremost.

My main gripe is that the cuffs are short and the elastic is a thin strip, meaning there's often a gap between jersey and glove. I'd like to see something longer and more fitted with a softer, wider elastic closure. 

Also, at around £34.95 they aren't cheap, especially when very similar gloves, such as the Dakine Covert, come in at £20.

The Cube Performance isn't that readily available to buy in the UK, but your efforts will be rewarded with a hardy, trail bike-friendly glove with a good thin palm and three-season usability.

• www.cube.eu

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