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The Alpinestars Stella F-Lite gloves are the definition of simplicity, an elasticated cuff and a one-piece top panel make for a fuss free comfy glove for warmer weather.

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The Stella F-Lite’s are a women’s specific mountain bike glove designed to be close fitting, lightweight and breathable. The gloves are comprised of just five segments of material, one piece for the back of the hand, one for the palm, a small snot wipe at the thumb articulation, stretchy lycra between the fingers and finally a small elastic insert at the wrist. There is also the expected silicone strips on fingers for extra grip

• Buy The Stella F-Lite gloves here from Bike Tart

The upper hand material is spandex which is nice and stretchy, the one piece design meaning there are no seams lying across the hand either which serves to increase comfort levels substantially. The palm is constructed from perforated synthetic suede, which although in the first few rides did rough up and leave a fair amount of fluff on the grips, hasn’t lost any grip or impacted upon the performance at all. It’s grippy and makes for a nice contact patch through from hands to bars. Fingers are able to move easily, the lycra finger side walls are soft to the touch with pleasingly soft seams and tapered to a point at the finger, allowing a good deal of dexterity.

Perforated palm make these a glove for warmer weather

Other features include a small terry cloth snot wipe on the thumb, its placement meaning you will need a well aimed swipe towards the nose in order to contact it. I’d prefer a larger wipe extending down to the wrist but this would break the clean look of the cuff and add long seam so I can see why this might have been omitted.

The 'snot wipe' is pretty smalll

The minimalistic theme is carried on through to the wrist where are no fastenings, just an elastic insert to ensure the glove fits close to the skin. The wrist portion of the glove extends to just over the knobbly bone on the outer wrist, something I really like, it means the glove tucks neatly up under sleeves without either a Velcro fastener to get caught or a drafty gap left between sleeve and glove.

Elasticated cuff keeps things nice and simple

I wore a size Small and found it to size up well, it did feel a little small when first worn but it has stretched a little and now fits perfectly. The Stella F-Lite is a glove that it easy to move the fingers in and has no unwanted seams or pressure points. It features a well designed cuff that whilst it does make the gloves a little bit of a wiggle to get into, is well fitting once on and doesn’t gape or become saggy after multiple rides and washes.

Wearing the Stella F-Lite gloves is neither a very warm or a sweaty affair, the Spandex upper isn’t that thick and once hands are off the bars, use can be made of the perforated palm. It’s a glove for the summer and shoulder seasons also if you don't mind starting off chilly. I found I can wear mine on milder winter days too but once I get going on a bike I tend to get really hot hands so maybe I’m an anomaly. At £25, the Alpinestars Stella F-Lites are well priced too, there is lots to like about this stylish glove, and guys, you’ll be keen to hear there’s a men's version too, it’s simply called the F-Lite and is identical in every way aside from colour and sizing.

• www.alpinestars.com
• www.zyrofisher.com

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