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Giro Candela 2.0 women's gloves

7
£49.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Capable performers in cold, damp weather, but they're bad with screens and the fingers are small
Hardwearing
Good wind proofing
Good reflective detailing
Low breathability
Poor touchscreen compatibility
Relatively short, narrow fingers
Weight: 
83g
Contact: 

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Giro's Candela 2.0 Women's Gloves offer great protection against biting winds and are durable, despite avoiding the bulk of full-on winter gloves. They're not as cosy as many, though, plus the fit is a little odd and breathability is low.

These gloves got plenty of use during long, steady rides, but really they're better for shorter commutes on cold mornings and evenings. Their lack of breathability means that any kind of purposeful training ride leaves you with rather sweaty hands.

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Following Giro's size guide, I tested a medium. The actual palm area is a great fit for me, but these are too snug around the fingers for my liking, and the fingers are too short as well. I'd certainly consider sizing up – or even trying the identically-styled men's version, the Ambient 2.0.

2021 Giro Candela 2 glove - top.jpg

The cuffs are a reasonable length and tighten with Velcro adjusters – their thickness means they're happier outside your sleeves than in, but at least the Velcro is protected from curling or fraying too easily by its robust AX Suede backing.

2021 Giro Candela 2 glove - cuff.jpg

Comfort

Turn the glove inside out and you see a super fleecy, teddy bear-like lining on the back of the hand and down the front of the thumb. It's well placed to protect against chill. If you want the technical version, it's 'high loft Polartec Windbloc'. Around the palms the lining is much less bulky for dexterity and feel, which works well.

2021 Giro Candela 2 glove - palm.jpg

The finger seams, though, detract from the comfort offered by the lining; I just don't feel the degree of cosiness I expect from something this fluffy. Possibly sizing up for more wiggle room (and more warm trapped air) would help.

The gel padding is not excessive; just a couple of patches on the palms. Although not so neatly finished in places, they seem extremely durable – after a lot of miles they remain unmarked. It also proves perfectly sufficient for rides up to 4.5 hours, and even outings on gravel.

Performance

These really do stand up to cold winds well. Giro's recommended range of between 4° and 13° is pretty accurate, though I find they get a bit sweaty at anything over 10° – and if I'm working hard, the limit is more like 7°C. Breathability is simply not good.

> 25 of the best winter cycling gloves for 2021 — keep your hands warm and dry

The Candela offers some protection from rain too – short showers and light drizzle are no problem for the DWR coating. Persistent rain eventually soaks in, though, leaving them feeling weighty and very unpleasant.

For early morning and late evening commutes, though, I'm rarely going eyeballs-out and they're ideal; I get to work with fully functioning digits and no sign of sweaty palms. Effective reflective detailing helps them in that role, too.

Nurse the screens...

The touchscreen-sensitive fingers and thumbs are not reliable – I found them stiff, awkwardly shaped and basically useless on phones, though okay on a GPS with its much bigger targets.

2021 Giro Candela 2 glove - fingers.jpg

The generous strip of insulating fabric along the edge of the thumb makes for a great nose wiper, if you are looking for that.

Value

Female-specific gloves are becoming more common, even though many women may (like me) still be happy with a unisex glove. Castelli's Perfetto RoS women's gloves offer a similar level of protection to the Candela 2.0, though with better breathability. They will set you back more at £65, though, and may not be so durable.

Sportful's WS Essential 2 Gloves are similar too, with better performance on touchscreens and a price that matches the Candela 2.0's exactly. If a female-specific glove is a priority, Sportful has just that in the WS Essential 2 W for the same £50 price.

If you are keen to get something cheaper, Triban's 900 Winter Cycling Gloves perform very impressively for £25.

Overall

The Giro Candela 2.0 gloves are particularly suited to commuters and those not so focused on performance – especially if they also have quite small fingers.

However, for me, the fit affects both comfort and performance, and the lack of breathability limits them to a narrow range of just a few degrees for hard efforts.

Verdict

Capable performers in cold, damp weather, but they're bad with screens and the fingers are small

road.cc test report

Make and model: Giro Candela 2.0 women's gloves

Size tested: Medium

Tell us what the product is for

Giro says: "The Candela 2.0 combines a weather- and chill-resistant soft-shell upper with AGrid anti-microbial fleece performance lining and an AX Suede palm for warmth, water resistance and dexterity. Its light feel is great for long rides, yet it packs enough warmth to fight off temperatures that hover above freezing."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Giro lists:

* Super Fit engineered three-panel design

* Soft-shell nylon with enhanced DWR treatment

* Water-resistant AX Suede microfiber palm

* Touchscreen Technology for use with mobile devices

* Reflective detailing

* Optimized gel padding

* Temperature rating of 40 - 55 F / 4 - 13 C

GLOVE UPPER

* Soft-shell nylon with enhanced DWR treatment

* Reflective detailing

PALM

* Super Fit engineered for women, with three-panel design

* Water-resistant AX Suede microfiber palm

* Touchscreen Technology for use with mobile devices

PADDING

* Optimized gel padding

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10

One or two dangling threads on one of the palms, but they have not come loose and there is absolutely no sign of deterioration anywhere.

Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

Feel hardwearing; all patches, pads and textured fabrics well placed and well sewn.

Rate the product for fit:
 
5/10

I personally found the fingers short and tight, despite the actual hand area being a great fit.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
7/10
Rate the product for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
7/10

The palm section is good, but the seams and short, narrow fingers detract from overall comfort.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

Simple – in with other kit at 30 degrees. Not showing any signs of wear.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Great in cold conditions and stand up to short showers or light rain. Offer decent grip on bars and levers too.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Durability.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Poor fit for fingers, and poor on touchscreens.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

Middle of the road.

Did you enjoy using the product? Sometimes

Would you consider buying the product? No, the fit isn't right for me

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, with a warning to try for fit first

Use this box to explain your overall score

These give good protection in cold weather, providing the fit is for you, and they're made to last. However, their lack of breathability and poor touchscreen technology may go against them, depending on what exactly you look for in a glove.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 42  Height: 173cm  Weight: 64kg

I usually ride: Road  My best bike is: Carbon road.

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, club rides, general fitness riding, Getting to grips with off roading too!

Emma’s first encounters with a road bike were in between swimming and running. Soon after competing for GB in the World Age Group Triathlon Championships in Edmonton in 2001 she saw the light and decided to focus on cycling. 

After a couple of half decent UK road seasons racing for Leisure Lakes, she went out to Belgium to sample the racing there and spent two years with Lotto-Belisol Ladies team, racing alongside the likes of Sara Carrigan, Grace Verbeke, Rochelle Gilmore and Lizzie Deignan. Emma moved from Lotto-Belisol to Dutch team Redsun, then a new Belgian team of primarily developing riders, where there was less pressure, an opportunity to share her experience and help build a whole new team; a nice way to spend her final years of professional racing. 

Since retiring Emma has returned to teaching. When not coercing kids to do maths, she is invariably out on two wheels. In addition to the daily commute, Emma still enjoys getting out on her road bike and having her legs ripped off on the local club rides and chain gangs. She has also developed an addiction to touring, with destinations including Iceland, Georgia and Albania, to mention just a few. There have also been rare sightings of Emma off-road on a mountain bike…

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1 comments

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Yorky-M | 3 years ago
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"but these are too snug around the fingers for my liking, and the fingers are too short as well."

"Breathability is simply not good."

"Persistent rain eventually soaks in, though, leaving them feeling weighty and very unpleasant."

7/10?!!

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