If you are one of those riders who hates having hot sweaty hands, or if you simply ride in a warmer climate, the Giro Trixter glove is one for you. This Giro Trixter Glove review looks into what makes the glove good, where it might not be so great, and whether it suits you and your riding.
The Giro Trixter is one of the lightest, most breathable pairs of gloves I have come across. Even riding up hills is a breeze. The one-piece palm makes riding simple and comfortable. This is certainly a glove to try out!
The Giro Trixter is a high-performance glove for those on a budget. While it does have its flaws, generally this is a pretty great glove!
What to look for in Mountain Bike Gloves
If you want your glove to ‘fit like a glove’, there are a few key things to look out for.
Fit – Not too tight or too loose. Too much material over the palm will cause blistering.
Breathability – You don’t want clammy, sweaty hands. Look for lightweight, breathable materials that absorb moisture- such as a microfibre palm or perforated materials.
Glove Closure System– Velcro or elastic closure. Velcro has the advantage that it can be tightened and loosened to get the right fit, but it does have a tendency to come undone as the velcro wears out. Elastic gloves tend to be more comfortable, but if you need to stretch them over your hand, they will eventually stretch out of place.
Cuff – Can stop dust, sweat, rain from entering the glove. Also helps in keeping the glove in place.
Giro Trixter Glove Review
Pros
- Comfortable
- No seams on the palm
- Fit is good
- Excellent price
- Great touch screen capability
Cons
- Hard to get on
- Don’t feel super durable
Ideal Use: Anyone wanting gloves for the warmer weather, or anyone that hates having sweaty hands!
Grip
The microfibre palm provides plenty of grip on the bars and breaks. Additionally, the microfibre absorbs any sweat, preventing your hands from getting clammy and slippery. This allows you to have an improved grip on the bars, preventing you from having to clench your hands to get any grip.
A nice addition would be silicon grips on the fingertips, which is something the Trixter is missing. The silicon grippers allow you to have a great grip on the breaks, particularly when it is wet and your fingers could otherwise slip off.
Breathability
If there is one thing that makes this glove stand out from the rest, it is its impressive breathability of the glove.
The microfibre palm is fully perforated, allowing maximum airflow through the glove. The top of the hand is also perforated, and super thin, which allows the air to circulate through the glove, cooling your hands at the same time.
The fourchettes (the area between the fingers) is constructed on Ax Bold fabric, featuring instachill technology which cools the hand as soon as it gets moist. So your hands become cool once sweaty! A very cool feature!
Padding
Padding is pretty minimal on the Giro Trixter. Essentially the thin piece of microfibre material on the palm is all you have. This provides a bit of grip which relieves the pressure on your hands (as you don’t need to grip as hard), but it doesn’t pad out your hands all too well.
Many riders do prefer minimalist style padding, in fact, the majority of mountain bike gloves come without foam padding (or gel padding). But if you are after a padded set of gloves, maybe check this post out.
Fit and comfort
The glove is skin tight and exceptionally comfortable. The single panel on the palm prevents any seams from digging into your hands, making the glove pretty much unnoticeable once they are on.
The close fit does make the glove rather tricky to get it onto bigger hands. As I slide my hand into the glove, it can be tricky to get it over the base of the hand (lower thumb area). Having an adjustable wrist closure (such as a velcro strap) could make this process a bit easier.
But once it’s on, I don’t feel the need to take it off!
Durability
I have my concerns about the longevity of the Giro Trixter. Because it is so thin and light, I am worried it may not last more than a season, or a couple of good crashes (but I will update this after the New Zealand summer!).
There is the added issue of having to stretch the glove a bit each time I get it over my hand.
However, Giro is a good, trusted brand, and a lot of thought will have gone into the design and making it as tough as possible. So if you only want the Trixter as your summer glove, I’d expect that it will last you a couple of seasons at least.
Cuff and Closure System
The slip-on lycra cuff keeps the glove nice and snug around your wrist. The cuff comes up a nice height without interfering with my watch and isn’t so low it feels like it’s slipping off. It also fits well under long sleeve jackets or jerseys without interfering.
The problem with this closure system is that it is somewhat tricky to get on. Given that the base of the hand is wider than the wrist, you need to stretch the glove over the widest part of the hand to get it on.
For larger hands, this can get a little tricky. It would be nicer to have a velcro strap that can be loosened or tightened as need be, so I don’t stretch the cuff. But for those with not such wide hands, the glove won’t stretch so much and will be absolutely fine (even with a smaller pair of gloves).
Touch Screen
The touch screen capability is great. The conductive threads on the middle and index fingers make taking photos, sending a quick text, or checking trail forks a breeze.
Other Features
A microfibre sweat wipe is incorporated into the design of the glove. The sweat wipe sits on the thumbs and allows you to get rid of that pesky sweat dripping into your eyes as you ride.
Value and Comparison
When compared to the likes of the classic Fox Ranger and the Giro DND, you get a much thinner, lighter glove. It is certainly made for the hotter temperatures, so if you do find yourself often riding in the warmer climate, I’d pick the Trixter over the Ranger or DND any day.
However, the Ranger and DND are so popular as they will last years to come. I have my doubts that the Trixter would last as long- but I suppose only time will tell!
The Trixter is more comparable to the likes of the Fox Ascent, Leatt DBX 2.0 X-Flow, or the Tasco MTB Black Flag gloves. The Giro Trixter is generally half the price of these, and yet is pretty similar in features and design.
In terms of value, the Giro Trixter is an excellent glove. It is one of the cheapest, high-performing gloves on the market, and I will always reach for a pair of these for riding in the summer months!
Final Thoughts
The Giro Trixter is a stand-out performer when it comes to lightweight, summer gloves. The Trixter could even convince those who hate the idea of gloves, to never take their gloves off again!
For a very reasonable price, the Trixter provides comfortable, good looking gloves that will last a good couple of seasons.
If you found this Giro Trixter Glove review informative, have a look at some of our other posts.
