Scott Neoride gloves review

Scott’s Neoride gloves are pitched as the ultimate all-rounders, offering protection from the cold during the winter months but without feeling overly bulky or clammy as the temperatures begin to creep back up.

While the thin palm helps to ensure you can easily feel the grips beneath your fingers, the thicker upper does a good job of keeping your hands warm on anything but the coldest of days.

Although the price is pleasing, the fit through the fingers could be better.

Scott Neoride gloves specifications and details

Producing a pair of the best mountain bike gloves that can be classed as all-rounders is no easy feat.

Scott’s answer to this complex problem is to keep the palm nice and thin in an attempt to create a solid, feedback-rich connection to the grips, but add just enough insulation to the backs and fingers that your hands should stay warm without much in the way of extra bulk, which can really limit dexterity.

The thin Clarino palm is a one-piece affair, meaning there are no seams or joins in the material, which can irritate while riding.

Scott had added strips of silicone print across part of the palm, and the tops of the index and middle fingers, along with the thumb. This is in a bid to bolster grip on the bars and brake levers.

The back of the Neorides is made from a stretchy, neoprene-like material with an insulated, fleecy finish to the inside. It’s thicker than a standard pair of mountain bike gloves, and very similar to the likes of the Fox Ranger Fire and Nukeproof Blackline Winter gloves in terms of bulk and weight.

A short Velcro tab closure helps keep the Neorides secure and limit drafts, though the cuff itself isn’t as long as some on the market.

Scott hasn’t included a snot wipe on the thumb, which may be considered something of an omission on gloves designed to be worn for winter mountain biking.

Impressively, Scott offers the Neorides in eight different sizes (XXS to 3XL).

Scott Neoride gloves performance

The Neoride gloves feel instantly comfortable once on, thanks to the thin Clarino palm and the fleecy finish to the inside of their back.

While the width through the palm and shaping around the thumb felt accurate, the fingers are a little boxy, despite the length being spot-on.

This isn’t a major issue, but it becomes more noticeable as the gloves stretch a little over time, meaning some dexterity is lost compared to the Neorides' closest competitors. Chucking them in the washing machine seems to help improve this a little, though.

In terms of warmth, the gloves kept my hands sufficiently warm on rides ranging from 5°C down to 0°C. Anything below that and it’d take a while of rattling down some rougher trails to get my hands to heat up sufficiently. Still, this performance in the cold should be considered impressive, because the lack of bulk means they’re not exactly cumbersome.

Importantly, the thin palm means you can easily feel the grip beneath your hand and there’s no second guessing when it comes to pulling brake levers or shifting gears, as can be the case with thicker, bulkier dedicated winter gloves.

Sure, the cuff could be a touch longer to help avoid any cold drafts getting into the gap between the end of your jacket or jersey sleeve and the glove closure. However, this is a minor detail.

What is worth keeping an eye on is the stitching between the glove body and the cuff. Another member of the BikeRadar team had to send his pair of Neoride gloves back when the stitching here started to pull out after only a couple of months of use.

In the rain, although these aren’t designed to be fully waterproof, they do a decent job of keeping your hands dry, protecting them well enough from puddle splashes and rain showers. Prolonged downpours will see water creeping in through finger seams, though.

I’d happily have less silicone print (or none at all) on the fingers and thumbs, though, because it can feel slippy when wet.

Pricing is impressively competitive considering the performance.

How do the Scott Neoride gloves compare?

Some of the Scott Neorides' closest competition comes in the shape of Nukeproof’s Blackline Winter and Fox’s Ranger Fire gloves, both of which I’ve spent considerable time wearing.

In terms of pricing, the Neorides sit between the two, with the Nukeproof gloves the cheapest at £27.

Both the Fox and Nukeproof offerings deliver a snugger fit and better overall shaping, though neither can match Scott’s impressive size range.

In terms of weatherproofing, for me, it’s the cheapest Nukeproof Blacklines that manage to keep your hands the warmest on the coldest days, but the Fox gloves come a close second and only just better the Scotts.

That’s down partly to insulation and also to fit. It’s a closely fought battle, but there’s no knocking the fit of both the Fox and Nukeproof gloves.

Scott Neoride gloves bottom line

The Scott Neoride gloves provide decent insulation from the cold weather at a good price.

While the fit at the fingers could be improved, I like the feel through the thin palm and the weatherproofing is good considering just how thin these gloves are.