7iDP Transition Gloves

Words by Johan Hjord // Photos by Nils Hjord, Johan Hjord, and Tal Rozow

We were introduced to gloves from 7iDP at Eurobike in 2015, and the bright yellow Transition caught our eye in more than one way: with 7iDP focusing on the protection side of the apparel business and sister company Royal dedicated to clothing, gloves are an interesting area of overlap. In this case, the 7iDP Transition is a lightweight glove that still aims to not skimp on protection. We’ve just had a pair show up in the mail, and here are our first impressions.

7iDP Transition Glove Highlights

• Palm: Nylon 65%/Polyester 2%/Polyurethane 33%
• Back: Nylon 80%/Elastin 20%
• Perforated palm with debossed logos
• Silicone grip on index finger and thumb
• Pre-curved for perfect fit
• Microsuede thumb wipe panel
• 4 way stretch mesh back with screen printed logos
• Pull on design with low profile cuff
• Sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL
• MSRP: $19.99 USD

Initial Impressions

We’re long standing fans of Royal’s gloves, so we were pleased to discover that favorite features like the pre-curved fit and thumb-wipes have carried over into 7iDP’s line-up. The Transition glove is the lightest, thinnest glove on offer from 7iDP, but in line with the company’s protection ethos, it employs slightly thicker and sturdier material for the palm area than the thinnest offerings from Royal.

The Transition is a minimalistic glove that does away with frills but does not skimp on the essentials. The palm area is confidence inspiring and has a very high-quality feel to it, thanks to the subtle, debossed print effect and the choice of materials.

The palm wraps around the outer edge of the hand to make sure the outer lockring of your grips won’t eat away at the glove in this area. On the other side, a generous thumb-wipe offers hope of keeping your face somewhat presentable in the heat of battle. Silicone grippers are present both on the index finger as well as the thumb (for shifting/dropper post activation).

The back of the glove has one job only here, and that is to hold the glove together. It does not offer much beyond very basic abrasion protection, but on the flip side, it’s made to be ventilated and light.

On The Trail

The Transition glove is a stretch cuff design, and as such, it’s a bit of a tight squeeze to slip on. It runs true to standard sizing however, and once on the hand, it is very comfortable to wear. Thanks to the pre-curved fit, there is no unnecessary bunching up going on in the palm area, and the grip provided on the bars is very direct.

After a handful of rides in particularly hot and humid weather, the Transition glove has delivered consistent performance so far. We especially appreciate the fact that it does not really stretch or go soggy when things get sweaty, and it also continues to grip well even when soaked. Additionally, because of that tight cuff we mentioned earlier, the Transition stays put even when you yank on the bars and does not "ride up" on the hand towards the palm, a common shortcoming in gloves that are too loose in this area.

We’d need more trail time to deliver a verdict on durability, but we can already affirm that the Transition glove delivers a well-thought out design and features that lets it punch well above its weight – especially impressive in light of the low asking price. Add in a very confidence-inspiring feeling on the bars, and this glove should easily make it onto your summer season short list.

More information at www.7protection.com.

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.