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Winter gloves

Justin

Maximum Pace
Nov 12, 2016
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On a few recent early-morning rides, I've found myself toiling away in temperatures as low as -3C and grimly trying to keep my fingers from going numb.

After all these years, I still haven't found a set of gloves that can really protect my fingers down to temperatures just below freezing. I've owned five or six brands/types that claimed to be good down to -5C, but none were particularly effective once the temperature dipped below about 2C. The only options I haven't tested out are lobster-style mitts and pogies. I suspect the former won't offer enough dexterity, and the latter will do irreparable damage to my credibility :cool:.

On one ride last week, I wore two sets of gloves, inners and thick gloves over the top, but it still wasn't enough to keep the 0C winds at bay.

Is there anyone here who, like me, has poor circulation and has found a set of gloves that keep their fingers toasty even in the most frigid conditions? I've been looking into heated gloves, like these, but some of the reviews make me worry they'll be just as disappointing as everything else I've tried.
 
three part lobster mitts FTW.
Brake shift and steer, they all work fine with PI lobsters. You keep your thumb and smallest fingers om the bars and shift with index and middle.
1610175836681.png
 
My feet and hands always suffer badly in the wind chill of freezing temps. I've tried a few different winter gloves though mostly at the cheaper end. Right now I make do with Galibier "barrier deep winter gloves" with a thin chemical heater (hokkairo) tucked into the palm to add some warmth at the start of a ride.
There are lots of reviews for the gloves and pretty cheap so not a huge investment if they don't work out. As for dexterity, they do well enough to work my CX bike around a CX course so good enough. My fingertips and end of my thumb especially still get cold even with the hokkairo, but my guess is going a size larger to give more room for warm air to reach them might fix that.
Link to gloves: https://galibier.cc/product/barrier-black/
Link to the hokkairo I stick in the palms:
Amazon product ASIN B004W4VE46These hokkairo also work well under toes in winter.
 
Posted these on the 2020 kit thread. I bought them from Workman for 1700 yen. Waterproof, lightweight and grippy. Not touch screen friendly but I wear a thin touch friendly glove underneath.

Highly recommend and in pink!

Andy

20201231_142021.jpg
 
[pogies] will do irreparable damage to my credibility :cool:
I'm in the fortunate position of not caring about this and consequently being much more comfortable. Bar Mitts.
 
My feet and hands always suffer badly in the wind chill of freezing temps. I've tried a few different winter gloves though mostly at the cheaper end. Right now I make do with Galibier "barrier deep winter gloves" with a thin chemical heater (hokkairo) tucked into the palm to add some warmth at the start of a ride.
There are lots of reviews for the gloves and pretty cheap so not a huge investment if they don't work out. As for dexterity, they do well enough to work my CX bike around a CX course so good enough. My fingertips and end of my thumb especially still get cold even with the hokkairo, but my guess is going a size larger to give more room for warm air to reach them might fix that.
Link to gloves: https://galibier.cc/product/barrier-black/
Link to the hokkairo I stick in the palms:
Amazon product ASIN B004W4VE46These hokkairo also work well under toes in winter.
I always stuff some hokkairo in my shoes, and I've tried putting them into the palms of my gloves as well, but never with much success. As you say, the fingertips stiff suffer.

Cheers for the tip. Those look pretty good for the price.
 
Posted these on the 2020 kit thread. I bought them from Workman for 1700 yen. Waterproof, lightweight and grippy. Not touch screen friendly but I wear a thin touch friendly glove underneath.

Highly recommend and in pink!

Andy

View attachment 29258
Tasty price. They really did the job on a "feels like -7C" day? I've got a Workman outlet a few kms from where I live, but I've never been in. Time to get my Workman on.
 
Tasty price. They really did the job on a "feels like -7C" day? I've got a Workman outlet a few kms from where I live, but I've never been in. Time to get my Workman on.

Yeah they are good.

Until now I've always gone with a double layer of long cuff synthetic wool gloves with the 「Thinsulate」label. This is nice and toasty sub zero, but a bit bulky, so a thin layer under those workman gloves is good I reckon.

If you can get to a Workman Plus you are in cycling paradise!

Andy
 
On a few recent early-morning rides, I've found myself toiling away in temperatures as low as -3C and grimly trying to keep my fingers from going numb.

After all these years, I still haven't found a set of gloves that can really protect my fingers down to temperatures just below freezing. I've owned five or six brands/types that claimed to be good down to -5C, but none were particularly effective once the temperature dipped below about 2C. The only options I haven't tested out are lobster-style mitts and pogies. I suspect the former won't offer enough dexterity, and the latter will do irreparable damage to my credibility :cool:.

On one ride last week, I wore two sets of gloves, inners and thick gloves over the top, but it still wasn't enough to keep the 0C winds at bay.

Is there anyone here who, like me, has poor circulation and has found a set of gloves that keep their fingers toasty even in the most frigid conditions? I've been looking into heated gloves, like these, but some of the reviews make me worry they'll be just as disappointing as everything else I've tried.
PXL_20210110_021654184.jpg

Conbini bar mitts are 10 yen per side, plus a rubber band. They make any kind of glove (even fingerless) compatible with sub-zero temperatures because they almost completely remove the windchill factor. Yeah, they look very uncool but your hands will be warm :D
 
I'm in the fortunate position of not caring about this and consequently being much more comfortable. Bar Mitts.
I'm another bar mitts user. Swear by them. Forked out a large sum for Gore gloves supposedly effective up to minus 10 Celcius but my fingers felt like they were going to fall off at 1-2 degrees, so went back to the bar mitts. I originally used insulated gloves under them, but discovered these keep out the warmth, so I started using summer gloves and they have been fantastic even at sub-zero temperatures with a high winds. (Quite impressed by the conbini idea to be honest, too.)
Feet remain my perennial problem.
 
I'm another bar mitts user. Swear by them. Forked out a large sum for Gore gloves supposedly effective up to minus 10 Celcius but my fingers felt like they were going to fall off at 1-2 degrees, so went back to the bar mitts. I originally used insulated gloves under them, but discovered these keep out the warmth, so I started using summer gloves and they have been fantastic even at sub-zero temperatures with a high winds. (Quite impressed by the conbini idea to be honest, too.)
Feet remain my perennial problem.
If you are using cycling shoes, I highly recommend these.

Andy

 
Forked out a large sum for Gore gloves supposedly effective up to minus 10 Celcius but my fingers felt like they were going to fall off at 1-2 degrees, so went back to the bar mitts.
Yeah, I also have cold hands and feet, and can definitely second this experience. The best winter gloves I had so far were from Roeckl, and they were nice up to 3 degrees or so. Below that I needed to put on disposable plastic gloves below that, which seal in the warm moisture and have a tremendously positive effect for heat retention, provided you are really exerting yourself. Of course, they are not a match for a proper pair of, say, ski gloves. With proper gloves on a road bike you eventually run into control issues. With lobster gloves I'd have to change how I shift and all.
I originally used insulated gloves under them, but discovered these keep out the warmth, so I started using summer gloves and they have been fantastic even at sub-zero temperatures with a high winds. (Quite impressed by the conbini idea to be honest, too.)
It looks kinda ugly, but IMHO functionality >>> looks. I say the same about fenders.
Feet remain my perennial problem.
When it gets really cold I use plastic bags then warm socks then shoes and then overshoes. But especially if the overshoes get drenched, my feet will eventually get cold.
 
View attachment 29266

Conbini bar mitts are 10 yen per side, plus a rubber band. They make any kind of glove (even fingerless) compatible with sub-zero temperatures because they almost completely remove the windchill factor. Yeah, they look very uncool but your hands will be warm :D
Joe, I can't imagine why you think it would be acceptable for people who wear lycra to do something uncool. Heaven forfend.
 
Joe, I can't imagine why you think it would be acceptable for people who wear lycra to do something uncool. Heaven forfend.
I wear lycra because it works, not as a fashion statement. :)

But I also understand why some cyclists would never even consider the ghetto bar mitts idea.

The plastic bags do work, more or less. If anything, your hands may get sweaty inside them, if you start getting too warm inside with winter gloves plus bags. Also on a high speed descent the bags may not feel so reassuring when they flutter in the wind, but the difference in heat loss compared to only gloves is just amazing. I found that even if I was too cold with my full fingered gloves, I could ride with fingerless summer gloves if I had the bags in place (which can also be handy if you have a a touch screen device on your handlebars).

I'm sure real Bar Mitts (tm) work better but the plastic bag trick is a simple hack using materials that are available for almost free to let you finish your ride in relative comfort when you feel seriously cold. Once it gets warm enough during the day or close enough to Tokyo they're easy enough to remove and stuff into a jersey pocket. I have never needed them all day, only for the coldest part of the day (e.g. sub-zero early morning start, late return).

Another thing I try when my hands get too cold: Gripping the bars at the drops instead of the hoods or hooks will expose your hands to less wind chill, as a smaller part of your hands will be part of the frontal area facing directly into the wind.
 
Jokes aside, this is potentially the best cycling hack I've never heard of (assuming it works, and I don't doubt that it does). I'm going to try it starting with my commutes this week. Cheers!
 
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