[fly4130]

The Halloween candy is already out in stores and now we are bumping old threads to talk about winter gear? Too soon man, too soon.

I really like my 45Nrth Nokkens for anything down to the mid-teens Fahrenheit, but I run a bit warm so YMMV. At right around to just below freezing they are perfect. Not too bulky at all. I am going to get a set of pogies this year for the real cold as the ski gloves are just not fun to ride with.

 

[sandro87]

I was able to get the Grib Grab Nordic for a low price (since it's still summer). Hope they'll be enough for me.

 

[yourrealdad]

Figure better to revive this thread than start a new one.

My hands get cold pretty easily. Have yet to find a ski glove that works under 20F for me. Just got some OR heated ones so we will see.

Right now I have PI Lobster Mitts and those are good to about 25. Today it was 18F on my 4 mile commute and 3 miles in my fingers were painfully numb.

I have a pair of 100% Briskers for down to 40F.

So looking for a few options:

1. A glove that works for mtb and road biking that will be warm from below 40F to 25F. Really 40F-30F would work. But the key is that I can have decent dexterity for MTB. Windproof would be pretty necessary as well.

I am thinking maybe either the PI Cyclone or the Lobster Glove Lite?

2. Need some cheap functional pogies for fatbiking and ones that work on drop bars for my Surly LHT (bar end shifters)

3. If a warmer functional glove/mitt than the Lobster Mitt exists that would be great too.

Thanks for any feedback

 

[Jayem]

Gloves as the primary way to save off cold fingers when the temp drops below about 30 degrees is always a losing battle IME. You start using more wind-blocking and more insulation, which causes more sweating of your hand and fingers and there is no balance point. If you had enough airflow to keep them from sweating, you'd have super-chilled fingers from wind-chill. Riding with insulated gloves becomes like trying to ride with boxing gloves, no or very poor bike control, and your exertion level just varies too much. Some of the best results I've had are bringing some extra dry gloves or mittens. I have some soft-shell mittens I bought too large on purpose and they allow me to change gears and operate my brakes, keeping my fingers on the bar. This keeps my fingers together and warm. They still get a little clammy so they are what I go to if my normal gloves start to get chilly, but from that point I will do things like stuff the other pair of gloves down my shift or in an inside jacket pocket to "warm them up" with my body temp for 20 or 30 minutes. Then they are at least warmed.

The other thing is foot-warmers, they are adhesive and you can grip these to the bar, depending on your grip material, they'll stick by themselves after a while. These are a nice way to give you some heat.

I use pogies in the winter, generally on my fatbikes, but I do use them occasionally on my mountain bikes when the trails are clear enough to ride. The advantage to pogies is you can run a much thinner glove, giving you much better control AND better moisture management. The Dogwood Designs pogies can be rolled up to get out of the way so if your hands are getting too warm or starting to sweat you can address it.

That temp range can be tough, because some people can be "just fine" with normal gloves, and others can have frozen fingers that don't get any bloodflow, at that point it might as well be -25 instead of +25. A glove that "works" for a temperature range is only as good as the blood-flow in the fingers that it's going to protect. YMMV.

 

[ghettocruiser]

2. Need some cheap functional pogies for fatbiking and ones that work on drop bars for my Surly LHT (bar end shifters)

My blanket recommendation for pogies does come with some big caveats for drop bars.

I have the Bar-Mitts on my road bike right now. In a way, they kind of defeat the purpose of a drop bar, i.e. multiple hand positions, because they allow you to ride on the hoods, and only on the hoods. With non-STI shifters, the functionality will get even more limited, as all your shifting will need to take place completely out of the mitt.

Second, this is a bit subjective, but Bar-mitts on drop bars don't seem to be as warm. I suspect this may be because I'm just going faster on my road bike, and the vertical format to the hand-opening seems to sit naturally more open and allow wind to swirl in a bit more. Maybe if they had more of a cuff this problem would go away, at the expense of being harder to get your hands into.

The other issue with the vertical profile is that in a crosswind, they are like a 'friggen sail. An 80mm deep front wheel has nothing on these babies.

So yes, they are still warmer than gloves, but cause enough other issues that I use them way less than on my mountain bike

 

[yourrealdad]

I was looking at the Bar Mitts because they seem to be the only ones that work with bar end shifters. Are there any other ones that work with bar ends that are in that price range?

Today's commute was at 19° and I even put some Burton liners in my Amfib Lobster Mitts and fingers were still numb about 1/2 into the ride.

The issue that I am dealing with right now is if I book it right after work I can ride to the local trail that is dry and get about an hr ride in and then head back to work before it is dark. So the temps are about 40 while I am riding there, but then on the descent and ride back the temps are much lower. So I don't want mitts for the mtb ride, but just a glove that will allow me to ride that trail, but get me back to work where I can get on my LHT and use warmer gloves.

 

[LMN]

Barmitts may look dumb. But they are unmatched in the combination of warmth and hand dexterity. They interfere with your controls a small amount but not nearly as much as a bulky globe or mitt. I am often barehand under the bar mitts at sub zero temperatures and only on the coldest days do I put anything other than a summer glove as my base layer.

The only issue with barmits is they make your bars wider and you do clip things that you normally don't. If you live in a place with tight trees it is almost worth putting on a set of narrower bars for the winter.

 

[ghettocruiser]

I was looking at the Bar Mitts because they seem to be the only ones that work with bar end shifters. Are there any other ones that work with bar ends that are in that price range?

I just saw the Bar-Mitts model that allows use of both the drops and the hoods, and I guess by extension bar-end shifters.

I've obviously never even seen them in real life, but they look massive, and the opening at the back looks also looks big, so I suspect that the rest of the caveats I listed from the hoods-only model re: wind and airflow may be similar or worse.

 

[yourrealdad]

I think pogies are the only way to go though for the LHT unless I am going to use heated mittens, which are not great for dexterity. If I can just get a 10-20° bump and wind protection then that is a win.

Also to me $50 is a lot of money for some folded sewn neoprene. These ones that are $125-175 are ridiculous.

 

[prlundberg]

I didn't really like the idea of pogies when I first tried them so I figured I'd splurge on the 45NRTH Sturmfist 4 gloves. 45NRTH makes the best stuff after all, right? Well those things were no warmer than my Spyder casual gloves. I couldn't believe how quickly my hands got cold and it wasn't even below 20 degrees.

I do think I'd like the Cobrafists best, but the Specialized Insulators cost less than half as much and so far are working great.

 

[Gunnar-man]

@yourrealdad I am in the same boat as you: cold fingers (and toes) once the temps approach freezing ever since I was a kid. I have been commuting and winter riding in general for almost 20 years and have multiple gloves, pogies, heated grips and combinations of all of the above.
Pogies are fine on commutes and relatively tame fat biking. Riding in the mountains with any sort of speed or tech, I don't use the pogies because I want to be able to move my hands quickly when needed if going to crash.
Heated grips were great when they worked. Too expensive and not reliable.
Best winter riding specific gloves were some gore windstopper Shimano that I still use for warm-ish days. Can't find them anymore and don't remember the name. Lobster gloves were good too but got sweaty quickly so got rid of them.
Finally bought a pair of heated gloves last year off of Amazon (Savior is the brand, not sure of the model) and they have been a game changer. Three levels of heat and warm even without the heat on. They can get sweaty on long warm rides but I don't notice the sweat unless I pull them off mid ride.
For my feet, I have some cheap chinese heated insoles and socks. Those and the gloves are necessities for me now in winter. I don't hate the cold....as much...

Also, riding carbon bars and brakes with carbon levers can go a long way in keeping the digits from getting too cold.

 

[yourrealdad]

Got some cheap pogies for the fat bike. Fantastic minus the tight fit that makes it hard to shift. Still need to find a pair for the commuter.
I have looked at those Savior gloves, just don’t know if that is the route I want to go

 

[SkyAboveDirtBelow]

the ask was: winter gloves, and tips ?
the answer generally is: any glove, and pogies

My tip is to take whatever gloves you think will work for the temperature and put a heavier pair in your pack in case you choose wrong. Also if your hands/feet are getting cold then it often means your head or torso is not insulated enough.

 

[92gli]

Was out today riding and temp was 30F at start. I had on a brand new pair of endura windchill gloves that a local shop recommended. By the time I completed the first mile of my ride I had to go back to my car and change them for an old pair of fleece adidas climawarm gloves I wear when running. The seams on the endura gloves might as well have been giant holes, my fingertips were 100% numb. Absolute joke for $48 gloves. They're getting returned immediately.This is the 5th pair of winter "cycling" gloves I've bought in the last 10 years that are a complete failure.
The adidas gloves have holes developing in the palms but I had no numbness on my fingers. And they were $20 when I bought them. Wish I bought 10 pairs when they were available. There is a tag in the inside of them that has a logo that says "Outlast". maybe that is a magic material.
Is there any gloves available that have SEALED seams on the fingers but thin material on the palms?

 

[racefit]

Was out today riding and temp was 30F at start. I had on a brand new pair of endura windchill gloves that a local shop recommended. By the time I completed the first mile of my ride I had to go back to my car and change them for an old pair of fleece adidas climawarm gloves I wear when running. The seams on the endura gloves might as well have been giant holes, my fingertips were 100% numb. Absolute joke for $48 gloves. They're getting returned immediately.This is the 5th pair of winter "cycling" gloves I've bought in the last 10 years that are a complete failure.
The adidas gloves have holes developing in the palms but I had no numbness on my fingers. And they were $20 when I bought them. Wish I bought 10 pairs when they were available. There is a tag in the inside of them that has a logo that says "Outlast". maybe that is a magic material.
Is there any gloves available that have SEALED seams on the fingers but thin material on the palms?

I’ve had multiple gloves that didn’t work so well when new. I think they need to “pack in” a bit and eventually they were ok.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[92gli]

I bought some gloves yesterday and subjected them to very scientific testing before I removed them from their packaging so I could return them. I put one on my left hand and stuck my hand out the window while driving. These did not allow my fingertips to get numb at 50mph/33 degrees. They're thin and don't restrict bending of the fingers. The rubber-ish palm material is also great for bike grips. $13 at home depot

 

[Jayem]

I bought some gloves yesterday and subjected them to very scientific testing before I removed them from their packaging so I could return them. I put one on my left hand and stuck my hand out the window while driving. These did not allow my fingertips to get numb at 50mph/33 degrees. They're thin and don't restrict bending of the fingers. The rubber-ish palm material is also great for bike grips. $13 at home depot View attachment 1914627

Yeah, but your fingers weren’t sweating...

 

[nOOky]

If the palm is all rubber like those coated work gloves you find cheap at hardware stores, your fingers will freeze in them. At least mine do!

 

[92gli]

Yeah, but your fingers weren’t sweating...

My fingers weren't sweating the other day with those useless endura gloves either.

 

[Gunnar-man]

I have tried a few pairs of the insulated Home Depot gloves and while they were somewhat warm, the palms were not well suited to riding. They bunched up and created high spots/ridges which drove me nuts when riding. They have all been relegated to working-on-bikes/vehicles-in-the-garage-in-the-winter now.