BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Right on!

What are you doing for your hands? That's the last bit I'm working on. I have a 45+ min commute.

I always have people telling me it is too cold for me to have biked in, as I'm frantically trying to strip off layers so I don't turn into a sweaty mess in our 70 degree office.

I had to get dressed up yesterday, and like you, the weather man scared me, so it was the first time I bussed to work voluntarily since last winter. This morning I did the same, and while standing there for 10 minutes freezing at the bus stop, I figured out I'd probably be half way to work by now, and everything but my hands and face would be toasty warm. Time to sort out some glove liners and get back on my bike.

@ Pseudacris - I wear ski gloves. They took some time to get used to but I haven't had any problems with dexterity yet. I use the big poofy ski gloves that you get at Willis for $25. They also have some "professional" ski gloves that look more compact. But they're a little too costly for me right now.

I wear a pair of Pearl Izumi gloves that might as well be ski gloves. They worked pretty well today.

like I mentioned in the other thread, I just bought a pair of ugly, fuzzy $3 winter gloves from burlington coat factory, and they're surprisingly warm. I've actually complained at work that they're too warm, to which my coworker responded, "Yeah, I hate that, when you buy something, and it actually works..."

Because of the active nature of my job, I usually wear shorts at work except the brutal or dangerous days I wimp out and drive to work. Then I start the day in long pants because I have not raised my core body temperature by riding in.

When people ask if riding is cold, I tell them the coldest I get in the winter is when I first get in an unheated car.

@pseudacris What are you doing for your hands?

Turducken. It works.

(Mitglovliners?)

Awright, I'm going to quit complaining, layer up and head out WITH FENDERS. helen s, rubberfactory, mick, stefb et all: you're an inspiration.

And, back to the original thread topic: it sure is nice not to have to do all the sweeping, scraping, and wwiper tending the car requires.

Agreed. I get colder hands just scraping off the car.

I recently acquired some of these dorky, but effective, things:

Bar Mitts. They've been great. I wear spring/fall weight gloves inside. Can't use the drops, but it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

yeah i love standing there all hot and sweaty and hearing about how its too cold to ride a bike. kind of like when you walk in soaking wet and leaving little puddles for footprints and people ask if its still raining outside.

I've done some winter mountain biking (nothing technical, just easy trails) but have yet to use my bike to get anywhere in the extreme cold. My issue is my hands. I think I must have bad circulation: my hands and toes get really cold really fast. People are always shocked at how much like ice my fingers are just sitting around the house. For the cold riding I did in the park, I used a pair of those big ski gloves and they kept me unfrozen for as long as I can imagine it taking me to get places I need to go. I can brake and shift while wearing them. I have *never*, though, been able to put a key into a lock with them on, or do anything that requires a similar level of dexterity. When I get home (driving or walking) I always end up having to take them off to get into the front door, and even those few seconds leave my hands really messed up for a while. So I dread the idea of trying to deal with my U-lock with them, or any of the other tear down (etc) stuff I do when I need to secure my bike.

Roadkillen, are you dealing with locks and other finer details of gear stuff with those things?

FYI: I'm able to do my u-lock and keyed cable lock with lobster claw gloves on. No problems with shifting or braking either. [edit: and I can manage the deadbolt on my house, too]

Finer details such as petite zipper pulls, helmet chin strap & those little release buttons on my lights -- those are all lost on the claws.

Today I did wear an old, very thin, stretchy pair of department store gloves made with thinsulate. Used 'em instead of liners under the bigger gloves. It helped A LOT with finger warmth, and its just enough dexterity for those bits listed above. Slide off the big mittens and do the rest the the work with the liners on. Good luck!

on my hands i have these:

http://www.google.com/search?q=pearl+izumi+lobster+claw&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=tGf&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivso&source=univ&tbs=shop:1&tbo=u&ei=2zYJTe6wKo-msQPDoYnmDg&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CEAQzAMwAg&biw=1440&bih=713

and On <15 degree days I couple that with some smartwool liners and my fingers are not cold. I'm really prone to that too so this might be overkill for some.

"Finer details such as petite zipper pulls, helmet chin strap & those little release buttons on my lights -- those are all lost on the claws."

for the zipper you can attach a little pull with anything - shoelace - any kind of substantial string or a caribiner I have one of those on my panniers - that's what I've done..

bikefind, Usually when I reach my destination I remove the gloves to reach into my bag for keys, turn off lights, scratch my butt, etc. When I start my trip I usually put everything away, turn on my lights n'@ w/o my gloves on and before I step outside.

I dont have a problem with shifting or braking. I have a mt. bike with rapid fire shifters. I remember a bike I had with grip shifters were harder to use with poofy gloves though.

The hardest thing is unzipping my jacket when I get warm. For this I wait until I'm at a red light or somewhere I can stop, take off a glove and unzip.

When I camp in serious cold, I wear fingerless wool gloves under ski gloves or over-mitts, you need to be able to cook and things, the fingerless' just stay on all the time. That might be something to try.

Reporting back after having bought a pair of glove liners. This is a completely non-scientific comparison: I didn't record the temperatures or how long I was out for, and I think there were other factors I'm forgetting that also might have been different, but:

With the glove liners inside my ski gloves, my hands got to freezing quicker.

I think part of the problem is that by wearing the liners I lost a tiny pocket of air between my hands and the gloves, which my hands filled with warmth. Another part, although the liners didn't feel too tight, is that they were certainly snugger than my ski gloves, so I think they may have slowed circulation to my hands. (Same feeling as holding a grocery bag handle where the bag's full of food, walking home and having my fingers freeze because there's no blood getting to them.) Yous with good circulation to your fingers and toes, this will make no sense to you I don't think.

Anyway, I'm still glad to have them. My plan is to keep them with me for cold rides where I know I'll have to deal with locking and unpacking accessories outside(or where I might have to deal with changing a tire etc) but just make a quick switch from the ski gloves to the liners when I need manual dexterity. Not as big a comfort as having them already on underneath, but still way better than where I was before.

Wednesday morning, the Downtown Burlington still had one pair of the fuzzy glove liners RF mentioned. Might not be the same thing, these were $4, but they fit the description. Real tempting.

Those!

not glove liners, just regular old gloves. you still have to take them off for any misc tasks, except unlocking/locking my bike.

lately, though, I've only been wearing them on the way down hills. It's been kinda warm.

On cold hands...

Last winter was my first commuting solely by bicycle. One of the main things I learned was that the comfort of my hands was directly proportional to how warm the rest of me was.

I wear a cheapo pair of thin Thinsulate gloves I bought at Target down to the low thirties. Below that, I switch to 'regular warm winter gloves' (cheapo "ski gloves", or a more expensive pair of Carhart gloves...they seem to be about the same in terms of keeping my digits warm). When it gets into the low teens or single digits, I add a tight pair of cheap knit gloves inside.

I always start out with warm hands, and then a bit into the ride a couple of fingers get cold. On some days, they'd get cold enough that it'd be really unpleasant. Well into the ride (5.5 mi commute), though, they'd warm up and I'd be fine for the rest of the way. The point where my hands were comfortable was always matched with the point where I'd start to really sweat.

A lot of people advocate starting out a winter ride feeling a bit cold and warming up partway into it, and arriving at your destination somewhere between comfortable and warm. I do it differently, starting out almost warm and arriving sweating profusely. My muscles feel much better working when they're warm, and I always do a full change of clothes when I arrive (no matter the weather) so I don't mind taking ten minutes to cool down. It seems to work...no matter the temperature, and no matter how cold they are towards the beginning of the ride, my extremities are always sweating by the end.

If you're constantly fighting cold fingers and toes on your winter rides, try *over*-dressing for a ride or two and see how it works out.

Thanks Mattre, this is something I haven't heard before, but it makes sense. Especially since I don't want to mess with my fingers and toes. Want to keep that count at 20. Sometimes I feel like I'm pushing my limit on safety.

But. You said carhartt. Oh god, I really don't want to do this, but I swear I can't help myself. The best you all can do is just not click on the link. This guy told me to watch his video, and I feel like I've seen a car wreck and can't get it out of my head. Save yourselves, go read some other thread now, that's all I'm saying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PczLYetz3Tk

Hahaha: Thanks, bikefind!

bikefind - I started using a pair of old iceclimbing gloves, and find them completely indispensible. My hands get too hot if I'm climbing hills towards the end of my rides (~45min + to almost everywhere, but only about 10 miles or so, I'm slow and the hills are steep), so I often take them off and stuff them down my (open) coat for the ascents, then near the end pull them back on. I tried glove liners, but the ice gloves are a size too small for that. here's a link to a bunch: http://www.google.com/search?q=ice+climbing+gloves&hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1I7ADFA_en&tbs=shop:1,brand:black+diamond+equipment&prmd=ivns&ei=DC8aTYr-NsXflgfh3aDVCw&ved=0CKwBEMEJKAEwFA

The things I like are reinforced pads on the outsides of the fingers, reflective stripes, and they go up the wrists - totally wind and water proof. I got mine on super clearance, otherwise they're astronomically expensive. In another month or two is when to look for ice climbing gear sales. Or used is always better - lots of people try it and find out it's not for them AFTER buying the gear (only one person climbs at a time, the other is just standing there, belaying and freezing)

I also dress following Mattre's idea - layer up, and you can always take off the excess. This "start cold" stuff isn't for me. I get sweaty and nasty anyway on my hills in any weather in any clothing, so there's no point in being cold at the beginning, at least for me.