I've been meaning to write a series of blog posts about keeping warm while riding in the winter, and gloves were going to be my first topic. In my experience fingers and toes are the first to feel the bite of winter, and hence gloves and booties are first on my priority list.

As for the "perfect" glove -- I don't think it exists. I have an arsenal of gloves and I use them all. My wife thinks I've gone bonkers with gloves because I have so many, and because anytime we find ourselves in an outdoor shop, I'm checking out the new gloves. Here's a photo of the gloves I use most often. (I actually have more, but I use them for shoveling snow, skiing, etc.)



I generally use long finger gloves when it's 50 degrees (F) or colder. And I'll ride outside if it's 20 degrees or warmer. That's a pretty broad range and there's no way that a single set would cover it for my comfort needs. And because I leave in the early morning, and I generally ride in the mountains, the temperature changes change quite a bit as my altitude changes, and the sun rises. I also need significantly more warmth when descending than while climbing. In addition to the obvious reasons (I'm not working as hard, and I'm going faster, while descending) there's the fact that my fingers are wrapped around my metal brake levers while descending, which can suck the heat right out of your fingers.

I pretty much always choose two sets of gloves for every ride. Sometimes I only end up using one set, and the other set stays in my jersey pocket, but two sets of gloves gives me three options -- set A, set B, or both. And one of my favorite additions to my collection gives me even more options. Notice that the gloves in the upper right are battery heated gloves; they're no silver bullet, by any means, but when the temperature is below 30, I almost always have that set as one of my two. I like to have one set of tighter-fitting gloves, and one set of warmer gloves or mittens, so I can layer.

So until I get around to blogging on the subject, that's my two cents -- start a glove collection; layering is good; and battery heated is a nice option.

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(NOTE: This poster owns a retail business selling weight conscious bike related products.)

I just ordered a pair of these :
http://www.pearlizumi.com/product.php?m ... 00&outlet=

After I do a cold and wet ride I'll report back on how they perform.


-John

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Your right about the cold tolerance, coming from Wales, and living in Yorksihre for 5 years then Nottingham for 10, i was in shorts and SS Jersy at 15C (all these locations have crappy weather and 1 month long summers). Not hard just didn't know any different.

5 years in Queensland Oz and i am rugged up below 20C, its pathetic.
I have some gore full finger gloves, but i haven't used since i got here.

I guess based on this you could argue glove selction is unimportant, as if you stick it out long enough you'll get used to being cold......

One thing i did learn, water proof gloves are largely pointless as the rain runs down your arm and fills the gloves from within anyway. Well fitted and windproof generally makes for higher performance.

The Seal Skinz Ultra Grip glove is just fantastic. Very warm and almost waterproof. You can immerse your hand briefly into water and it will come out dry. They only seem to get wet after many hours in heavy rain.

They aren't cycling specific and therefore there is no palm padding but that suits me as I hate track mitts.

being that I see PDX in your moniker and I live/ride/race/commute in the same town, here's what I suggest. Like everyone else here, I have bucket full of gloves to choose from. On those sub 45 degree, rain all day-days that we get from November throuh March. I use Headsweats Glove Covers over wool gloves. You can find them for $10 here http://www.performancebike.com/bikes//P ... 6552_-1___

I buy medium weight wool gloves to wear under them at Andy & Bax army surplus for under $10. Like the Seattle poster wrote, I bring an extra pair in a plastic bag, but rarely need them.

It's the best solution I've found for winter training. Not pro looking, but very effective. I occasionally spray the shells with a can of DWR.

Yeah I'll bring up this older thread but there was one thing not mentioned which I feel is important and should theoretically apply to everyone. The main reason your extremities get cold is because your body needs more blood to run through the core to keep it warm and limits and the fingers and toes get (feel free to correct that statement but I think it's basically correct.) By keeping your core warmer you need very little on your hand and feet to actually keep them warm.

I do not have any heavy gloves but still ride when the temps dip into -5°C (any colder and well I really do need at least windproof gloves). I wear a wool liner, probably the same thing a previous poster uses which can be purchased fairly cheap, and then assos insulator gloves on top of that. I regulate my body temperature by pulling my balaclava down, or over my mouth and/or nose. So far it has worked very well for me, with only one day this winter when I felt miserable and wished my hands were warmer and it was not the coldest day by a longshot. The only fallback to this system is if you stop for a long (10ish minutes) time and let your heart rate drop your hands will get cold fairly quickly.

Of course I am an oddity who can handle cold better than most in this area and have decent circulation in my extremities when the temperature drops. The above lets me stay comfortable, and still retain nearly all the dexterity I need to do tasks such as shifting, eating and on occasion answering the phone. Like I said I wouldn't mind getting windproof gloves to make the longer rides a bit more comfortable at lower Heart Rates. I've been looking at the assos 851 glove and will probably buy a set when they are on sale in the summer.

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Occasionally in Road Bike Action, I see them wearing Mechanix gloves. Does anyone have any experience with these in cold weather? I am assuming they like them for grip, but I was wondering if the perform as well as some other full finger gloves mentioned.

I get cold hand pretty easily. I now use ski gloves. You do loose a bit of feel for steering and braking, but surprisingly not as much as you might expect. Look around your house, you might have a pair stuck away somewhere.

@Arky. I have a pair of the classic Mechanix gloves, which have great grip and are useful when wrenching on my bike. I would not think they have much use as a cold winter glove, though...

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More ride reports!!

toutenhoofd and others,

Reviews on battery heated gloves? Warmth, finger dexterity/ability to operate brake levers/shifters, etc.?

Thanks.

Down to about 0 deg C in the dry I love DeFeet's Dura gloves. They last forever because there is no stitching to come undone. Even in light rain they work surprisingly well. Lovely and comfortable and slim fitting too.

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Man, some of these gloves are really very nice. I never gave gloves much thought, but now I'd like to be a little more toasty in the cold. Nice gloves are a luxury!

Luxury? More necessity. Without proper gloves I would not be aible to ride in the winter months.

They're also cool too!

What I have found is that the textured palm bit folds over itself thus causing rubbing. To solve that, I wear short fingered gloves with a padded palm over the defeet gloves.

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