Frozen Hands



Jim Moore

Member
Dec 14, 2010
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I almost lost a few fingers to frostbite this morning. OK, that's an exxageration, but my hands were COLD! I was wearing some bicyling gloves, but theyd didn't help that much. It was only 45 degrees out, so I was a little surprised that I was having problems. Next time I'm going to try some latex gloves under my bike gloves. I've seen motorcycle racers do that, so i thought I'd give it a try. I have a quick question though. Do they make winter gloves? It seems like overkill, but man, my hands still hurt!
 
Jim I am not sure where you live but 45 is fairly warm this time of year. I use Performance midweight full finger gloves into the low thirty's. Below that I use Columbia snowboard gloves and never had frozen finger problems. Now toes thats a different story I have never solved. I never tried the latex glove bit but it will help to prevent wind from penetrating to your fingers it will also allow moisture to build up on your skin which is not good either.
 
Thanks for the info. I live down here in Jax, FL. Believe me, I feel like a sissy complaining about cold weather! I was really surprised that it affected my hand so much. Maybe it was a little colder than I thought it was. I'm going to try the latex gloves. If those don't work I'll look into the gloves you recommended. Thanks again, Jim Moore
 
I did a 100 km ride today and it was around 32 F. My fingers were toasty warm but I don't use bike gloves - instead I just use some full fingered gloves with some insulation I have in the closet.

Living in Canada means one tends to collect a fair number of gloves, scarves, etc for the cold weather.
 
Yojimbo_ said:
Living in Canada means one tends to collect a fair number of gloves, scarves, etc for the cold weather.
Yabbut, I want tricked-out overpriced bicycle gloves. I mean, c'mon!
 
latex gloves could work, I guess, but they will leave your hands very sweaty since they don't breath at all. In cool weather, I wear synthetic (polyester) glove liners under my half fingered gloves. In cold weather, I wear light weight full fingered gloves. When it gets downright freezing, I wear wind proof/water proof winter gloves (sometimes with glove liners underneath).

Trick is to put your hands in your gloves when your hands are warm (ie, before leaving the house).
 
Alot of brands make winter gloves. Do a search on google. As for cold feet I find that wetsuit material shoe covers work well, once again many companies make them
 
Jim Moore said:
I'm going to try the latex gloves. If those don't work I'll look into the gloves you recommended. Thanks again, Jim Moore
Well, that didn't work worth a ****. Looks like I'm in the market for some winter gloves!
 
Originally Posted by Jim Moore .

I almost lost a few fingers to frostbite this morning. OK, that's an exxageration, but my hands were COLD! I was wearing some bicyling gloves, but theyd didn't help that much. It was only 45 degrees out, so I was a little surprised that I was having problems. Next time I'm going to try some latex gloves under my bike gloves. I've seen motorcycle racers do that, so i thought I'd give it a try. I have a quick question though. Do they make winter gloves? It seems like overkill, but man, my hands still hurt!

Latex gloves or not depends on why you're freezing.
They won't help if you're too cold pretty much from the start, but they can certainly help if you get cold after some time of riding.
The trick of using a moisture-proof layer as a barrier between the body and the insulating material is fairly widespread. If the conditions are such that the moisture released from your body can't be ventilated out, then it's better to have a thin soaked layer closest to the body rather than to have the performance of the insulating layer deteriorate bit by bit due to moisture build-up. Some winter campers even use plastic liners in their sleeping bags for that purpose. During my hardcore snowboarding days I used moisture barrier socks as my boots wouldn't dry up well enough overnight.
IME there comes a point where a glove that's warm enough just won't ventilate enough. W/o surgical gloves I'll eventually soak the insulation and get cold, but with the surgical gloves the insulating properties are retained and my hands remain warm, even if the skin will be a bit water-logged.

The best gloves I've found aren't bike specific, but originally intended for cross-country skiing. They have windproof panels facing out, but rather thin palms and ventilating sides.
 
For very cold conditions I use ski gloves. Work well for anything below -2c.

Must be honest, I saw 45 and thought that sounds hot to me! Can't really relate to the F scale.
 
i use 40g thinsulate ski gloves with silk liner gloves that i got from e bay. rode them when the temp was down to -14 and found them ok. feet and face freeze though
 
Originally Posted by jimmylondon .

For very cold conditions I use ski gloves. Work well for anything below -2c.

Must be honest, I saw 45 and thought that sounds hot to me! Can't really relate to the F scale.

I live in the F scale world and find the C scale is easy to relate to in the winter. Always sounds cold to me in the summer though.
 
cold toes - wrap your feet in cling film before putting them in your shoes. keeps them nice and warm!
 
Whether that will help or not is entirely dependent on why you're freezing. If you're using well-ventilated summer shoes, then introducing a windproof layer will indeed help. But if your shoes already are pretty well sealed then cling film won't do much good in the immediate situation.
 
I know a guy that use's bread bags. Best thing since sliced bread he always tells me. I have never tried it myself. I am using vented cycling shoes. I have been wrestling with the idea of covering all the vents with duct tape to keep the cold air out.
 
Ahhh, warm hands! I bought a pair of Specialized Radiant gloves. Radiant indeed! My hands were good-to-go on an hour-long ride in 40 degree weather this morning. I think I'm set. Thanks for the inputs.Â