Gloves for below freezing conditions...

[Matt O'Toole]

David Kerber wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

>> mark wrote:

>> My suggestion would be to switch to bar-end shifters. The only shifters I have seen that stop
>> functioning on a fairly frequent basis in cold weather are STI's.
>
> I've ridden my Tiagra STI's down to 0°F with no problems. They're only 4 months old, though...

My Ultegras are not much older, and I've been having problems lately. I posted about this already.
As suggested, flushing them seems worth a try. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Matt O.

 

[A Muzi]

Ron Hardin wrote:
> What works is very individual, depending on what triggers your blood flow to shut down to the
> fingers. Once it shuts down, you'll freeze no matter what you're wearing.
>
> The chief effect in my case is from keeping the wrist warm.
>
> It was -2 degrees F Friday night when I got home, and I was okay but barely with (inner to outer)
> 3 silk gloves (L XL XL) Nashbar polartec mittens (L) Kroger produce baggie LL Bean windstopper
> shell (XL)
>
> the baggie trapping condensation but also keeping just that little extra drifting cold out, or
> maybe making hand motion pump hot air around rather than out of the arrangement. Normally there's
> no baggie and only 2 silk gloves, and that's fine to about 20 degrees F.
>
> The two modes of attack are
> 1. Keep blood flow from shutting down.
> 2. If it does, keep hands warm anyway for duration of the ride, but this is a losing
> proposition if the ride goes on and on indefinitely.

Wow, you've given this a great deal of thought!

Mine are sheepskin mittens. They go well past my wrist and are simply a piece of animal turned
inside out. I am usually a medium everything but these I buy in extra large so there's plenty of air
space. My hands were toasty warm at -7 this week. They're sewn from scrap and run about $15~$20 at
street vendors.

A customer rode in on Wednesday with heavy long-wrist modern technical 5-finger gloves over which
he'd worn military-issue mitten shells. They shells were just huge, leather palms, and included a
trigger finger inset which he had stapled back on the side ( Perhaps he wasn't carrying?). At any
rate he commented that he had finally found a warm combination.

(Most people who ride in this time of year begin with a complaint of the cold. That passes for
conversation here.)

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

 

[Carl Fogel]

Tom Sherman <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> <http://www.dogscooter.com/>.
>
> Tom Sherman - Quad Cities

Dear Tom,

What gearing do you recommend for basset hounds?

Carl Fogel

 

[Tom Sherman]

Carl Fogel wrote:

> Tom Sherman <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]
> berlin.de>...
>
>><http://www.dogscooter.com/>.
>>
>>Tom Sherman - Quad Cities
>
>
> Dear Tom,
>
> What gearing do you recommend for basset hounds?
>
> Carl Fogel

Dear Carl,

Basset hounds need wide range gearing, so I suggest a Schlumpf high-speed-drive combined with a
Rohloff hub.

<http://www.schlumpf.ch/hsd_engl.htm>.

<http://www.rohloff.de/index.php?p=PRODUKTE/SPEEDHUB>.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities

 

[Dvt]

Matt O'Toole wrote:

> Since it's been cold here lately (20s F), I've had trouble keeping my hands warm while riding my
> road bike. My favorite Pearl Izumi lightweight winter gloves are fine down to about freezing, but
> below that they're not enough. On my mountain bike ski gloves are fine, but they're too clumsy
> for STI. Any suggestions? Cheap is good, but I don't mind spending some money for exactly the
> right thing.

One word: mittens. Not gloves, mittens. Lobster claws are 'tweeners.

I've used mittens for many years and with Shimano STI, barend, and old bartop MTB shifters. Never a
problem for me.

You don't need anything expensive. If it doesn't violate your principles, get some leather shells,
maybe with some wool or other furry lining inside. You can wear a liner glove under the mittens so
your hands don't freeze when you need to take the mitten off to lock the bike up.

I've used 'em all -- gloves of all types, lobster claws, mittens. Below freezing, I get out the
mittens. I have a pair of cheap department store mittens for weather above, say, 15-20 F. I have a
pair of leather mitts with wool inside (mmmm, toasty) that I use on colder days.

Dave dvt at psu dot edu

 

[Carl Fogel]

A Muzi <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

[snip]

> Mine are sheepskin mittens. They go well past my wrist and are simply a piece of animal turned
> inside out. I am usually a medium everything but these I buy in extra large so there's plenty of
> air space. My hands were toasty warm at -7 this week. They're sewn from scrap and run about
> $15~$20 at street vendors.
>
> A customer rode in on Wednesday with heavy long-wrist modern technical 5-finger gloves over which
> he'd worn military-issue mitten shells. They shells were just huge, leather palms, and included a
> trigger finger inset which he had stapled back on the side ( Perhaps he wasn't carrying?). At any
> rate he commented that he had finally found a warm combination.
>
> (Most people who ride in this time of year begin with a complaint of the cold. That passes for
> conversation here.)

Dear Andrew,

Frisk him! He might have stapled the trigger finger in his gloves because he has one of these:

http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/accessoryhtml/accwintertrig.html

They're the military equivalent of fixed-gear bikes with no front brakes--makes sense under extreme
conditions like a track or a frozen Korean outpost, but unsafe elsewhere.

Carl Fogel

 

[Carl Fogel]

A Muzi <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> Wow, you've given this a great deal of thought!
>
> Mine are sheepskin mittens. They go well past my wrist and are simply a piece of animal turned
> inside out. I am usually a medium everything but these I buy in extra large so there's plenty of
> air space. My hands were toasty warm at -7 this week. They're sewn from scrap and run about
> $15~$20 at street vendors.
>
> A customer rode in on Wednesday with heavy long-wrist modern technical 5-finger gloves over which
> he'd worn military-issue mitten shells. They shells were just huge, leather palms, and included a
> trigger finger inset which he had stapled back on the side ( Perhaps he wasn't carrying?). At any
> rate he commented that he had finally found a warm combination.
>
> (Most people who ride in this time of year begin with a complaint of the cold. That passes for
> conversation here.)

Dear Andrew,

Frisk him! He might have stapled the trigger finger in his gloves because he has one of these:

http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/accessoryhtml/accwintertrig.html

They're the military equivalent of fixed-gear bikes with no front brakes--makes sense under extreme
conditions like a track or a frozen Korean outpost, but unsafe elsewhere.

Carl Fogel