Winter cycling gloves



amazinmets73

New Member
Aug 11, 2010
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Ouch! First cold day of the season in Marlyand and I was not prepared. My fingers have the tendency to get cold very easily. What are some gloves that will keep my hands warm this winter? Tempatures in the Baltimore area will probably drop to 15 degrees at the lowest.
 
The hiking stuff are pretty good.

I'm using a pair of these:
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There also some which are extra-water resistant. Just for rain these are fine too. They also have some friction material for handling stuff.

There are also cycling specific gloves. (Padded?)


 
As temperatures lower you will require several types of gloves. Around 50°-55° I switch to unlined full-finger gloves. Wool knit glove liners...mechanics' gloves...light fleece...cycling types by Pearl Izumi and Giro; I pick the glove I know will keep me just warm enough in cool temps.

When the thermometer drops into the 40's I start using a lined cycling glove by Nashbar or lined fleece or maybe a light Thinsulate lined glove from one of the big box sporting good stores. I also have some light, inexpensive ski gloves to alternate into the line up.

Down to around 30° I'll use a heavier Thinsulate lined ski glove or dedicated winter cycling glove. Sometimes I'll use the X-Large size over a wool glove liner. Sometimes over a light fleece liner.

I rode about three or four rides last winter at the 18°-19° mark and wore my heaviest Thinsulate work gloves over wool glove liners and my hands were sort of warm for rides up to 20 miles in length. Frankly, I had no desire to be out much longer that that.

Maydog rides up in Wisconsin and can probably provide some really good glove advice on the mittens and lobster claw types. There's always the option of using one of the several types of hand/feet warmers inside your gloves also. It was 44° here in Ohio when we set off on a 65-mile ride today and one of the guys was using chemical warmers inside his shoe covers to keep his toes warm.
 
When it gets down to near and below freezing, I wear a pair of Rukka Vauhti "lobster claw" motorcycle gloves. A gift from my wife's cousin in Finland.

Of course, if I had to pay the going rate for them in the US, I'd be wearing PI lobster claw gloves instead.
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In merely cool weather I have a pair of New Balance full fingered fleece gloves. I generally wear regular half finger cycling gloves down to 50-55.
 
Softshell (like these gloves) is "equally mediocre"
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for wind, snow, rain and cold. (But can be treated with a water-repellent product to perform better in the rain).

If you want an "edge" in any of these elements, then maybe fleece, wool, shell etc... (Combination!
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).

A good, dense, warm fleece does Ok for most on hands...


What's "the problem" exactly?
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Originally Posted by amazinmets73

I'm a vegan, can't use wool. I'll look for synthetic fleece gloves

Yeah, because petroleum products are so much more Eco-friendly... Wool is not Vegan?

You dont use a fixie do you?

Wackos and Cycling. A classic combination...
 
You're wearing the wool. Not eating it.

It's a renewable, organic resource. The sheep...they'll make more.


Quote by Volnix:
"Wackos and Cycling. A classic combination..."

Volnix...that statement is so damned true that I deny being a cyclist when out in polite company.

New Fair Trade Wool advertising copy for non-voting Rastafarians vegetarians..."Made from only the finest LBGT Wool and synthetic wool-blend petroleum products from free range sheep paid above the U.N. minimum wage standards for the Northern Hemisphere and shorn by bi-sexual women with very soft hands using only blunted tip manual shears that used no electricity made by hydro-electric means and generated no non-recyclable waste fibers."
 
"You dont use a fixie do you?"





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Once trust fund punks lose their savings they are reduced to riding a fixed gear bike, the same means of travel they had when they were in middle school. Their current bike build is actually less sophisticated than the ones they grew up on, but hipsters will always sacrifice the convenience of brakes for fashion.
One of the most pretentious of all hipsters, fixies are primarily located in Williamsburg, Portland, San Francisco and wherever else snobs congregate these days. They tend to hang out at cafés, bike shops and anywhere else they can turn their nose at other hipsters. Usually enrolled in some form of printmaking or photography at their art school, the fixie spends more time complaining about things rather than creating them.
One should not confuse a nonathletic fixie with actual racers or bike messengers. The latter can spot a fixed gear hipster from a block away, recognizing their bike as just another fashion accessory until they move onto the next trend. Usually a vegan, the street smart cyclist weighs no more than 100 pounds when soaking wet and gets his sole caloric intake from PBRs and plants.
A fixie longs for a Bianchi Pista with drop handlebars but instead will custom order their ride from Urban Outfitters using their employee discount. The Fixie likes to tell everyone they are saving the world by having “one less car” but ultimately they just can't afford one.
 
Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB
Quote by Volnix:
"Wackos and Cycling. A classic combination..."

Volnix...that statement is so damned true that I deny being a cyclist when out in polite company.

New Fair Trade Wool advertising copy for non-voting Rastafarians vegetarians..."Made from only the finest LBGT Wool and synthetic wool-blend petroleum products from free range sheep paid above the U.N. minimum wage standards for the Northern Hemisphere and shorn by bi-sexual women with very soft hands using only blunted tip manual shears that used no electricity made by hydro-electric means and generated no non-recyclable waste fibers."

It's true... You can always spot the "Eco" hairy female student in the bike ride, showing up with a brand new trekking or mountain bike coming for the "vibe" and not the "ride".

The "Eco" look fits hairy girls Ok. There are also the "radical" ones which probably arrange pasta in stacks in their kitchen whilst crying and listening to Youssou N'Dour. (Or Morissey as the internetz tell me, who is totally not a jack@ss... Totally.)

Fortunately they usually get exhausted in the first ride and after they annoy some people about "What gear ratio are they using", the bike ends up in the used bikes listings for a good price for a normal cyclist.





Normal cyclists:
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Back on topic, I'll wear full finger poly gloves down to the 30's or so. In colder weather, I may slip on a pair of latex gloves under the poly as a vapor barrier. They get sweaty inside but it keeps the insulation dry and functioning. When the nose hairs start to freeze, I switch to liner gloves with mittens. Mittens work fine for riding, braking and shifting a regular road bike is not a problem. I have not needed to use chemical or electrical hand warmers with mittens on. I never tried the lobster gloves, I assume the work well - but the price premium over hardware store mittens seems unjustified.
 
Quote by Maydog:
"... hardware store mittens..."

Menard's has some screaming deals on ski gloves and mittens.
 
I have some Menards gloves, they work while they hold up. On the pair I had the seams come apart quickly, I shoe gooed the torn seams and still have them - but they are ugly. My current set of mittens were purchased at Costco. The brand is Head, I thought head was for tennis? They came with liner gloves and are holding up nicely after a full winter of commuting.
 
When Menard's puts those Chinamart skit gloves on sale for $1.99/pr. I snag 5 pairs. If it's a simple sewing job to repair a blown seam I'll do the repair. If it's more than a 5-minute fix...on to the next pair. I buy a mix of mediums to fit and wear as a stand alone glove and X-Larges to wear over wool liners.

You do have to watch gloving off tires...the cheap nylon shell might melt.
 
Volnix said:
Yeah, because petroleum products are so much more Eco-friendly... Wool is not Vegan? You dont use a fixie do you?  Wackos and Cycling. A classic combination...
vegans do not eat or wear animal products. Why would wool ever be vegan?
 
CAMPYBOB said:
You're wearing the wool. Not eating it. It's a renewable, organic resource. The sheep...they'll make more. Quote by Volnix: "Wackos and Cycling. A classic combination..." Volnix...that statement is so damned true that I deny being a cyclist when out in polite company.  New Fair Trade Wool advertising copy for non-voting Rastafarians vegetarians..."Made from only the finest LBGT Wool and synthetic wool-blend petroleum products from free range sheep paid above the U.N. minimum wage standards for the Northern Hemisphere and shorn by bi-sexual women with very soft hands using only blunted tip manual shears that used no electricity made by hydro-electric means and generated no non-recyclable waste fibers."
http://www.veganpeace.com/animal_cruelty/wool.htm
 
Originally Posted by amazinmets73


vegans do not eat or wear animal products. Why would wool ever be vegan?

Do you know the expression/term: "Eating Disorder"?
 
Black is the new black, Volnix.

Jeez, mets. Several of my neighbors are sheep ranchers. Go blow your dumbass 'wool cruelty' stories up some moron's ass that will swallow that idiocy.

Thankfully, my bike has a genuine cowhide seat, a couple of my cars have leather seats, my motorcycle leathers are...leather, my running shoes are kangaroo hide (So I can jump higher. I be white.) and my bomber jacket is lined with real sheep (Don't worry. That sheep will grow more. Please don't cry.) and my clothes are often made of cotton. A plant that actually has been proven to have feeeelings and that has been known to cry when its balls are picked.

We get it. You're one of those sensitive souls. Congratulations on your higher state of enlightenment.

Now please run down to your nearest local hipster bicycle store (Abbreviated LHBS on most cycling forums) and explain to them that you're a vegan that only wears carcinogenic, chemically manufactured, petroleum-based clothing and that you want to keep your venti triple whipped mocha choca latte-gripping fingers warm while you ride. If they they trot out the $220 Finnish Rukka's (actually made in Sri Lanka by exiled Shaolin monks of the Iszheetuunot Valley Order)...



Yeah...Rukka's are really good gloves for motorcycling or bicycling. Not cheap and worth the price.