Frozen Fingertips

[Drago]

Breeze Blockers. About as aesthetically pleasing as Eric Pickles in a mankini, but extremely effective. http://www.breezeblockers.com/

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I rarely use my thick cycling gloves. Like ski gloves and you can’t feel the bike. Hate them. Rather I use merino liners under my usual gloves. And I can downsize if I get too warm. Merino takes up no space in my jersey.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Oh and neoprene by Endura. So long as you don’t mind ‘granny’s been in the bath too long fingers’.

 

[mjr]

Breeze Blockers. About as aesthetically pleasing as Eric Pickles in a mankini, but extremely effective. http://www.breezeblockers.com/

Now I'm never going to be able to wear the farking things without thinking of that very non farking image.

I rarely use my thick cycling gloves. Like ski gloves and you can’t feel the bike. Hate them.

Sound great. Are they warm and what are they? (The bikes I ride in winter have very very simple lever controls...)

 

[pjd57]

Why do so many otherwise decent gloves have daft touchscreen fingertips?
No protection from the cold at all.

 

[Katherine]

Other tips from my experience of Winter riding:

Don't start the ride with cold hands. - or a cold body for that matter.

So, if you have to go out to a cold garage to get your bike out and get it ready. Put gloves on. Come back in and get warm.
Bring your bike into the warm while you get ready, putting on your warm layers.
Put all layers on the radiator until you are ready to go and leave your gloves and liners on the radiator until you are completely ready to set off.

Try Hot Hands stick on hand warmers.
They make them for toes as well.
Apply them to the inner gloves.
It is essential to peel the back off and leave it exposed to the air for quite a while.

Take a spare pair of gloves to change into on wet rides.

Don't take your gloves off during the ride - go inside somewhere if you need to use your phone.
Sometimes I can't resist taking a photo and I have to weigh up the beauty of the scene I want to capture against the pain of cold hands.

Lastly, to have your extremeties warm enough, your core needs to be a bit too warm.


P. S. I use Gore winter gloves with liners.

 

[mjr]

So, if you have to go out to a cold garage to get your bike out and get it ready. Put gloves on. Come back in and get warm.
Bring your bike into the warm while you get ready, putting on your warm layers.
Put all layers on the radiator until you are ready to go and leave your gloves and liners on the radiator until you are completely ready to set off.

Here's a radical suggestion: put your warm layers and gloves on before you go outside, then just get your bike out, hang the bag on it, close the shed door and ride off. "Get it ready"? Is it an old Raleigh Wisp that needs refuelling or something?

Try Hot Hands stick on hand warmers.
They make them for toes as well.
Apply them to the inner gloves.
It is essential to peel the back off and leave it exposed to the air for quite a while.

Get reusable handwarmers instead of yet more single-use landfill shoot, but keep them for a heat boost as they don't last as long.

Take a spare pair of gloves to change into on wet rides.

That's a good idea. Winter gloves rarely dry during a cafe or lunch stop and putting wet gloves on is generally bad.

Don't take your gloves off during the ride - go inside somewhere if you need to use your phone.
Sometimes I can't resist taking a photo and I have to weigh up the beauty of the scene I want to capture against the pain of cold hands.

If it's an Android phone, you can set it to answer and end calls on hardware buttons, all of which can be operated with gloves on (give or take an occasional fat-fingering), and read out text messages (with the ability to shake the phone to stop it, if you think it's going to be sensitive). You can also set it to autoreply to calls with texts or punt them to voicemail.

 

[Katherine]

Here's a radical suggestion: put your warm layers and gloves on before you go outside, then just get your bike out, hang the bag on it, close the shed door and ride off. "Get it ready"? Is it an old Raleigh Wisp that needs refuelling or something?

I attach water bottle(s), bag, lights and check tyres.

Get reusable handwarmers instead of yet more single-use landfill shoot, but keep them for a heat boost as they don't last as long.

Do you mean the ones that you have to put in boiling water to re-set? - also uses resources unless you are using renewable energy.
I tried those but they are too bulky to fit inside your gloves and still be able to hold the handlbars comfotably and safely, whereas the single use ones are thin and go on the back of your hands out of the way of gripping anything.

 

[mjr]

I attach water bottle(s), bag, lights and check tyres.

If it's freezing out, the water bottle stays in the bag until I want a drink, the lights are bolted on the bike and my tyres are plain black not checked. ;-) Attaching a bag doesn't take long, although some are quicker than others - spring-handled pannier hooks (Ortleib QL something) probably quickest.

Do you mean the ones that you have to put in boiling water to re-set? - also uses resources unless you are using renewable energy.

I'm using renewable energy for that. I don't see a good reason not to.

I tried those but they are too bulky to fit inside your gloves and still be able to hold the handlbars comfotably and safely, whereas the single use ones are thin and go on the back of your hands out of the way of gripping anything.

They come in different sizes. Mine can go on the back of my hands, but I find the wind cools them too much there, so I usually put them in the palms. I don't hold the bars with my palms (unless holding the front end down over cobbles and I'd try to avoid that when it's freezing).

 

[Vantage]

Ski gloves. The end.