Struggling now in the cold weather

[annedonnelly]

Those fingers look painful! I too suffer from cold fingers turning white. I assume it's Reynaud's but I've never had a diagnosis.

It's often occurred to me that touching cold metal is not a good thing to do. I wonder if it's possible to insulate brake levers with something - wrapped with tape? - so I'm not touching the metal. I've not tried it though. I quite fancy the idea of heated handlebar grips but that might not be practical

I do make a conscious effort to keep moving my fingers while I'm riding but I'm sure you already do that.

 

[nappadang]

I suffer reasonably badly with Raynaud's, especially in my right hand. I've also got tonnes of gloves and have tried a few combinations with varying degrees if success.
The best I've come up with is layers. I have some silk liners (a present, not sure where from) I then use a cheap pair of Aldi winter gloves (useless on their own) then I have an old pair of Sprayway windproof (softshell) gloves that are far too big for me but fit well over the first two layers.
This is a bit bulky but I can still manipulate gears and brakes. More importantly this system works well for me on rides of around an hour. Any longer in cold conditions and I start to suffer. I have got a pair of gore tex ski gloves which I could use in exchange for the softshell outer but I doubt I'd be able to use shifters.
I like the mittens idea but my wife will go ballistic if I spend more money on gloves. If I were on buy some I'd buy them big so I could get at least two layers underneath.
Whatever you do, good luck and if you find a satisfactory solution, let me know.

 

[Linford]

Consider these ...not cheap, but comparable to heated motorcycle gloves in cost. I've tried similar and they are very warm...the batteries last for about 5 hours. I've got a pair of heated motorbike gloves now...they are properly toasty.

Your problem warrants a proper solution. http://www.warmthru.com/acatalog/Heated-Cycling-Gloves.html

as an aside, I'm struggling when I ride with painful fingers...nowhere near as bad as yours but have found when cycling up the big hills, my hands warm right up...try cycing in a higher or lower gear to spin faster or work harder

 

[shouldbeinbed]

layers, Decathlon do a really nice synthetic liner that will fit comfortably inside even quite a thick padded winter glove. A decent winter glove over the liner and maybe a latex outer to totally seal the combo. I don't suffer but have a friend with reynauds who layers up to manage her fingers as best she can.
I'm hearing a few people saying how toasty the lobster type mitts keep their hands too, I guess they'd work with a 5 digit inner too.

 

[Linford]

I've heard lobsters are very good, but constriction with tight inner gloves is the devils work.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Try breeze blockers they do not attempt to insulate you from the cold wind but deflect it. The fact you don't have wind chill makes a world of difference

http://www.breezeblockers.com

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

If your looking for a more extreme solution perhaps a 'bar-bra' could be worth looking at.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

You can also get heated bar tape if you desire it.

http://www.amegrips.com/roadbikeheated/heated-road-bike-wraps

 

[Linford]

You can also get heated bar tape if you desire it.

http://www.amegrips.com/roadbikeheated/heated-road-bike-wraps

Looks like a great idea initially but it is the back of my hands and fingers which hurt the most when they get cold. That is why I went for heated gloves as the elements cover the backs and shield against wind chill

 

[Ganymede]

That does look painful, paul. Good luck at the doc's!

 

[LordMarv]

Another suggestion, which I'd read on another forum, which sounded a little crazy at first to me: thin rubber or latex gloves, then the liner, then the gloves or mitt over that. Not the thicker rubber gloves women use to wash dishes, but the thin ones, like hospital gloves, painter gloves, etc. So I tried it one cold commute night. At first it felt a little clammy, but I really do think it took the edge off. Divers use tight rubber or synthetic wetsuits, why not the same concept for the hands? Anyway, might be an interesting experiment for you.

 

[mrmacmusic]

Hope things go well with the doc... that looks painful. I was recently looking for a solution to help with cold fingers, and my googling turned up 'Bar Mitts' – http://www.ajbikeequipment.com/page2.htm Not as extreme a solution as the bar-bra (above), but might be something worth considering? I ended up getting lobster-style gloves myself which are roomy enough to wear a thin liner if I feel the need, but thought Bar Mitts were a great idea as they offer additional protection over and above your choice of gloves.

 

[robjh]

Hope things go well with the doc... that looks painful. I was recently looking for a solution to help with cold fingers, and my googling turned up 'Bar Mitts' – http://www.ajbikeequipment.com/page2.htm Not as extreme a solution as the bar-bra (above), but might be something worth considering? I ended up getting lobster-style gloves myself which are roomy enough to wear a thin liner if I feel the need, but thought Bar Mitts were a great idea as they offer additional protection over and above your choice of gloves.

They look very interesting - shame I've already done my Christmas present list!

Had similar ones on a motor bike once and they worked wonders.

 

[Keith Oates]

I just bought some Bar Mitts out here last week and now ride in temps down to -1 deg C so far and hands are really toasty at the end of the commute. Unfortunately the feet are not so well protected and they get cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mrmacmusic]

They look very interesting - shame I've already done my Christmas present list! Had similar ones on a motor bike once and they worked wonders.

I thought they looked interesting too, but opted not to invest... for now. Although it's been unseasonably mild of late, I have had a couple of cold-ish commutes so far this season and the lobster gloves are bearable at -4°C. I'll wait and see how I get on if it gets any colder at the start of the New Year.

I like my 2-wheeled adventures "un-motorised" (!), but when I was pondering what to do about cold fingers, I remembered seeing both hard and soft 'cowlings' around the rips on motorbikes and thought there must surely be something similar for cycling – the Bar Mitts were what my googling turned up online, and I hadn't seen the Pogies linked to on the other post about Raynauds until now.