Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - I love my winter gear. But why didn't I buy mittens?

It was cold out today, so I wore my warm wool hat, my Burley jacket with a sweater, and my Salsa Tostadas three-finger gloves. I felt nice and warm, and didn't get sweaty at all. I love three-finger gloves, they are the best winter cycling accessory. I used to have Pearl Izumi Lobster gloves until one went missing. I just bought the Salsa version, and here's what you should know about them:

1. Very grippy. The stuff on the palms sticks to my bars far better than any other winter glove I've owned.
2. Warm so far. It was only 20 degrees out though.
3. Big snot patch. Two who fingers worth. I'm pretty accurate w/ snot rockets, but still have to clean up every once and a while, and these do the trick. Watch out, there is a piece of grippy stuff dangerously close to the snot patch.
4. Weird little seperate fingers inside. I'm not sure if I like this feature. I can't imagine it's any warmer to have thin stuff between your fingers, so the must be there for organizational purposes. Strange.
5. Big pull-tabs for putting them on. This is nice when you already have one on, and consequently only have three fingers to work with.

Now the joke part: As I was riding to work, I realized that the lack of brakes on my track bike negated the need for fingers at all! I could have worn mittens. If you only ride one bike and it is a track bike, my winter fashion advice for this season is mittens. Fortunately for me, I have bikes with brakes as well, which validate my Tostada purchase.

Note- When I say three fingers, I mean two fingers and a thumb.

Anyway, I love winter and can't wait for more of it.

Brakeless/ Bullhorns/ Big Mittens!!

never looked back.

I know we don't have Wal-Marts here, Target might have them in the camping section... but I have neoprene hunting gloves. I've had them for 5+ years and they are frickin warm. Even on the coldest days, i'll only need some of those thin stretch gloves underneath, plus they are completely waterproof. I've stuck my hand into a pond/deep puddle with these on.


but then...i hate mittens.

i just have big 'ole regular gloves you get at wallgreens for $6. i've been comfortable at temps down to 15 degrees with them.

all i know is you may need them soon, i was just outside and it was snowing a little

Snowing here also.
I've found that gloves meant for cross-country skiing work well for biking as well. The same kind of requirements are taken into account (wind-resistance, moisture-whicking, etc).
Let me second, also, the plug for lobster-type mits. Those are super-great.

I have a pair of burton spring pipe gloves that work wonders but I haven't tested them out in the dead of winter yet. other than the possibility of them not being warm enough they rock

i just have big 'ole regular gloves you get at wallgreens for $6. i've been comfortable at temps down to 15 degrees with them.


I got mine at CVS, and they're fleece, so they're perfect for wiping down you ride when you get home.
Who wants clean goves anyway? But for that additional feature you may have to pay upwards of 8 American Dollars.
Of course, I don't need them now, it was 63 in new york this morning.
Really, thats almost too hot.

i rock these: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=170545
the trigger finger is handy. there are also trigger finger outer liners if it gets real cold.

i rock these: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=170545
the trigger finger is handy. there are also trigger finger outer liners if it gets real cold.

Handy if you need to use your vintage Schmidt-Rubin.

i rock the huge chopper mittens. straight up canadian stylee...

but on the real...

you don't need lobster gloves you need the mittens...no brakes equals all weather stopping!

i rock these: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=170545
the trigger finger is handy. there are also trigger finger outer liners if it gets real cold.
Wow! 4 pairs for $10!

i rock the huge chopper mittens. straight up canadian stylee...

but on the real...

you don't need lobster gloves you need the mittens...no brakes equals all weather stopping!

I left my chopper mitts in Wisconsin. I need lobster mitts cause my snowmobile has brakes! Yehaw!

On the subject of chopper mittens, I was thinking about buying these:

http://i14.ebayimg.com/02/i/05/75/26/c7_1.JPG

http://i8.ebayimg.com/03/i/05/7b/e1/d3_1.JPG

But I couldn't pull the trigger after reading that they were made of "buttery soft black deerskin (http://cgi.ebay.com/Skunk-Fur-Pelt-Deerskin-Mittens-Choppers-M-WARM_W0QQitemZ6822191122QQcategoryZ105564QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)" . I have so many questions now. It's too bad, because I just converted these to clipless:

http://www.alaskaguide.com/akfurex/850_beaver_wolftrim_geotop_large.jpg

DIY!
http://www.chroniclebooks.com/Chronicle/excerpt/0811835332-e2.html
or, for faster knitting, use chunky yarn:
http://alison.knitsmiths.us/pattern_plaid_mittens.html

both, i can tell you, are quite warm.

Wow! 4 pairs for $10!
sportsman's guide is amazing... lots of great bulk military stuff. this is among my favorite captions though... http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=170594

I think I'm gonna get some mittens that can fold back to reveal fingers. I have to operate my pockets and zippers at times. I love being the only bike chained at work when it's either raining or cold!

Check this: http://www.menknit.net/mag.html

Scroll past the Lover's Tank and you get...BIKE HELMET EAR WARMERS.

I have some pearl grippy-liner-gloves that are fine for fall and lobsters for most of the winter, but when it gets really cold I prefer a merkin.

I don't even remember what kind of gloves I used last winter in Mpls, it was cold as f**k and we got a lot of snow. One thing I did alot though was if I went out for a ride that wasn't over 30 minutes I would put my gloves, socks, and scarf in the dryer for like 15-20 minutes. It kept most of my important parts quite warm during the ride. Only if I was in a hurry did I start sweating real bad.
Anyone else here ever do the dryer trick?
P.S. Is everyone here sleeping? It's only 3:15am here.....

Lobster claws suck. Why?

You can't flip off drivers.

I have some pearl grippy-liner-gloves that are fine for fall and lobsters for most of the winter, but when it gets really cold I prefer a merkin.
:roflmao:

Lobster claws suck. Why?

You can't flip off drivers.

aint that the truth.

forgetting that you're wearing lobster claws and trying to give some driver the universal traffic signal is an oddly confusing experience.


Still, i prefer warm fingers to full expression.

but when it gets really cold I prefer a merkin
Google has made that comment hilarious.