Eastern Canada - Need help finding winter gloves!!

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=9871742#post9871742

Trying to double my reply efforts as I've only 1 day left before the Toronto Bike Sale which I didn't know till today.

All of you in T.O know our temp right now so if you check my post you'll see I'm looking for gloves for the double windchill we get here while riding. Please sendm e your recommands and if you've been the bike show before what brand/names you've seen show up and what pricing (reg/sale) I should be expecting so I don't get sticker shock.

Right now I need control of my handlebars as I'm on a Deore EZ-fire system.

Thank.

I just bought a pair of Pearl Izumi Cyclone gloves from MEC.

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442619864&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302882531&bmUID=1255738285460

They've been ok for about -10 Celsius. Any lower than that and I'm going to recommend a thin base layer. They also seem to be pretty water resistant, but I wouldn't call them waterproof. Seem pretty windproof too! Today it was hovering around 0 degrees and my hands were sweating a bit.

I'm a bike courier so in a 9 hour shift, probably about 6-7 hours of that is outside on the bike, the rest is back and forth from inside. Whether the in and out is what makes the gloves fine at that temp........ hard to say, but I really dig the Cyclones.

That being said, everyone's hands are different and you should try them before committing to them. Good thing MEC has an "Always and Forever" return policy.

I just bought a pair of Pearl Izumi Cyclone gloves from MEC.

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442619864&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302882531&bmUID=1255738285460

They've been ok for about -10 Celsius. Any lower than that and I'm going to recommend a thin base layer. They also seem to be pretty water resistant, but I wouldn't call them waterproof. Seem pretty windproof too! Today it was hovering around 0 degrees and my hands were sweating a bit.

I'm a bike courier so in a 9 hour shift, probably about 6-7 hours of that is outside on the bike, the rest is back and forth from inside. Whether the in and out is what makes the gloves fine at that temp........ hard to say, but I really dig the Cyclones.

That being said, everyone's hands are different and you should try them before committing to them. Good thing MEC has an "Always and Forever" return policy.


Thad,

Thank you for that feed back. First off some support from this rider to the courier crowd. I met a couple of couriers before at MEC. Nice people. I forgot the other guys name but the girl I think was nicknamed 'minibus'. You may know of her.

I'm a stats/tech guy so that info is very useful. What liner do you use for sub -10C temps? How is the dexterity and shifter access on those?

I use a Shimano Deore EZ-fire setup so I'm thinking if it's too thick I may only be able to go to the lighter gears as the lower gearing tab is wider then the smaller up shifter tab. Up shifter tab is like ' . ' key on the keyboard but I think just a slight bit smaller. Down shifter is around the 'CTRL' tab size probably a little wider.

Granted most bike couriers I've heard/seen on TV/Pedal documentary/Youtube seem to use a fixie more unless you have another bike with shifters similar to my setup for some feedback.

I also have a thumb shifter as well on my Peougout but I love that classic bike too much to ride in rain/snow/salt. I'm mostly a 3 season fair weather rider looking to go into some light 4 season but it's the lower temps on the hands and also that double windchill factor of riding forward that is sometimes a double whammy.

I got the Descente Element gloves from MEC and used them this morning for the first time... 0 C when I left home for a 60 km road ride... It was also quite windy on my way North. The gloves are fine and my hands actually felt a little warm compared to my arms. They (Element) are thicker than my other gloves (Descente Coldfront) so dexterity is not as good compared to those. However I had no problems shifting and braking... road bike has Shimano 105 briefters.

I realized recently while looking at one of my winter ski gloves why this pair of gloves always was warm turning the winter. The lettering was rubbed off over all wonderful ski years and usage but I found out they were Goretex gloves. :love: Unfortunately they are bulky at ~1" thickness (eyeballing it) per digit but when I put then on the grips of my MTB with the Deore set I was able to feel the up/down shifters. Tho the bulk is the only thing that is a turn off but they will keep you warm. I may give up my search for a pair of slimmer looking bike gloves and use what I have already or cut my bulk by getting a pair of bike gloves and slim down some so I can well be a little more fashionable ( :rolleyes: ) and with less bulk I can have more room for other things in my bag when I'm shopping.

This is what I am going to try this winter.

http://www.pearlizumi.com/product.php?mode=view&pc_id=73&product_id=1455044&outlet=

http://www.pearlizumi.com/phpThumb.php?src=/data/uploads/products/8820_021.jpg&w=290&h=290

http://www.gottaridebikes.com/page/GRB/PROD/OUT/CLOSEOUT0012