hand guards ... would you buy one?
 

I've been looking for a hand guard to keep my hands out of the cold air when biking. Well, it seems no one makes such a product for bikes. I've gone to a motorcycle store and saw a few plastic guards that I might be able to adapt to my handlebar.

For the off road biker, it would also afford some protection from branches.

My quesion is this, _if_ hand guards were availible for bikers, would you be interested in buying one ... or would you prefer to use gloves?

Gloves.

I thought gloves were hand guards.

My reason for starting this thread - in Holland, I'm guessing that 90%+ of the kids bike to school. Sometimes I'm biking in the other direction and I see literally hundreds of kids biking towards me. If it's cold out, I will very often see them biking with one hand in their pocket or with their coat sleeve pulled up over their hand.

Even when it's cold out, if the wind is blowing behind you, your hands don't get that cold; it's only when the cold air is hitting you directly that you wish you had gloves. The idea popped into my head to use those hand guards that you will sometimes see on scooters or motorbikes. No one makes them for bikes and I've never seen one on a bike.

Am I wasting my time trying to persue this? If this product were sold in stores, would any one buy it?

I'll stick to gloves.

Handguards wont protect your hands from a skinning if you crash, but gloves do. Most people posess a pair, I cycled for years using a pair of woolen gloves, and I still do in very cold weather, but my cycling gloves are better for most cool weather riding.

OK, Ok, let me respond as someone who has actually used both hand-guards AND gloves.

Hand guards are warmer than gloves. They block the wind better and they are warmer. I have used big, thick chopper mits and can tell you that hand guards are even warmer than big, thick, expensive chopper mits. It is a phenominon. Go figure.

Another advantage of handguards is that they are always there. You never have to worry about forgetting them or losing them. Just get on your bike and ride. I guess that for kids, they would be ideal.

As MichaelW points out, gloves do protect your hands better if you take a tumble.

Mike, did you use hand guards on a bicycle or a motorbike? I ask, because I can not find anything specifically for a bicycle. I figure I'll have to adapt something used for a motorbike or scooter.

If you did use them on a bicycle, what model did you buy? Thanks, Dave

I remember when I was a kid that Huffy made a mountain bike that had hand guards on it. It was a 26" bike, a few friends had them. Never seen hand guards again since then, but it has been done before.

Dave:

I had two pair from Japan that I was selling. They sell in Japan for about $15.00 to $25.00 depending on the model and where you get them. What you don't see on the pics is the internal cuffs that go around your wrists and keep the wind out. They have a foam pad liner that helps keep them warm too. Leave it too the Japanese for coming up with something clever.

The boys' model is very similar to a motorcycle style, but smaller.

For boys', Check out:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?threadid=18808

For girls, Check out:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?threadid=18810

Mike, I believe I saw that same photo somewhere else. I posted elsewhere about hand guards and was given a link. They do look a bit big, don't they?

I read on the internet about one guy who fashioned his own by using empty containers and cutting the plastic himself.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who might want to have hand guards. I'm going to try a few more motorbike stores and bring my bike along and see if I can adapt something they have.

Thanks!!! Dave

Dave, they look big in the photos because I tried to get a close-up of them and the proportions with the bike were goofy. They aren't nearly as big as the guards for motorcycles.

In fact, I DID use the black pair to make another pair for myself. I wanted them in green color and just a little bigger for my big hands. Probably if you made a pattern and got into the swing of it, you could make them at a fairly low cost.

They are a good idea and work well. In cold weather areas, anything that keeps your hands warm is fashionable.