etw

I generally have cold hands most times of year, other than the summer. Winter can be downright painful. I am looking around at gloves so I can ride my road bike in winter. Do people find any good cycling specific gloves for freezing temperatures or do folks generally prefer ski, snowmobile or other general winter use gloves?

I do have some lobster mitts, but I would prefer to have regular gloves for the increased dexterity. I did briefly try bar mitts last year, but my hands were still cold and I really did care for them as they really limited my hand position. Heated gloves may also be a consideration.

Billy1111

i just saw a guy post this in another thread.... google them...seem pretty hardcore ---Swiss Army surplus cold-weather trigger-finger mittens

Daniel4

I'm wearing wool trigger mits. My sister knitted me the pair for christmas so its value is too good for me to wear them all out. Bought another pair at an army surplus store for only $6. The fit isn't as good since the seams bother me at the web between the thumb and the index finger when I grip the handle bar.

So I put on my sister's trigger mit inside the army surplus trigger mit.

ThermionicScott 

What you wear over your arms (and legs) is important, too, as that is where a lot of heat can be lost on its way to your extremities. When in doubt, wear an extra layer and vent as needed.

Buglady

MITTENS. Never gloves.

Specifically, cross-country ski mittens, which are made of softshell material so they are windproof but breathable; and a pair of merino wool liner gloves (very thin) inside. The mitts are flexible enough that I can operate trigger shifters quite easily.

Carbonfiberboy 

These are the warmest cycling specific gloves I have found and used:
Men's XENON GORE-TEX® Gloves | GORE BIKE WEAR®
They are almost always too warm: I almost never wear them. I wear these about 95% of the time:
Performance Windstopper Gloves

Much more winter glove discussion in these threads:
https://www.bikeforums.net/winter-cyc...ve-thread.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/winter-cyc...ve-thread.html

BigC_82

For my ride today I used my long finger mechanic gloves as temp was in mid 30's. Next week I should have my gorewear long finger cycling gloves.

ggpepper

FootJoy all-weather golf gloves. But I live is Texas, so.....

pyze-guy

I have some primaloft skiing gloves that i only wear below -10c. Too warm otherwise. I also use hunting gloves from basspro, they have a waterproof liner i them. Superwarm but they dont breath so often they are still sweaty from the ride into work. I take both on cold days. For close to 0C days i have several gloves, my favorite are from sugoi, and some smartwool xcountry ski gloves. Wool lined and leather fingers/palms.
I dont like mittens, but do have wind/waterproof shell overmitts that do a great job retaining heat, but offer no warmth on their own. I find if my wrists are covered and warm, my hands are warmer, same for ankles and feet.
I also find the tape/grip on the bars matters. On the brifters and fingers on the levers, colder hands than on the tops. My lockon ergo, i can feel the cold from the metal "lockon". I wrap the ergon and he barends with bartape to add a layer of insulation. The oury grips on my 29er are great. No cold seeps through.

Bob Ross

Anyone ever tried the SealSkinz winter cycling gloves? I only just learned of them earlier today; based on a couple people's reviews they at least trounce the Glacier Glove.

Noonievut

I finally solved this (for myself). In Canada we have a store called Marks Work Warehouse. I bought a liner glove and the thickest mitt they sell. The other day I was riding when it was -10c with the wind chill and my hands were actually sweating. I'm sure they will be fine down to -15 to -20 (coldest I would ride). I also use the combination when hiking and taking photos with my dslr - it's easy to slip off the mitt and use the liner glove to work the camera...and the liner is meant to work with mobile phones/gadgets.

79pmooney

Mittens! I use deerskin "chopper mitts" with synthetic liner mitts (and sometimes liner gloves though mittens are considerably warmer). They have a wonderful, almost sticky grip on the bars so though you lose some summer hand grips, you gain some more. WHen the day warms, dtuff the liner mitts in your pocket and use just the choppers. Liners stay far cleaner (and are easy to wash and quick to dry).

My next move will be to add a strap to close off the cuff which will make them much warmer and more important here in Oregon , allow my jacket sleeve to slide over them and keep the inner mitts dry in the rain. (The drawback to long arms. Sleeves always ride up. Also require custom stems. My average stem length is 148mm over 6 bikes.)

Ben

Hypno Toad

I second this, if your core is warm enough, your body will send warm blood to the fingers and toes. However, if your core is cold, your body will conserve heat for the vital organs. Better still, if your core gets hot, your body will send the blood to the extremity to cool, which will in turn keep fingers warm. I like to ride warm enough to get a sweat going and open the vent to manage the moisture.

That said, here are my gloves for the cold rides in MN winters:

I use Pearl Izumi gloves for the 20F to 0F range - Men's ELITE Softshell Glove - Pearl Izumi

For temps below 0F (tested to -20F) - REI Switchback Gloves

It should be said (or repeated), everybody's temp range and cold comfort is different. My warm gloves at 0F might not be warm enough for another rider at 30F. Example, riding home last night (around 20F), I met another rider. The other rider was fully covered with snowboard helmet, balaclava, goggles, etc; me: summer bike helmet with wool skull cap, my face was bare, glasses put away because they fogged over, jacket half unzipped. Bottom line, find what works for you - everybody's different.

jrickards

It would help to know either where you're from or a description of the temperatures you ride at. Today, it was -26C/-15F with the windchill, only thick mitts work for me at these temperatures (last year, I rode in when windchill was -39C/-38F). However, if your "cold weather" is -1C/30F, that's a whole other ball game (ball hockey, if the ice has frozen).

As you can probably guess, cycling-specific winter gloves would be too light for me, cycling-winter seems to be around freezing temperatures according to what appears in the ads and photos of winter cycling gear in use.

Number400

I bought a pair of Castelli Estremo gloves and they have changed my winter riding experience. It's weird, they feel like normal gloves and don't feel that warm for the first 30 minutes. After 30 minutes my hands get nice and warm and it feels like they have heaters in them. Great gloves!

erig007

Absolute warmth may be dependent on the person, relative warmth isn't as much. When the same person compare those gloves with other gloves it means something. Here is a comment at REI:

REI Switchback Gloves
The fact that smartwool liners were warmer than the liners that came with the switchback gloves means something.

Hypno Toad

Thank you for pointing that out. I didn't think to state it in my post, I do not use the liners that came with the gloves - they are cheap. I use a variety of liners - I have a great number of options from a life-time in MN and being active outdoors all winter. So I mix-and-match a lot of gear.

Hypno Toad

Here are some cycling specific gear for (real) winter biking - 45NRTH I know some people that work over there, they are hard core winter riders: these are the people that love to go winter bike camping, ride century in sub-zero (F) ... these are the guys the called me 'a fair weather bike commuter' when I used the car for temps -25F (-40F windchill).

Some very good glove options too, I haven't tried them, but the people I know using this gear are happy it.

jrickards

OK, I stand/sit corrected. I guess what I was thinking of were the Castelli and such products.

Hypno Toad

No worries, you're right, the standard bike brands don't sell products for winter biking. 45NRTH is a newer brand from Quality Bike Product (QBP) - they saw the lack of real winter bike equipment. Plus they are the same people that bring you Pugsley and Mukluk, so they'd love to make it easier for people to get out and ride in the winter.

bbbean 

Best I've used are the Planet Bike Borealis - wind shell, liner, partial mitten, 3 gloves in one, so they're easy to adapt to conditions. Liner gloves give you a LOT of flexibility.

BB
Borealis

Noonievut

Anyone replying saying they're using cycling-specific brands of gloves, etc., are either not riding where it's truly "cold", or are freaks of nature. PI, Castelli, etc.,...not a chance in -26C

fietsbob

Ranked As Warmer .. 1) Mittens .. 2) Dr.Zoidberg-Lobster gloves , 2 fingers together , 3) 4 finger gloves.

bbbean 

My suspicion is that if you're cycling in -26C, you already know enough about cold weather to have appropriate gear.

BB

BigC_82

I just tried my new GORE BIKE WEAR ALP-X SO LIGHT GLOVES in XL on my hour ride in temps in mid 40F's. I couldn't be happier with the purchase and hope try them out on longer ride. The gloves had descend padding where it needs to be.