As the cold winds of Nov. swirl around us, I wonder which type of glove is best for bicycle commuting. Reg. glove or mittens? Both have there good and bad points. What does members of this list prefer?

I find the best gloves for me are work gloves I find all the time on the road. I like FirmGrip the best, but at the moment I'm wearing a different brand (mismatched, I think actually two different brands), which I don't remember because I don't have left+right FirmGrips without holes in the fingertips or palms. But when they don't have holes, I find FirmGrip has nice multipanel construction, fits really well, with soft leather, and secure wrist straps. And they're fairly cheap at hardware stores, so at any point I could go and get myself a new pair! <insert penny-pincher emoji>

Although I'm in San Diego, overnight temps can get slightly below freezing. On the coldest days, I wear the ski gloves my wife bought for me, which I would never use otherwise.

+1 RubeRad!

Here are the FirmGrips I prefer:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Firm-Grip-Large-Safety-Pro-Glove-2005L/100246691

I have a cheap pair of cycling gloves that are good until 40 degrees or so, and then I put $1 pair of magic gloves under them. My hands are very warm that way.

Yup, I have one of those (note, not one pair, just one). It is the first FirmGrip I found, and if I ever buy a pair, it will probably be those.

BTW I got two pair of Pearl Izumi regular cycling gloves (not relevant for a cold weather discussion) in the mail today, ordered from eBay, $3.54/pair, free shipping from Hong Kong. I figured at that price they must be knockoffs, but now that I see them, they sure are good knockoffs. The branding looks perfect, and they came with a printed cardboard card that looked like they could hang in any US retail store.

My thumbs are long out of proportion to my other fingers so I prefer stretchy gloves. Usually the little finger glove length is longer than the finger itself, but I'm only concerned about whether the thumb binds or moves freely.

Flexible, stretchy gloves usually have compromised wind resistance so I get 'em a little oversized and use glove liners on really cold days.

So far I haven't needed the heavy winter gloves left over from my motorcycle days. Those have a knit wool/poly shell, GoreTex inner liner and good insulated padding. They're flexible enough to operate brake levers and shifters.

Last winter I got by with thin Bontrager Thermal RXL gloves, and occasionally added some thin poly glove liners for cold or wet rides. Good enough down into the 30s on dry days, or upper 40s on wet days.

I use Man***** glove shells, (i.e. just a windproof thin outer glove).
And I use military surplus wool glove liners in them. Don't use merino wool liners; They are too soft, and bunch up when you try to put them in the shell, (as well as being more expensive). Mil-surplus liners are stiff enough that you can leave them in the shell and put it on like a regular glove.

Anything under 40F (sometimes 50F) gets ski gloves. Anything under 30F gets Pearl Izumi lobster gloves. Anything under 20F gets mitten shells (by OR) on top of those.

Motorcycle gloves.

Different gloves for every temperature range, in about 5°-10° ranges. 51° is my high limit where I want full finger gloves - thin riding gloves or glove liners. 4° is my low limit, since it's never been colder here, and I double up with the most insulating things I have. Some old motorcycle gauntlets, with another glove inside and a liner inside of that.

I have some cannondale gloves that have a mitten part that can go over the fingers if it gets cold enough. That sort of weather is rare for me. Gloves were 1/2 off bc CDale is no longer producing their own clothes - their parent company bought out Sugoi and my LBS that sells CDale put all of their clothes at 1/2 off.

You should breed into this family (see esp. at 2:12)

Same here. 40-50° F, just a thin glove. 30-40°, insulated gloves. 20-30°, an old pair of Nashbar lobster mitts for me. Below, 20°, Pearl Izumi lobsters.


Gloves and helmets are two things I absolutely have to try on, meaning I have to find a shop that carries winter gloves for anything colder than about 40°. (It's lonely on a bike in the winter where I live!) I got lucky with the lobsters, but I blew over $100 winter before last trying to find replacement gloves that fit. I don't think the orientals who make all our clothes understand that someone who buys XL gloves may have long fingers as well as fat palms. Really, really long fingers (though I'm still nowhere near pro basketball players!).

I got a pair of handlebar 'pogies' a few years ago and haven't looked back.. every cyclist around me is wearing gloves except me..i don't have to put them on until it gets below freezing, even then since the pogies are rubberized sometimes i'm pulling my gloves of..when it's down to -10C then it's glove time, but i don't have to wear thick/heavy gloves..i can even toss a chemical heater into them for added warmth. With my rain cape and pogies, sometimes I feel i'm in some kind of weird self propelled car lol..

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5019-3...tfhBoCWGvw_wcB

Above 40 degrees I use Castelli Lightness Gloves.

guess it depends on the temperature & wind, right? I was always a fan of glove liner in a roomy winter glove. cpl days ago it dawned on me to try my spring/fall fingered cycle glove inside my roomy winter glove. not really sure of the comparative features & benefits of the two types

I'm using in the cold snowy and icy reykjavík Louis Garneau Super Sheild gloves. I took them size one too big if I ever need a glove liner.

I could totally beat the woman at :50 in thumb wrestling. Ol' pudgie thumb wouldn't stand a chance.

When it's cold, I use ski gloves that are very thin. They are thin enough that I can pick up a quarter from the ground. Since they are mittens, they're warmer than gloves.

I'm constantly experimenting with gloves and mittens. Currently the morning ride is around 0*C so it'd have to be mittens. But the after ride is 12-15*C. Mittens are too much for that, so it's a thinner pair of gloves. I don't like to have to bring extra anything to and back, but there's little choice. If I don't my hands would be either too cold in the morning or too sweating in the afternoon.

Temps can get down to -20F in Madison at the extreme, with frequent mornings of -10F. And my fingers tend to get cold in gloves, so I wear thick ski mittens. My bike is set up so I can work the gears and brakes in mittens, with a big globby Shimano thumb shifter.

When it's warmer, I switch to something else, and I keep a pair of brown cotton work gloves in my sag bag for repairs, and in case it turns cold or windy during the spring and fall.

In my view, it's important to keep the insides of mittens dry, so I turn them inside out when I get to work, and back at home. In that sense, fabric gloves inside some sort of waterproof mitt might be preferable.

I use these most of the time, and then some generic bargain skigloves when I need something warmer.

The lowest temp I commuted in was 7*F (no wind). It can be done and I am always trying new things with my cold-weather gear, especially gloves. In my bin at the moment:

Normal fingerless cycling gloves
Cheapie "mechanics" style gloves
Pearl Izumi full fingers (over-rated!)
Fleece camo gloves (on sale at Dunhams last year)
Old School leather gloves
Ski gloves

These past few mornings I've worn the leathers to work (about 30*F) and worn the Pearls home. The leather gloves will get used the most, they are pretty versatile. The ski gloves are handy when things dip below 20*F. But they can make shifting a bit clumsy.

haha, thx for the correction! I took the trouble to find where in the vid it showed that part of the scene, and then eyeballed the total length instead!

I use ski gloves in Sacramento in Dec-Feb, secure in my warmth and uncaring that the Minneapolis people are laughing at me.