Keeping hands warm(warmer) in winter
 

I also posted this in the Winter Cycling forum.

Ok, first my "ultimate warm glove system". Outer shell is PI P.R.O. Softshell Lobster Glove(XL), under that is the Gore Xenon Thermal Glove(L), and under that is a Seirus Innovation Thermal Heat Pocket Liner Glove(M). Aside from Bar Mitts which I use regularly on my flat bar road bike, I don't think you can get much better warmth on a road bike unless you use gloves that make you sweat. Granted, you would only want to use all three layers when temperatures are 10 degrees fahrenheit or colder. The fit is tight but shifting is still pretty good considering you have a lobster claw on your hand. I had to take the Shimano Ultegra brake lever pad spacer out of my shifters to increase the distance from the front of my bars to the back of the shifters so my lobster glove would have more room to actuate the levers independentyly. I did this yesterday and a huge improvement from before. The additional layers don't affect dexterity too much. As far as vanity goes, you're going to look silly whether you go with Bar Mitts or a lobster claw glove, but who cares! It' friggin' 0 degrees out.

Tips to keep hands warmer:

Gloves with long cuffs are much better for warmth. If you have a stretchy jacket, pull the sleeves over the glove cuffs rather than tucking the sleeves inside the gloves. That way your body warmth is less likely to escape at the sleeve/glove interface.

Make sure your core is plenty warm. If it isn't, blood will concentrate more around your core meaning less circulation to your finger tips.

Make sure your feet are warm. If not, a message is sent to concentrate blood in core, therby making your feet and hands even colder.

75% of heat loss is through the head and neck area. Close the vent with a Merino Wool Balaclava: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...L._SL1500_.jpg Add a helmet cover like Gore or Sugoi to keep water out and warmth in. Or use a outer shell with detachable helmet hood cover: http://shop.pearlizumi.com/data/uplo...131008_027.jpg. The Rapha winter hat is fantastic also. IMHO worth the price.

Don't eat anything 2 hours before your ride. Blood will concentrate around digesting food. But on a long ride you'll need a power bar or 2 along the way.

Make sure your extremities are warm before you go out. If you start your ride early in the morning, maybe do some calisthenics beforehand to ensure you have good circulation. Your body temperature is usually almost 1 degree cooler in the morning when you get up. Drink some warm liquids before going out.

This may sound a little silly, but keeping your bladder empty will help. Urine is warmed to 98.6 degrees. This excess energy could then be used to help warm the extremeties. I don't have any way of knowing if this helps much or not. But it couldn't hurt. Most cyclists would do this anyway.

And last, but not least, when you close your velcro wrist strap, or whatever, don't tighten it too tight lest you impede the blood flow to your fingers.

Just remember, when the core is warm, excess warmth can be sent to the extremeties. Your vital organs are in your core. That is why the core takes priority over other parts of the body when it comes to heat supply. Use your hands as vents, not your head and neck.

These are suggestions I have picked up over the last couple of years.

Good advice, but the 75% heat loss from the head is not true. You do lose heat from the head but not 75%. It is basically an old wives' tale.

That isn't to say it shouldn't be covered though. Thanks for posting. Good tips.

Here is an article regarding heat loss from the head.
http://www.wintercampers.com/2011/02...ugh-your-head/

Pogies , the Alaska ones are like sleeping bags for you hands , they stay on the Bars.

Interesting article. So when you start a strenuous exercise, blood flow increases to the brain, accounting for 50% of the body's heat loss, but then demands from other parts of the body, muscles, skin, reduce the flow to the head. The 50 to 70% heat loss adage is attributed to the chimney effect from the clothing going up to the shoulders, neck, and head. Not internal heat loss. So I should have said that 50 to 70% heat loss occurs around the head, neck, and shoulder area.

No, re-read the article, the increased heat loss only occurs in the beginning of exercise, "When you begin to exercise you increase the blood flow to the brain and increase the percentage of heat loss through the head to about 50% of total body heat loss. But as the person continues to exercise, the muscles demand more oxygen which increases blood flow. To ensure thermoregulation and maintain normal core temperature (exercises increases body heat), the skin vasodilates which increases blood flow to the skin to cool the blood. The net result is a decrease in the total blood flow to the brain and a decrease in percentage of total body heat lost through the head to about 10%. Once sweating begins, the percent lost through the scalp returns to 7%. Research at the Army Research in Environmental Medicine labs showed that there was a temporary increase in heat loss through the scalp that returned to the baseline of 7% as the subjects continued to exercise."

Ordinary fleece fabric gloves that you would use to build a snowman.

Internally, that's exactly correct. But at the bottom of the page there is this:

• Ezra Burgess, Former Nordic Advisor to the Eastern Division National Ski Patrol.
  I have been involved in winter camping for over 35 years. The problem here is that the original statistic is not being stated properly. The original statistic made many years ago was that 50% to 70% of body heat is lost thru the head, neck and shoulder areas of the body. The solution to prevent this was and is to put on a good hat, close up your coat and/or wear a scarf. The heat-loss doesn’t come from the head only; but from the overall collection of heated air trapped in the clothing layers rising from the “chimney effect” caused by an open neck,head and shoulder area allowing all this heated air to escape thus chilling the body. Don’t forget, however, that when engaging in strenuous activities the body will produce greater amounts of heat, requiring you to open these areas for proper ventilation and then re-closing them when activity ceases.

Exactly, what escapes from a "chimney effect," would not be from the skin around the neck, shoulders and head, but from below if there are any leaks around the neck area allowing the warm air to escape from inside your coat. The "chimney effect" relates to air, not heat inside your body. The chimney effect is the rising of warmer air, not heat within your body. Heat escaping from your skin is, for the most part, a product of skin surface area. Of course if you read the statement you quoted, you will see they are talking about

Your advice on keeping the core warm is very important, that helps keep everything else warm. Keeping extremities covered and insulated well, prevent loss there.

Below 20 F my goose down leather mittens. (Too warm over 20 F) about 20 to about 40 F ski gloves with easy cinch wrist and cuff straps, one pull for tight or for loose. 40 F to about 50 F thin but waterproof gloves. Never need anything else. Also some of my century rides go from low 50's to low 20's. It's easy to carry one extra pair of gloves or mittens, just in case.

When one needs to take off your gloves or mittens off to do something in the cold, put them under as many top layers as you can. Against your chest. This means they will be warm enough when you put them on again. It can take a long time to re warm them in the cold. To increase heat to your hands, or any part of your body do as much hard pedaling you possibly can. Try a high gear that you can't spin, and try and spin it, 30 seconds if you can. Repeat as needed.

Keep your wrists covered. If not, the blood in the veins/arteries will loose heat to/from your hands,,,,,,

When you start physically exerting yourself, you start to pump up your sympathetic nervous system and tone down the parasympathetic. The PNS regulates resting physiological activities such as food digestion. When the SNS kicks in due to hopping on your bike - assuming you are not riding so slow that it literally takes no more effort than walking - then neurotransmitters will be passed through to the smooth muscle neurojunctions which will cause vasoconstriction; that blood will then be shuttled to your working muscles and lung tissues for higher oxygen exchange rates due to vasodilation. I.e., it might be uncomfortable, but the physiology of it is such that eating before a bike ride will probably not affect your body temperature or O2 saturation of working muscles and lung tissues.