There is a heated bar tape set up available now, I have seen ads for them in the various magazines this fall. The mfgr also makes a set up for motorcycles that is pretty well thought of and is reliable. The name is Ame, here is a link:http://www.amegrips.com/ the bicycle tape is down the list on the left. This coupled with a thin, wind proof glove should be pretty warm.

Bill

Tex,
Like you, I'm in the DC area. I have a collection of gloves that I mix and match for layering, but do try to keep a volume of air, too, as Luis mentioned.

(1) Very thin silk-like runner's gloves (great as a liner, or beneath fingerless bike gloves when the evening chill begins)
(2) Performance Forte neoprene full finger gloves (not too tight, and they're warm to about 45 degrees or so, at least for the first hour)
(3) cotton/flannel outdoor gloves with a flippable/foldable nylon wind mitton shell that covers the fingers only (good as an outer layer with (1) or (2) or regular bike gloves beneath)
(4) windproof and thinsulate lined ski/snowboarding mittens (a great outer layer when temps plunge beneath 30 degrees). Forget dexterity, though, as it's about survival. With any combination beneath these, its warm.

I rode with (2) and (3) last night and it was toasty!

Hope this helps.
Phil

Excellent pointers folks. Much appreciated.

Oh, good lord! :D

I said the same thing Donn when I read the evaluation on the dirt bike grips, the street bike type had been on the market for many years, I installed some while working at a shop during high school. The northern riders I know that have used them love them. Not anywhere cold enough here for me to need these.

Bill

Bill, I guess in sunny FL you would need cold handlebar grips :). Cheers.

When it's not cold enough for my ski gloves, I just wear the liners.

I used to live in NW DC. PI makes a nice line of gloves but I suggest going to a higher end pro bike shop and check out what they have to get ideas and / or purchase. IMO, the key to keeping your hands warm on the bike is not allowing the wind or wet to get to the skin. Even when it is cold, my hands sweat when I climb but get cold on the descent. DC is more flat to rolling terrain.

This reminds me of heated seats in cars. I thought they were kind of silly, until I bought my Jetta TDI, and the heated seats were standard. Because diesels take longer to warm up, the heated seats do come in handy!

I guess they need to make heated saddles for bikes. Except that I never notice my saddle being cold, no matter how cold it is! Well, maybe when it's raining and the saddle gets wet. But I like the idea of heated handlebar tape. Maybe we can even get heated tires that will melt thru the ice when temps are below freezing. I wonder if those would actually work, or would make things worse by merely making the ice wet enough to become even more slippery!

Luis

Last week I picked up a pair off lightly insulated runners gloves made by Body Armour. Got them at Dick's. They work great for both running and cycling during the shoulder seasons. When it gets to cold for these gloves, the bike is going into the cellar and onto a trainer until March!

+1

Years ago riding a motocycle on the road I learned the biggest thing was simply keeping the wind out -- so I did the same and wore the Playtex dishwashing gloves under a pair of wool stretchy gloves (partly so nobody could see me wearing pink gloves!).

Now, I have been wearing a pair of Bontrager "Sport Windshell" gloves. They do not have any lining but they are "windproof". The lowest temp I have ridden with them has been in the low 30's and they were quite comfortable...

As I mentioned earlier, I wear my glove liners until late autumn. I'm currently wearing downhill ski gloves without liners. They are fine for the first 4 miles of riding on a morning in the 30s. That's the point at which I will want to start venting some heat. At that stage, my hands are warm enough that I take off the gloves and put them in my coat pocket. That gives me the dexterity to easily unzip my coat, undo my helmet, lower my hood, and refasten my helmet -- all the required steps to adapt to my warming up. My lights are on a photocell, so there is normally no need to switch them on and off. However, even during cold weather when I am wearing the liners and the gloves, I can still reset the light control easily. Maybe you need different lights?

Later in the winter, I will have the gloves on all the way to work, and the liners usually will go in when it gets into the teens and lower. At these temperatures, it's hard to imagine "thin" gloves having any benefit. Most other winter cyclists I know wear lobster mitts or mittens. However, I stick with my Grandoe ski gloves, because I've been comfortable skiing with them in temperatures of -30 F and they still afford much greater dexterity than do mittens.

That dexterity is a good thing. When I need to unzip to vent some heat, I can still pull my coat zipper down with the gloves on, although it is a bit awkward.