I have a commute that is mostly downhill to start, which means on the shorter days, the temps are in the 30s and 40s and simply too much of a wind chill for my hands to survive without some gloves with good wind breaking properties. Therefore, I am looking for a glove with below average breathability but strictly as a shield for the first hour that I might not use again for the rest of the day. Would a neoprene construction be suitable or is there a more optimal material? Anyone else like a pair of certain gloves that may be well-suited to this scenario?

I use neoprene gloves for this very reason. I have 2 pairs; 1 for no liner, 1 larger pair for using with a liner. Days with stronger, colder wind, or wet, the liners make a big difference.

I'm a firm believer in multiple, thin layers that can be removed and stored easily in a jersey pocket.

I wear these Pearl Izumi Zephrr shell gloves to protect from wind and some rain, with some DeFeet liner gloves underneath.



When it warms up, I just remove the shell gloves and stow them in my jersey pocket.

Unfortunately, Pearl Izumi have discontinued these shell gloves.

Something close are U.L. Shell Gloves, made of coated ripstop nylon (very thin at 12-denier):

I like this company's lineups for wet/cold/wind accessories

GRIPGRAB GLOVE

An easy approach - wear "chopper mitts" over your regular gloves. When it warms, pull 'em off and stuff in your handlebar bag or pocket. Chopper mitts - large deerskin mittens warn to chop wood. Used with wool inner mittens when cold and alone for both warmth and grip/blister protection in warmer weather. Not traditional riding wear but they work really well. (Get the largest size you can get. I have long fingers, skinny hands and wear the XXLs.)

I don't ride brifters so I cannot say how well the work with the shifting. For DT shifters, they work just fine.

Chopper mitts - my preferred winter wear for the past 50 years. (Treat them once a year with Snowseal, more often if they get wet a lot.) Google chopper mitts and get the deerskin ones. You will see a bunch of choices. Skip the lined ones. Good pairs have moccasin style stitching. Best have a loose web between the thumb and forefinger but I am not sure that makes a difference. Prices are al over the place from around $30 to $70+.

Thre are plenty of cloth over-mitts but I stay clear of them because they are slippery on the handlebars. Properly treated choppers are wonderful for their grip. (First ride after treatment, sticky, but after that, close to perfect.)

I've heard using disposable vinyl gloves works well. I personally just use plain white tube socks (costco has a good brand) as mittens. Mittens are warmer than gloves but you still need to grip so figure out what works for you

I bu these cheapies at end of season clearance

​​​​​​https://www.menards.com/main/grocery...814-c-7085.htm

I have a pair of Gore windstopper gloves. Santa brought them for Christmas so I have no idea about cost. I will say though the gloves work very well and my hands are warm and toasty whenever I wear them.

I've used these Northface windstopper gloves for years when I commuted and bought the Black diamond on sale to replace them but hadn't needed to.

Many of my rides start with about 4 miles of descent and I sought out some wind blocking gloves for just this purpose. I bought some Gorewear "M Gore Windstopper Thermo Gloves" this year and they very quickly became my best winter riding gloves by far. My hands tend to sweat a lot but these work well at both stopping the wind and getting rid of most of the moisture. They'll be pretty damp inside sometimes, but they don't get cold because of it. It's like there's some sort of inner layer that keeps that moisture off my skin so the gloves don't feel wet inside.


Now, no glove keeps my hands warm if my body gets cold. I assume blood-flow is reduced to my appendages if my core is getting cold. Thus cold hands. But as long as I'm working hard, these gloves have worked well for me for rides as low as the mid 30's F. They may work well on colder rides, I just haven't done any.
I bought them on "sale" for ~$50 regular price is $90 (ouch). But, I plan to buy another pair next time I see them on sale.

Might as well ask an already common question for what new people / techniques it catches -- thanks for the methods.

I tried neoprene gloves one winter and they made my hands sweat, which made them colder. I found some thinsulate winter gloves with fleece lining and a slightly breathable shell. These work well for me down to 5F. But if it is windy will add large light mittens over them as a wind-break.

The mittens made shifting my MTB rapid shifters a little difficult, but I converted the MTB to drops with bar-ends and shifting is no longer an issue in mittens.

Man***** makes a good windstopper glove. I'm on my second pair. For me just stopping the wind would not be enough with temps in the 30s, but everyone is different.

I discovered long ago that that in the cold my hands still perspire and when that moisture gets trapped inside a glove lining my hands get even colder, regardless of how much insulation there may be. So I started wearing "disposable" nitrile gloves, 5,6, or 7 mil versions. They are reusable, simply take them off, inside out, rinse, pat dry and hang on clothes hanger with a clothes pin. I wear them 'till they tear, which can take weeks. They're thin enough to wear under any other glove. Leather is by far preferred. I wear basic Kinco or Wells Lamont gloves that sell for $10-15. Kinco has better quality control. If my hands get too warm(wet inside the nitrile glove, I take the nitrile off and wear just the leather. I can wear the leather gloves with the nitrile from 30F and the leather alone in the 60's. They're windproof but breathe beautifully, and they have a natural ability to insulate and yet not roast your hands as it gets warmer. The nitrile gloves that are textured also make great rain gloves on their own, far better than any coated or laminated overpriced ones.

You can call this a vapor barrier, but I dislike that term because there's endless preconceived notions about them. Even reading this, someone will dismiss and critique it, and that's fine, then this isn't relevant for that someone who either hasn't done it, had the need to, or tried it just to diss it. If what you're wearing isn't working out try some nitrile gloves under anything you wear. Yes you'll notice your hands will get damp, even wet, but sweat won't be pouring out of them as there comes a point of saturation that the hands cease sweating. That moisture is a good thing, it's staying on your hands and not trapped into your insulation. So while the idea of wicking perspiration sounds off the skin and into the fabric is fine and works great in certain situations, it's not for every situation. A box of 100 can be had for $10-20 depending on where you shop. Plus if you get the more durable ones like 6 or 7 mil, you can wear them for working on your bike.

Neoprene sorta works, but they're hard to flip inside out to rinse and well, they're overpriced and limited by the features of the glove. With nitrile liners you can wear any glove, even summer cycling gloves if it's mildly cold in the AM and warms up later.

And that the story and I'm stickin' to it

I also learned a similar lesson when I use my rubber rain shells on the outside of my cycling gloves (the opposite layering scheme, rubber on the outside not inside).. they get perspire-y inside even in cold weather when it is not raining. I still like to use them for an extra windproof layer on my gloves but you don't want to take them off halfway through a ride unless it really warmed up - all that sweat will evaporate and freeze your hands. When I use them on my morning commute I put my gloves on the radiator at work to get them dried out by the ride back home.

The shells I use are Assos RSR Thermo Rain Shells, or just get some XXL dish gloves and save $$$.

The only advice I give for "what gloves to wear in cold weather?" is go try some out at your LBS or wherever you buy clothes. There's too much variation between riders to make a valid recommendation to someone else. What I consider appropriate for 35F riding is too cold for someone in SoCal to wear below 50, and too hot for someone in Minnesnowta.

Following this thread for my poor fingers...

trying hard to ignore this thread due to my glove addiction terrymorse's gloves are so tempting ...

I haven't used the gloves yet by the way, but I drove yesterday in cold weather and when I got home I immediately ordered some.

Which ones did you order?

Black Diamond-I've even used them on milder days snowmobiling. On a slightly different area of the bod, I recently came across a pair of Oceanic neoprene diving bootys. They were a perfect fit and cheap. No longer do I have cold or wet feet no matter the weather. Of course, they only work with flat pedals, but that's my preference anyway.