Bar Mitts....Customer Service
 

What a company. Not only are Bar Mitts the only way to go for serious winter riding, I recently had a chance to experience what a great company they are.

First let me say that nothing, I mean NOTHING works as well as Bar Mitts for winter cycling. Tried everything, hand warmers in two layers of gloves still didn't do it. I've been rocking Bar Mitts for four seasons now.

I happen to have the shimano road mitts which need a 6" zipper to install because of the shifter cable on my Ultegra shifters. Where I ride, roads are salted and the combination of slush and salt worked it's way into the zipper. At the end of last year's season, I stored them with the rest of my winter gear. This fall, when I went to check them out, I noticed that both zippers were bad. One was seized and the other just disintegrated, probably brought on be corrosion from the salt and slush.

I called Bar Mitts asking if I could buy the zippers - I'd get a seamstress to install them. After I explained the situation, they sent me a BRAND NEW PAIR. Great customer service. I notice that the new one's have a vinyl/plastic non-corrosive zipper. As it turns out - I don't need the zippers anymore because I now have SRAM shifters on my current cross.

GREAT PRODUCT - GREAT COMPANY

Canflyboy

They look great but the idea of having your hands lashed to your bike when you're going over the handlebars is terrifying to me. (****** link)

I have some doubts when someone start saying i tried everything and nothing worked or nothing works in general.

I don't know what weather you have to deals with but i went for a 1h30 ride a few days ago -6F/-21C wearing gloves and my hands were ok and i tend to have reynaud's syndrome sometimes. Everyone is different though. The easiest way to know which system works the best is to wear different systems at the same time in each hand and compare. For the insulation part i grab an icepack to know which system insulate the best or do simply a real test. I also have some mitts able to handle -40F/-40C for a few hours so it exists some solutions with mitts and gloves (gloves maybe not depending on what you have to deal with) as well that could work for you. And because it is a complex problem gloves, mitts or bar mitts are not the only things to look at to keep hands warm.
In my case I don't like bar mitts because of the fact that i have to install and remove them at every commute, it's big and take room in the bag.

Thanks for sharing the customer service experience. I am using Bar Mitts and really like them. They have made keeping my hands warm, no matter the wind or temperature (here in Central Illinois, that is) a much easier task. In fact, sometimes my hands sweat a little if I guessed too heavy on the gloves I picked that day. They are slightly inconvenient when it comes to hand freedom, but it's really minor and I have gotten used to it. Good product.

@erig007 OK, technically - I haven't tried "everything", but I've been winter riding in Ontario for years and don't like cold hands. I've got them on my cross bike and use them on weekend training rides that last around three hours. I'll use gloves at temperatures above 25F, but when the mercury drops below that - Bar Mitts worked better than anything I've tried - and I've tried a lot until I used the Bar Mitts. As others have mentioned, and I will attest to that, one can get away with using lighter gloves.

I respectfully disagree with your opinion of the the Bar Mitts product. I have had them for two years and I have been nothing but severely disappointed in them. They allow far too much air in from the rear of the mitt, making the neoprene front relatively useless.

The only way I could use Bar Mitts around 25 degrees or less was to deconstruct a winter jacket and reassemble the components to create a heavily insulated outer shell around the Bar Mitt's neoprene and then line the interior of the Bar Mitts with a synthetic fur to baffle the shocking amount of unrestricted airflow that comes in behind them. That may sound like a lot of work, and quite frankly it was, but because the Bar Mitts were so expensive I didn't feel good about throwing them out and I decided to make something out of the investment. Otherwise, I say "DON'T BUY BAR MITTS. THEY SUCK!!!"

We'll see if they send me a free pair....

Been using my DIY mitts on my MTB for past 2 winters, and have gone OTB a few times, but somehow I just pull my hands out before landing each time. Fairly easy & straightforward.
They get put on when temps hit around mid-30s. Have ridden in low single digits & still haven't needed gloves, and I have horrible circulation. Despite chemical warmers, PI Lobsters, etc..., nothing worked until I sewed these up.

That would terrify me too, but with my Moose Mitts my hands aren't lashed to anything. They pull out very easily.

I agree with the OP that nothing beats them for keeping the hands warm.