No problems like that for me, but they are mostly used for commuting and I try like heck not to take them off until I get to or from work. I think if you are careful taking them off and do a finger at a time you would be OK.

I would be looking for battery operated warmers with chemical back-ups.

here is some nano water repellent that could make thing way better

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=IfUaKXasdD4#!

by the way i have tested some heavyweight ragg wool gloves from fox river. It's definitively warm and has a great warmth to price ratio but the warmth comes from the fact that it is bulky.
With several layers of thin wool gloves and 100g thinsulate liners i have got warmer gloves with about 1/3 less bulk but this solution is way more expensive

i have tested other solutions as well
1) nitrile gloves + (100g + 100g) thinsulate + thin wool gloves + leather cowhide
[left hand]
vs
2) nitrile gloves + (100g + 40g) thinsulate + thin wool gloves + 2 layers of leather cowhide (1 leather layer 1 insulation layer 1 leather layer 1 insulation layer)
[right hand]

2) slightly bulkier and a little tighter on my hand than 1)

2) is warmer than 1) preventing the cold wind from going through (cold fingertips after just a few minutes for 1); didn't feel cold at all with 2) )
1) is warmer than 2) to get my hands warm again after my hands were out in the cold for a few minutes
1) has better dexterity than 2)
1) is lighter than 2)

Crazy, dude. But can that stuff get in your body? Thankfully, I haven't had a chance to do any further testing! We are having a dry-ish spell, which is not a bad thing.

You need to keep the water from evaporating against your skin and from convecting away heat and the key is to COMBINE a completely impermeable outer layer (properly weaved nylon, neoprene, etc) to block the freezing rain WITH a separate insulating inner layer made of hydrophobic material (polyester, wool, etc) to cope with the inevitable condensation and minor failures of the outer layer. That will stem the loss of heat and then to increase the source heat you should also use mittens instead of gloves for improved blood circulation (because, when cycling, there's always plenty of body heat in your core...it's just that the circulation isn't good enough to distribute it to the extremities as fast as the extreme cold and evaporation is sapping it out).

I use and highly recommend these (made in the UK where rain was invented):
http://www.outdoordesigns.co.uk/prod...itmittpro.html
http://www.outdoordesigns.co.uk/imag...t_mitt_pro.gif
*Note the taped seams which are essential to keeping the water from leaking in after long periods of saturation (that or seamless, but I haven't seen seamless mittens for sale) and also the cinch cords to close the cuff and help prevent water from running into the mitten from your arm (which will be minimal so long as you aren't wearing an impermeable outer layer on your arms/torso and you shouldn't be because your torso has plenty of body heat to compensate for the losses...only the extremities face the dilemma).

**********

where was**********????

I have never been able to tolerate the cold - That's why I live in central Texas - But I have to admire your research and all the posts on ideas and lessons of how to cope with this problem...

Thank You...

Fairbanks, AK. Not cycling, walking. It's possible to condition the body to tolerate much colder temperatures than most people think possible. One of my friends used to swim under the breakup ice on the Kobuk River, just south of the Brooks Range. Just for fun.

i have experienced -45
i have ridden in -35
i cannot imagine riding in -51 but i guess i wouldnt mind walking

Trying to remember my exact gear 55 years ago:
Feet - felt high-top shoes, liner socks + 2 pair wool.
Legs - long johns, jeans, quilted dacron underwear on top.
Torso - long johns, wool shirt, Montgomery Wards nylon insulated parka with ruffed hood.
Head - wool watch cap manipulated in front to form a shelf over my eyes, wool scarf just to bottom of eyes. Lower lip extended to blow exhaled air up over my nose and eyes.
Hands - insulated mitts with heavy wool liners. Hands formed into fists except when fingers were needed.

My daily paper route (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner) was 2-1/4 hours long. I got a lot of practice. I once changed a flat at 65 below F (some said 71 below) in dress shoes, car coat, thin leather gloves, and ear muffs. The tubeless tire had frozen stiff, flat on the bottom, and moving the car broke the bead. The tire was perfect after thawing. That same day a truck lost some tires off its load. They broke. Now, that's cold. I don't think a bicycle would function very well.

I resolved My wet hands issue with a Cycling Specific Rain Cape , that is Long enough to Drape over my hands .

Given drop bar pref: maybe you can find some thick rubber gloves down by the Docks
where they sell gear to the commercial fishermen.

I had a Shell Glove, REI stuff, and a fleece liner glove.. hands still got wet, after saturating liner.
but I could take the liner out to Dry them..

Water proof-breathable snow gear , is Not so waterproof when not cold enough .

then you choose, waterproof or breathable..

Just ordered some Arctic Grips: http://www.refrigiwear.com/Gloves/id...98%85%E2%98%85. Had some standard cold weather gloves but they are horrible in anything below 40F. Says these are waterproof and can hold up in -25F. Comes in hi-vis colors as well so when you throw the bird out, they can at least see it. God I hate that. Don't you?

I found these "Guide Blaze" hunting gloves recently at Gander Mountain. I really like all the features they have.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=300816

when it comes to adventures in nature and hats and gloves I do not rely on one of anything. meaning I bring extra socks, hats and gloves.

Outcome so far:
I bought Stoker a pair of Gore Bike Wear XENON GORE-TEX Gloves.

She loves them. The warmest, most waterproof gloves or mitts she's used, and comfortable on the bike. We haven't had the "opportunity" to test them on a ride like what started this thread and we hope not to. For sure they're a lot better than what we had. Winter's almost over, but I just found a remaindered pair in my size for next winter. Recommended. Certainly not the ultimate warm glove, but for rain and above freezing temperatures they're very promising.

On the OP ride, we each had two pair of gloves, but the second pair soaked through in just a few miles and we were no better off.

ooh jealous, those look good!

Those look interesting! I was looking at some ice-fishing gloves as an option myself. My biggest issue is sweating. The gloves get wet from the inside out - how do these deal with that?

I found a pair of gloves made for scuba diving, made out of wetsuit material. I bet they would work great for winter biking.

Probably not because these gloves would restrict blood flow at the fingertips making your hands cold at the fingertips. Hands are the part of the body where it is probably the most difficult to get something that fit. Scuba diving gloves are usually very stretchy which tend to make them restrict blood flow very easily. Neoprene is not a very good insulator so that more thickness would be necessary to get something warm which is not so much possible at the hands level especially between the fingers but possible for your feet for instance. And scuba diving gloves use some kind of neoprene made to resist high pressure which decrease the insulation level compared to other neoprene gloves. The only way it would be warm would be that it is loose on your hands but then chance are that these gloves would be too long at the fingertips.

Tried those as liners and thecbiggest issue is they're very difficult to get off or on once you've sweat in them.

I haven't stopped wearing leather chopper mitts or oversized leather gloves over wool for riding. A couple of days this winter I ran the Outdoor Research Ubersuper mitts, but otherwise it's been waxed leather choppers and gloves for a few decades.

I experimented with fancy insulated gloves a bit in the early 90's and have largely rejected them all in favor of wool and waxed leather.

I wanted to invest in these babies:

http://www.wigglestatic.com/images/s...lv-10-zoom.jpg

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sealskinz-ex...ng-glove-2011/

positive reviews from actual users. If it wasn't for the steal I got for some Castelli Chiro gloves for $11 I'll be getting these.

They're also out of stock even at SealSkinz.

Don't know for these but those remind me of my old louis garneau gloves.
The lining wasn't removable but because it wasn't glued or sewed at the fingertips level, the lining became stucked once i removed my hands from the gloves, a real mess. (some solutions exist though)
Furthermore, because of the waterproof membrane inside, it took several weeks for these to dry once the lining was wet.

If you really want to try scuba diving gloves go for the thinnest available (durability?) and/or be sure that those don't restrict blood flow and add some thin wool liners

Finally got a decent test of my new gloves:
http://www.goreapparel.com/gore-bike...eartype-gloves

4 hour, 66 mile ride in 40°-45°, raining most of the time. The gloves were great. My hands finally got wet around the 3 hour mark, but probably just sweat because they stayed warm even when wet. Another good thing was that when it wasn't raining, my hands didn't become uncomfortably warm. I was able to take the gloves off and on with wet hands with little trouble. They weren't terribly clumsy on the bars and shifters. Best rain gloves I've tried, by far. Don't see a need to continue looking.

Only downside is, as others have pointed out, if it's hard for water to get in, it's also hard for it to get out. I ran them through the washing machine on delicate and the dryer on low. They still weren't quite dry on the inside, but I have a bike gear drying rack over our heater and I'm sure they'll be dry in time for tomorrow morning's rain ride.