I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 22, 2014 at 6:27am

I wear two pairs of soft mittens. The inside miten is wool lined with a thin fleece and the outside mitten is Polartec. The combination breaks the wind. On days like today I stick a hand warmer between the two mittens and my hands stay warm.

I thought mittens would be really awkward, but they are not. Probably it is because they are soft and do not get stiff. I can get the brakes with no problem, and it is also not a problem with my bar end shifters.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 22, 2014 at 6:28am

I think I have solved the cold hands problem. As I mentioned a couple replies ago, my toes got frosty this morning. My hands were fine though. I wore a pair of rag wool gloves with a Manzella windbreaker glove outside them, and stuck the whole shooting match into my Bar Mitts.

One thing I've noticed is that it pays to have rather loose fitting gloves. I've tried adding a thin liner glove inside the rag wool gloves, but that doesn't seem to help. In fact, my fingers get colder more easily. I think it compresses my fingers just enough so that blood doesn't circulate as well.

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on January 22, 2014 at 6:30am

I agree with Liz. I have gloves that are good into the upper teens, so when it gets colder I put gore-tex-ish, oversized, non-insulated, liner mittens on OVER the gloves. Works wonderfully.

Liz W. Durham said:

What about switching to a heavy duty mitten? As long as you don't need to shift often they should be much warmer than keeping your fingers all separated in gloves.

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Permalink Reply by Eli on January 22, 2014 at 6:33am

Do any of you use bar mitts?

I bought a pair of Moose Mitts and I've been a little disappointed. They work fine at first when've just taken your bike out of a warm building, but if you go into a store or restaurant and leave your bike locked outside, the handlebars get very cold very fast when it's in the single digits out (which is the only time I find myself using the mitts). When that happens, the idea that you can then wear thin gloves under the mitts goes out the window--the cold handlebars will suck all the warmth right through any thinner gloves. So you've got to wear big bulky insulated gloves (or mittens) anyway, and then there's really no point to having the mitts. I think I'm going to just get some solid windproof mittens and see how they work instead.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on January 22, 2014 at 6:34am

+1 for mittens. I use a cheap oversized pair from costco and I've only needed to use the liners on a couple of occasions.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on January 22, 2014 at 6:35am

Or the more practical solution is to remove the bar mitts when you go into the store so they don't fill up with cold air that needs to be re-warmed.

Eli said:

Do any of you use bar mitts?

I bought a pair of Moose Mitts and I've been a little disappointed. They work fine at first when've just taken your bike out of a warm building, but if you go into a store or restaurant and leave your bike locked outside, the handlebars get very cold very fast when it's in the single digits out (which is the only time I find myself using the mitts). When that happens, the idea that you can then wear thin gloves under the mitts goes out the window--the cold handlebars will suck all the warmth right through any thinner gloves. So you've got to wear big bulky insulated gloves (or mittens) anyway, and then there's really no point to having the mitts. I think I'm going to just get some solid windproof mittens and see how they work instead.

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Permalink Reply by Eli on January 22, 2014 at 6:37am

It's not the air that's the problem. It's the temperature of the handlebars themselves (and the grips). I know this because it is the parts of my hands that are touching the bar that get cold.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on January 22, 2014 at 6:40am

Well first you make sure you have the proper sized allen wrench...

Sorry. Can't help you with that.

Eli said:

It's not the air that's the problem. It's the temperature of the handlebars themselves. I know this because it is the parts of my hands that are touching the bar that get cold.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 22, 2014 at 6:42am

Eli said:

Do any of you use bar mitts?

I do. Love 'em. I have a flat bar pair and a drop bar pair. I think they list for around $60, but if you're patient you can find a set on Ebay for substantially less. I got my drop bar pair for $10, new with tags.

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Permalink Reply by JeffB on January 22, 2014 at 6:44am

That's actually not very practical, at least on my bike with up-turned bar ends. Taking the mitts on and off is rather inconvenient. Plus, like Eli said, the grips and brakes get cold and then so will your hands.

At least for a while. I got my Moose Mitts for Christmas and I've only used gloves a couple times, and actually found that they are counter-productive to the mitts. Its the heat from your hands that warms the air pocket, and gloves interfere with that. I tend to rest my hands on the grips in a loose fist, so all parts of the hand can share warmth. Eventually the grips will warm up. The brakes are going to stay cold for the most part.

Kevin C said:

Or the more practical solution is to remove the bar mitts when you go into the store so they don't fill up with cold air that needs to be re-warmed.

Eli said:

Do any of you use bar mitts?

I bought a pair of Moose Mitts and I've been a little disappointed. They work fine at first when've just taken your bike out of a warm building, but if you go into a store or restaurant and leave your bike locked outside, the handlebars get very cold very fast when it's in the single digits out (which is the only time I find myself using the mitts). When that happens, the idea that you can then wear thin gloves under the mitts goes out the window--the cold handlebars will suck all the warmth right through any thinner gloves. So you've got to wear big bulky insulated gloves (or mittens) anyway, and then there's really no point to having the mitts. I think I'm going to just get some solid windproof mittens and see how they work instead.