brokepsychlist

Hello all,

I had a good day of cycling throughout uptown Manhattan todat and was reminded of how sensitive my hands are to the cold. I have Raynaud's Phenomenon because of my Lupus, which cuts off my blood circulation to my extremities when cold. Have any of you guys found solutions to keeping you hands warm? I would appreciate any suggestions, thank you!

CliffordK

Warm gloves?

I've wondered if mittens would keep the hands warmer than gloves, as there is less surface area, and the fingers can share heat. It might depend on your shifting whether they would be effective.

You might also try some Bike Bar Mitts. I haven't tried them, but they look like they might help in some situations.

rseeker

These:

https://firedupx.com/collections/hea...n-glove-liners

were mentioned here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/20656455-post23641.html

I didn't look any further, but it appears that company has a whole range of heated clothes.

rumrunn6

barmitte of course. you can use them with bare hands, thin glove liners, any casual glove or bike specific winter gloves. cheap enough to get for straight bars & drop bars



they're awesome



snug as a bug in a rug

gecho

I have the Fired Up X Liners and used them a lot last winter. I also have Raynauds, and in my experience active heat is a must, no amount of insulation will keep hands or feet warm when circulation is reduced since blood flow is how the body naturally distributes heat. No circulation = no heat.

The heating element (carbon fiber rope) loops around all 5 digits in the liner and the heat kicks in almost instantly when turning them on. The heat is even, not concentrated like in some devices that use a small heating element. I think the glove material is lycra, so it is truly a liner providing practically no warmth on its own, and certainly doesn't block the wind. The battery at the wrist makes it a little bulk with my tight fitting jacket cuffs.

One thing I quickly noticed last year was that the heating elements work best went pressed against the hand. But the elements were sewn along the back of the hand, so as you make a fist to grab the bars my hands would pull away from the elements making for less effective heating. I found the gloves worked better for me when worn backwards. The gloves they are selling now are a new production run, in a blog post they said some deficiencies were addressed for this year though they didn't elaborate as to what they were.

I've also noticed during winter riding that my hands can be doing fine, but if I suddenly increase my exertion, my hands quickly lose circulation. The heat helps in those instances too, if I was smart enough to put them on ahead of time.

Last year they sold heated socks, but they aren't on the website for this year. I tried the socks on once and then tossed them in a drawer because the removable heating pads were in the wrong spot (mid foot). I removed the heating pads and taped them to the front of my insoles which works amazingly well compared to my Hotronics heater. The battery holder has some issues and is easily damaged which is probably why they removed that product.


One other Raynauds related observation that applies to me and possibly others. When exercising the body diverts blood flow from the digestive tract. For me this results in a very cold stomach when riding. After I stop riding for 10-15 minutes the returning blood flow distributes that cold, dropping my body temperature. Even if I back home in a warm room this triggers my Raynauds making my hands numb and white. Keeping my stomach better protected in the cold can help reduce this, so sometimes I'll wrap a scarf around my stomach under my jacket. If I'm going to be stopped for a while outside I usually throw on an extra layer right away before I get cold. When I get home I put on a sweater for about 20 minutes to head off the delayed onset chills.

rseeker

@rumrunn6 why do you have a yogurt cup around your headlight? Is that acting as a diffuser? (Or is that just a snack for later?)

Aubergine 

gecho

I have something similar on my Dinotte XML-3. A plastic bottle lined with foil tape to keep from blinding oncoming people. The XML-3 throws light everywhere, but I like its long runtime compared to other lights.

rumrunn6

brokepsychlist

Thanks all, I really appreciate all of your suggestions. My raynaud's is pretty bad, I am now 27 and have suffered from it since i was 17, so I am happy to try stuff that is reasonably priced and effective. I have not seen those barmite gloves before, and will look into them. NYC is getting a bit chillier this week and this motivates me to start trying out stuff that can protect my hands

gecho

The 2018 version of the XML-3 doesn't get very warm, compared to my old one from around 2012. I don't think the elastomer would be affected by the amount of heat a light would generate. The o-rings can be a bit uncooperative to install so I just leave it on all the time.

PaulRivers

45nrth makes a line of (pricey) winter gloves going from slightly warm to subzero temperatures:
https://45nrth.com/products/sturmfist-4

CliffordK

I don't ride out in the snow a lot, but I'll get down to freezing a bit.

What I found is that about 1 to 4 miles down the road my hands start getting a bit chilly. My riding is pretty straight forward, not much to run into, so I'll pull my fingers out of the glove fingers and make a fist. That is sufficient to warm up the hands. Then I'll put my fingers back in the glove fingers, and am generally fine for the rest of the ride.

I think there is some critical point when I just start getting the blood pumping.

fietsbob

https://iditasportalaska.com/..
competitors have developed Sleeping bag like Pogies for the handlebars

Maybe that is what these are.. https://45nrth.com/products/cobrafist

crazyravr

I myself use the PI Lobster claws and these work to just below freezing for my 2h ride. Fingers still get cold by the end but nothing crazy.
I am thinking of investing in either heated gloves or bar mitts.

Buglady

Agree on both points! I have Reynauds and the beginnings of arthritis in my hands (which is concerning since I'm a mechanic and a knitter and I NEED my hands). Active warming for me is usually best in the form of chemical heat packs tucked in the back of my mitten. I wear Smartwool brand merino wool liner gloves and a pair of softshell fleece mittens that were designed for cross-country skiing. That keeps my hands pretty happy on my 20-30 minute bike commute, but if I am out longer I use the warmers.

The tummy thing is also a good point. I've just always figured my cycling jackets didn't fit well and were letting in drafts, but it really started to bug me a couple of years ago that my abdomen and low back were COLD after every ride, and it would take me a long time to warm back up. Last year I experimented with wrapping a wool scarf around my middle, which helped a lot, so I knitted myself a body warmer with ties. There is a pattern on Ravelry - knitters' equivalent of BikeForuns - called a "Garter Stitch Haramaki" which is what I followed. Lots of other patterns under the names "rib warmer," "haramaki" (Japanese body warmer), "kidney protector" and so on.

Gore Bikewear actually makes one they call a "kidney protector" that looks VERY warm.

arsprod 

Late to the conversation but I too have Reynaud's but have more trouble with my toes than hands and fingers. I don't like Bar Mitts especially on drop bars - they limit hand position to drops only. There are other pogie manufacturers, my favorite is Moose Mitts. They go on early Fall and stay on until late Spring. For colder temps I wear Burton snowmobile mittens (and yes, mittens are much warmer than gloves). I've used these below 0F with hand warmers added. I also like Portland Pogies but they work best on straight bars.

Hypno Toad

I have to plug a buddy that makes pogies in his basement, we have a set that work great - Gupgum Gear

Me modeling my pogies on a 4F day (and check out the sweet bottle rack coozie, keeps the bottle from freezing as fast)

arsprod 

Nice! Always glad to see another pogie option and I emailed them about how they fit on drop bar bikes.

Hypno Toad

Neil's standard design is for flat-bars. I've talked with him about drop-bar pogies, I know he's thought about since I talked about helping with prototypes, but my interest dropped off and I never came back to it.