bikingsoul

Any recs. for winter gloves? They need to have enough insulation to be warm. But also flexible enough that I can feel the brake levers. Is there anything out there that fits that description? Thanks to all that reply....

DX-MAN

My winter gloves are W-M specials, $7/pair, with Thinsulate. Light enough for dexterity, warm enough for +10F. Had 'em for a good 4 years now. Had to sew up a seam in the palm last year is all.

fietsbob

Lobster claw type pair fingers to mutually warm each other. that is almost as good as mittens.

I purchased some Spenco full finger gloves, and theyre OK so far, still above 0 here
neoprene sailboard gloves are decent but as they are a sponge though closed cell,
will absorb heavy rain.

Offshore commercial fishers/crab pot haulers wear several layers of rubber gloves..

scroca

I use cheap ragwool gloves, the ones with the dots for grip and that are lined with Thinsulate. Cost around $10.

xtrajack

I use gloves that are windproof and waterproof that my wife found at Sam's Club ~25 dollars or so. I also have a pair of windproof and waterproof mittens designed for snowmobiling, I paid ~30 dollars for at Labonville.

LeeG

same here, better than the $40 bike specific gloves that are either too hot or not warm enough in the rain. For even colder riding the half glove/mitt ragg wool gloves.

MichaelW

Where are you. Glove recommendations mean nothing unless we know what type of cold you suffer from.

My winters are usually 0-5C dry but damp, or 5-10C rainy.
Fleece windstopper gloves with a leather palm seem to work well.
Wool gloves keep me comfortable but wear out on the controls.

QuakerProf

I recommend layers. I use Pearl Izumi ShoftShells (full fingers with grippy spots on thumb and index finger for shifting) on cool but not frigid days, then add liners on frigid days (Icebreaker makes some great merino wool liners). That said, the combination will run you 70 bucks or so. You could be just as comfortable with any decent thickness glove that has Thinsulate, or Thinsulate plus Windblock material on the outside.

exile

I have a couple of different gloves. Some IronClad cold condition gloves serve me well until it gets right about 35 degrees. After that I have some Marmot Ski gloves for temps lower than that. I bought them at a discount store for about $15 a piece.

h. bicycletus

Yep- - -the right gloves are all conditions-based. My favorites for temps in the high 20's to about 40 are Gore Countdown. Mid 20's and below call for some much toastier gloves from Pearl. . . I think they're amfibs but I'm not home at the moment and cant' check this. For temps in the 40's most anything that wind blocks and provides a modicum of warmth is fine. The Gore's are waterproof as well as warm- - -at least mine are. They've kept me warm and dry in steady cold rains.

wolfchild

I use skiing gloves made by Black Diamond for most of my winter riding, they are a little expensive but I like them. And for long distance rides in very cold weather I have a pair sheepskin mitts that I made myself many years ago, they are bulky but extremly warm.

stdlrf11

I've been happy with my PI Cyclone gloves. Good for Texas winters. Sure they cost a little more, but I've been very happy with them. I wear XXL so walmart doesn't carry my size. If I try a pair of XL, they rip at the stitches.

hellojoben

https://www.the-climb.net/2010/09/bar-mitts.html

paperback rider

No point in paying the cycling-gear premium here. Go to a hardware store and buy a pair of winter work gloves.

achoo

I tried that once with the winter work gloves I have in my garage.

"Winter work gloves" are useless in keeping wind off your fingers - the wind went right through them. God only knows how bad they'd be out in a cold rain.

A 20-25 MPH wind at 20F hurts.

cooker

I haven't found good gloves yet. I commute down to about -6C (about 21F) and even with good winter ski mitts that work fine on the ski hill, or walking in any temperature, my fingers still get cold by the time I get to work on a bike. I keep a pair of old socks in my trunk bag and put them over the fingers of the gloves and that sort of works, except for my thumb. I think a major problem is that metal brake levers suck the warmth out of your gloves.

I have some nylon lobster claws with minimal insulation and they are ok down to about 5C (40F).

diff

I have the pearl izumi barrier lobster gloves. Not cheap, but did score them for $50 with free shipping. Compared to $70 + tax in a store.

They are awesome. Been into low 20's with them so far and not cold at all.

If it's in the 30's I usually just use the $2 stretch gloves, they work fine. Or I will put the lobster gloves on and then switch to the stretch gloves after a few miles and I am warmed up.

HardyWeinberg

I wear these usually:



w/ a pair of liner gloves for when it's below freezing (liners take me comfortably through my 7 mile commute down to about 20F)

They are good wind blockers below 50F

achoo

How many layers are you using?

Try something like a pair or two of these under your gloves:

https://www.sunnysports.com/prod/TRMA..._sku=TRMAMGLXL

daredevil

Full finger gloves with mittens that fold over the top when necessary. When really cold, put chemical warmers in the part that folds over the fingers. My coldest ride to this point, -5 f. I guess they're called pop top mittens.

cyclokitty 

I wear waterproof ski gloves that have kept my fingers warm and dry for the past 3 years. The fingers are soft and flexible with no strain with my hands curled around the grips but they are bulky. I find I have to use 3 fingers on the brake levers or when I squeeze them with 2 fingers, the bulky stuffing gets in the way of actually slowing and stopping.

The waterproofness is excellent and I was reminded of how well the gloves keep my hands warm and dry when we had a downpour last week. My gloves were soaked but my hands were bone dry.

The gloves are most comfortable when the temps are close to freezing to about -10 Celsius.

I think the gloves were $19 at a camping store in Toronto. They were a gift for Christmas several years ago and I don't recall the name of the company that made the gloves. Auden? I'd have to check the label.

Jim from Boston

I commute year round, usually in the 20's F, but often lower, rarely down to 0 degrees. My own prefeence at less than 20 is a thin knit glove under a heavily insulated windproof shell. This year I'm going to try a lobster claw pair.

I would however like to suggest this additional piece of gear. Since I have a gap between my jacket and glove end, I always have to carefully tuck the wrist end of the gloves under the sleeve ends. Last year I made a pair of "wrist gaiters" by cutting the toe ends off a pair of athletic socks for my fingers and an additional hole for my thumb. The gaiters extend all the way up over my forearm. I have found that they keep my forearms quite warm, and usually become slightly damp with sweat, but not enough to chill. This may be subjective, but I think they help keep my hands warmer by keeping the blood flowing down to my hands warmer than otherwise without them.

This winter I will take note more carefully on those really challenging days, but last winter I didn't buy mittens, as I had contemplated the year before.

Arcanum

I think I recently bought the same gloves. Brand name is Continental Divide, though they don't appear to exist anywhere outside of Sam's Club and Ebay.

They're windproof, waterproof, insulated with Thinsulate, have long cuffs or gaiters to go over your jacket cuffs, and can be cinched tight at both the wrist and the end of the gaiter. The down side is they're not very dexterous. They're good enough for manipulating mountain bike style brake levers and trigger shifters, but adjusting a zipper without being able to see the zipper requires some fumbling.

nashcommguy

Gordini Gore-Tex gloves I got at www.campmor.com for 20.00 in the off season. Then my wife got me a pair of Marmot mittens w/liners...don't know what she paid. Anyway, I use the liners inside my fingerless down to about 40F. Then the Gordinis w/t liner to about 20F. Anything below that I use the mittens w/t liners. The liners are removable, absorb sweat and dry quickly.

During rain I use rubber gloves w/wool liners if it's pushing towards freezing.

xtrajack

Ayuh, that's them.