newridenewme

What type of gloves do you find helpful for commuting and comfort

scroca

Wool, layered if necessary

Bar mitts if it is cold enough to warrant them.

The Chemist

I've got fleece lined water resistant gloves for winter use, standard full fingered MTB gloves for spring/autumn use, and standard fingerless cycling gloves for summer use.

GregTR

I have way too many gloves.

I have Pearl Izumi Elite Gel Vent for the really hot days
I have Pearl Izumi Select Gel FF for anything above 60F to 80F
I have Pearl Izumi Select Softshell for 45F to 60F
I add a Pearl Izumi Thermal Lite under the Select Softshell sometimes if it gets below 45F
I use a Pearl Izumi Pro Softshell WXB 3x1 with the included liner for anything less than 40F


For running it's a lot easier. A thin cotton or wool glove if weather gets below 50F and if it dips below 35 I start wearing the PI Select Softshell.


I probably have more money in gloves than others have in their bike...

fietsbob

The commute is not far , too old to give a rat's about 'performance' they just keep my hands warm..

I have 2 pair in my pockets, temperature in day and night differ.. significantly..



Have you considered fitting Pogies on your handlebars ,
so your gloves dont have to do all the hand warming..

Any 5 finger glove will be compromised as the insulation between the fingers has to be thin.
2 fingers per , lobster claw, and all together mittens will be warmer..

cogdriven 

I ride a single speed, so no need to shift. When it gets below freezing I wear silk glove liners under wool mittens under leather mittens. I can pull my thumbs out of the thumb holes and tuck them into my fist unless I'm climbing or speeding down a hill. I tried Bar Mitts, but they weren't any warmer and had the big disadvantage of allowing me only one hand position. My LBS was kind enough to take them back.

DocsDad

Warm weather... Yes. I ride with gloves for comfort and absorbing sweat on very hot days.

jrickards

Rather than go into the details of brand and model, what I want to mention is more generic information.

During the summer and spring/fall, full- or half-finger cycling gloves are generally fine but once you start looking for more warmth, you move toward bulkier gloves and mitts. With light weight cycling gloves, you can easily uncurl your fingers from the handlebars and reach up and over your brake levers. I found that the bulkier the gloves/mitts, the more extended the fingers and the more difficult it is to get your fingers out and over the brake levers without swinging your hands/fingers around the end of the brake lever and then back over the lever, a little extra work and much slower so your braking time is affected. I tended to move my fingers onto my brake levers long before I anticipated needing them (you can't anticipate a surprise so those don't count).

With gloves or lobster-style mitts, you could leave a couple of fingers on the levers but when the temperature dipped, this winter, to -39C (-38F), gloves weren't enough, mitts were necessary.

This might not affect your glove choice but, in terms of how your biking motions might be affected, it is something to be aware of.

kookaburra1701

When it's really cold, you don't need gloves, you need to make yourself a pair of these!

Mumonkan

this winter ive been using north face tnf apex gloves when its cold, fine until about 10 degrees with wind

otherwise i just use a pair of mechanix gloves for grip and to keep my hands clean

furballi

I'm more concerned about safety and durability. Quality all leather gloves will be comfortable after a few hundred miles. I buy a 3-pack from Costco for about $19. The leather is very soft when new, but it takes a little longer for them to disappear on your hands.

Leisesturm

Really?...IDK... those are real beauties, don't get me wrong, kudos to your mad knitting skillz, but... unless those things are made from some seriously high tech miracle fiber they can't be all that warm! I got through the last three winters by moving to a place that doesn't often go below 30* in the winter. Even wet and soggy, Thinsulate gloves will allow me to operate my brakes and shifters. Haven't found the glove yet that will do anything about my left hand pins and needles.

H

hubcap

significantly < 0F - synthetic insulated mittens that have a wp/b outer (think mountain expedition stuff)
0F to ~25F - insulated ski-type gloves (these are supposed to be wp/b too)
~25F to ~40F - lightly insulated gloves
~40F to ~55F - full finger non-insulated gloves
>~55F - fingerless cycling gloves

rubic

I use fingerless gloves year round. When it is cold, I use thin glove liners.
Disclaimer: I live in Southern California.

droy45

In the summer, half finger gel cycling gloves
In the spring and fall, mechanix gloves
In the winter, ski gloves and when its really cold, leather snowmobile mittens.

RGNY

over 45F: none
45F to 30F: waterproof, lightly insulated (Seirus Xtreme)
30F to -5F(seasons' low): PI PRO lobster mitts

chaadster

+1 on the Mechanix gloves, which chase the chill pretty good down into the 50°Fs.

From there down to about mid 30°F, I like neoprene backed/synthetic palm gloves. I use very old Specialized Storm Controls; if it's really rainy and wet, I'd prefer full neoprene, but I don't have any, and either make do (it's a short ride), or break out the big dogs...

...which are Gill Extremes. Full Primaloft insulated neoprene, which take me from around freezing to as cold as it gets arond here, which in recent years seems no worse than the single digits Farenheit.

I don't bother with gloves for the summer commute, though I do keep one nitrile glove in the kit in case I gotta touch the chain (any time of year).

caloso

Down to 60f, barehanded
50-60, mechanix gloves
35-50, xc ski gloves
35 and lower, downhill gloves

newridenewme

what r the benifits of gloves?

CbadRider

They provide a barrier for your hands if you ever fall or crash. Padded gloves can also dampen vibration to your hands if you ride on rough roads.

Medic Zero

+1 to the wool and layering.

I use a system of layered gloves, skipping some if the weather is warmer/less windy/not raining

1) When it is cold out my base layer are thin silk motorcycle glove liners. I just went without these twice in the past week when it warmed up a bit. I've worn these every day since Fall.

2) My next layer is a pair of polyprolene gloves. These are technically "liners" as well, I get them from military surplus stores for a few bucks a pair and they last a long time. Wicking and insulation layer.

3) next is a pair of fingerless cycling gloves for the padding.

4) next is a pair of wool gloves over everything else. These really help with keeping the cold airflow away from my hands. I hate having cold hands and pogies would make me feel claustrophobic. These also make a huge difference in light rain, it takes a while for them to get soaked through, most of the time they just end up with a layer of moisture on the outside of them.

5) finally is a layer I very rarely use. This is an oversize pair of big rubber motorcycle gloves. Think something like Rubbermaid dish gloves or MOPP gear. These are for when it is really raining. Here in Seattle it rains a lot, but most of the time it is a very light rain and the above layers suffice for my nearly one hour commute. But on the rare cold day when it really rains, it sucks to have soaked hands, even with nice wicking layers and good wool on the outside, so I use the rubber overglove to keep all the rain out.


Probably seems like a lot, but the silk liners feel nice and are very thin, the polyprolene gloves are rather thin as well and provide a little cushion while wicking and insulating. I hardly notice the wool ones over the top as they are quite light, kind of fluffy almost.

kookaburra1701

The high-tech miracle fiber comes from one of these:


The stranded knitting creates a double layer of thickness. My neoprene gloves turn my fingers to ice when they get wet. These keep me toasty no matter how drenched I get. They keep my hands warmer than my $$$ waterproof/thinsulate ski gloves.

xenologer

I don't like gloves; tried them and they put too much pressure on the squishy parts of my hand, causes numbness. works better to have no gloves and thin bar tape; lets me support my weight with my bones.

dbascent1986

defeet merino good down to a couple of degrees below freezing - do not cycle when colder than this

tdister

One area I cheap out on. I use cheap Walmart Bell Mesh fingerless Gloves (they used to be better quality and fit my hands better than anything at the LBS for any reasonable price) and a pair of basic Pearl Izumi fingerless when I'm feeling fancy. Today I wore one of each due to losing one of each in the wash.

The real cheapo part: I just use a pair of disposable rubber gloves underneath them when it's cold. Stumbled upon out of necessity but they work fine for anything I ride in which is very rarely below freezing. Will probably acquire a wool pair before next winter.

I often wonder what larger guys do. My hands really aren't that big but I find myself always wearing an XL glove.