Gloves for below zero riding
 

We are tired of freezing when we ride down from the numerous mountain passes on our winter tours. Without peddling and constantly breaking our feet and hands hurt from the cold. This year we have finally bought decent winter boots but now for the hands. Does anyone know of an excellent pair of gloves that are flexible enough for endless on the hoods breaking and also actually keep your hands warm? And we are poor so price conscious!

Cheers.

Windstopper fleece gloves, while not inexpensive, may actually be worth the cost in my experience. I've used overmitts sparingly in more extreme conditions, but the lack of dexterity makes me nervous. I haven't had much luck with glove liners--they tend to make things worse for me, too constrictive.

You probably know the old saying, if your feet get cold, put on a hat. Make sure the rest of your body is well insulated too.

You can't pedal, but you can exercise your quad muscles and generate some heat by doing squats of a sort in the saddle. That may at least keep your core temperature out of hypothermia range.

If you eat and hydrate well before and during the ride, you'll stay warmer.

Skiing gloves, and if it gets really cold ice-climbing shell gloves on top of them.

Look for cold water scuba diving gloves.. There are several versions but the type that allows you to keep your fingers together are warmer.

A very big part of the equation is obviously wind chill. A cheap and effective way to keep the wind off is home made pogies. The can be make with plastic tarp scraps and duct tape. They can stay on the handlebars and be rolled back out of the way when not needed. I used to make them every year on my kayak and canoe paddles. When it is wet and below freezing fingers get cold quickly. My whitewater paddling buddies would ask me to make them a quick impromptu set by the riverside and would leave them on until spring. I kept a piece of meavy poly and a roll of duct tape in the car in part for that purpose. I don't have a picture and have no need for them where I now live here in Florida.

Personally I am usually okay down to zero with just long fingered gloves on the bike and generally don't ride much when it is colder than that and when I have it was on slower singletrack, so I have not used pogies on the bike.

I personally do not ride in cold winter, so I can't bring real world experience to bear. But you may want to read this post. Interesting discussion (ex: insulating your handlebar) and perhaps a good starting point to find useful answers. Importantly, the post refers to pogies (rather than gloves/mittens) as the preferred garment to keep you warm.

tl;dr:
1. Pay attention to your handlebars -- they act as heat sinks. Favor carbon over aluminium or insulate your grips.
2. Here in Quebec, hardcore winter commuters equip their bikes with pogies.

Last week as we toured across Missouri, we spent a lot of time riding in the 30's and low 40's. I wore a pair of hunting gloves with Thinsulate insulation and a waterproof supposedly breathable Gortex lining and though they kept my hands warm initially, the soft cloth liner would eventually become wet from my hand perspiration and by afternoon my hands would be clammy cold. Each night if we stayed in a hotel, and if they had a hair blower or dryer, I would spend several minutes sticking that thing inside the gloves in order to dry out that thin cloth liner for the next day. What I'm saying is, what feels good initially won't always work out for hours of riding.

drop bars? or straight? regardless I agree a wind block will help. I doubt you'll have access to expendable chemical heat packs but I have tried that & it helped. wind blocks have limited effectiveness but without them, you are handicapped with only gloves

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e5c43b9ba9.jpg

with them you can wear lighter gloves
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b97a8d3b91.jpg

I added chem packs only once but they did provide some added benefit
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a904558e9b.jpg

they aren't hard to install but I wouldn't want to be repeatedly taking them off & putting them on again during a season
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...80231c58e0.jpg

they seem a little better suited with straights bars
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1b3696ee74.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c6d0fa1887.jpg

super easy to get in & out of
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...14bde1a642.jpg

an added benefit is protection from precipitation
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0e31bd75c4.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ecfe4a0df2.jpg

now I want to go for a ride in a snow storm
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...98ae0aec6d.jpg

If you are talking below 0°F, mittens are the answer. Oversized to allow for multiple liners if needed without restricting blood flow. If it gets really cold and windy, say 10-20 below zero, throw in a chemical warmer and you are good to go.

I use these electric globes. three different temps and after a little use they are plenty flexible. I an use all my controls and my e bike remote with them.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Kinkos. rub Snoseal on them and put them in the oven at the very lowest temperature with the oven door ajar for about 10 minutes (don't "overcook" the gloves!).

I used them daily for outdoor ski area work for years and years. I used to do a 1.5 mile bike commute when it was frequently around -15C.

https://www.amazon.com/1927KW-L-1-Pr...43624361&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Sno-Seal-Wax-...4%2CB00CQJDUV4

Thanks for all the ideas, we a sifting through them.

Oh, I assumed 0F. If 0C, I am fine with full finger gloves and not even especially heavy ones, just full finger bike gloves, but everyone is different. If a bit more is needed gloves with more insulation are okay. Mittens are warmer yet, but harder to ride in.

Also I have some thin liner gloves that are about the weight of silk ladies gloves. they add a bit of warmth when worn under other gloves or mittens and are warmer than you'd expect when worn alone. I sometimes ride in them, but never as an only glove. Sometimes they go under my regular fingerless gloves on tour. I have used them that way for the ocasional sub freezing morning on tour and they were okay. Heck I have logged a lot of miles in the cold in fingerless gloves without the liners and while not ideal it wasn't the end or the world.

I focus on layering here too. I'll take 3 or 4 gloves: light gloves down to 40°, warmer fleece gloves for down to low 30°s, liner gloves to go inside the warmer fleece gloves for a few more degrees then wind proof "mittens" for the last layer (then go home). The wind proof gloves are the a thumb and two 'fingers'. I can ride, brake and operate DT shifters just fine with all this.

The three fingered wind and water proof covers (aka lobster claws) are from Aerostich. I'm sure there are others. Here in Penn's Woods, we experience temperature swings as the day progresses. So, I can layer up at dawn then shed layers as the sun gets higher in the sky. Very versatile.

Heated ski gloves & mittens
 

I use heated ski gloves in the winter. I also have a pair of heated ski mittens for when it gets really cold. I don't turn them on unless or until it starts to get a little uncomfortable, and then in a few seconds, nice and toasty warm. I also have heated socks. They all take the same batteries so you can mix and match.

This from last week, a friend was using those "Bar Mitts". He said they were warm but was having trouble with the zipper, not sure if this is common or not. He also complained about the perspiration issue and I'm thinking a liner glover might be advisable like Pete spoke of above.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6495de6f4f.jpg

I use lobster gloves that I got from REI a few years ago. They're OK to about 14F (-10C), which is about as cold as I ride. As noted by others, keeping the rest of your body warm keeps your fingers and toes warm.

My preferred winter glove has a mitten-flap, which allows it to be worn as either a mitten or a glove. These are the perfect Winter cold-protection for my hands. Mittens are warmer than gloves and, I can still flip the mitten-cap back when I need enough dexterity for non-riding-specific actions (or just need some ventilation).

For your problem of getting cold while coasting down hills, you could down-shift and then soft-pedal, instead of letting your legs/feet go immobile.

In the military we had a leather shell mitten with an index/trigger finger in addition to the thumb and those were worn with a wool inner glove.

You might find something similar for a low price in a military surplus store if there's one anywhere near you.

Mittens, by having the fingers in the same larger pocket are usually a lot warmer than gloves. Whatever you decide on, make sure the stitching is tight enough that wind doesn't blow through it. I try a glove or mitten on in the store and then blow hard on it to test for air getting in past the stitching.

Cheers

Leaves just turning, doesn't look THAT cold; but perhaps it was close to freezing?

0C isn't that bad. If people ride below freezing near where you live, just walk into a bike store and explain what you want. (Or if you visit someplace like that, which is how I got a couple pairs of Specialized gloves for 20-30F and 25-35F.) 0F is tough, and might require bar mitts on top of some good warm gloves.

Lows each night about 27 or 28 F., daytime riding mostly in the mid thirties. More than cold enough for me. Though admittingly I'm a wimp, please let it be 50 deg. when riding at least 4 hours day, day after day.

I, too, use polypropylene glove liners. Sometimes under full gloves and sometimes under half gloves. They work surprisingly well for what they look like.

I rock bar mitts/pogies for winter riding with a pair of anything from mid weight to heavy weight gloves depending on temperatures. They look silly, but work. And they can be had for about £20 from wish if you don't mind Rock Bros brand

Yeah, I generally just use regular bike gloves in that kind of weather. I might or might not bother with full finger gloves or liners. At least that is what I did when I lived up north. I have been living in Tallahassee for a while now so I might be getting less cold tolerant, not sure since I haven't ridden in much cold weather lately.