Winter Gloves?

[Moveitfred]

Planning ahead for the cold weather on the horizon I discovered my old winter gloves are trash. In past years here in the northeast I have used plain ol' ski gloves for cycling in sub-freezing temps. They always seemed to work fine, but I need new gloves. Specifically I want something for the coldest weather here, around 10 to 30 degrees. Recommendations? Are there specific advantages to cycling specific winter gloves (rather than ski gloves)? What about those lobster gloves?

And no cold weather wisecracks from my former neighbors in So Cal!

[dirtdigger88]

I like PI's lobster gloves for road riding- but not for MTB. I use a thin base layer glove under the lobster glove for the coldest of days.

jason

I just bought a pair of Pearl Izumi's Thermafleece Glove-junk.

On their first use, a 45 degree morning, I could feel the wind and the chill through the seams.

To PI's credit, I DO have a pair of Amfib Lobster Mitts. Worn alone, they're good down to 30F or so. With a polypro liner, I've gone down to zero.

I think winter gloves should be purchased a size up from normal to create an air gap your hands can heat up. Add a liner to fine tune the airspace if necessary.

I want to try a pair of Toyo X-C ski gloves as I hear they're the best for insufferably cold temps and work well with cycling activities such as gripping bars, braking/shifting, etc.

[BumpyintheBurgh]

Make sure the gloves are windproof (AmFib, Gore-Tex, Windstopper, Windtex, etc.) I've used heavy gloves that weren't winidproof and my hands got cold. You can wear a lighter windproof glove with a liner and be warmer with more dexterity.

[Dekonick]

Speaking of cold weather clothing - I am waaayy out of date. The only pair of tights I have are from 1993, and only 1 real long sleeve outer wear jersey.

Advice? - I have a ton of ski stuff, from powder pants (no good as they will suck into da chain...) to fleece vests and fleece gloves, and full heavy ski outfits. It doesnt look too useful for cycling.

Bare minimum - what should I replace?

get new tights? leg and arm warmers? just give me a good list of ok stuff to wear! Thanks

(rode the other day and it was 70 or so... and I was COLD - wierd, usually it needs to be cooler for it to bother me.)

[Moveitfred]

Dekonick,
So much depends upon the weather you intend to ride in, how hard you intend to ride, and how much you enjoy cold. I'm one of those who is always cold. For the coldest weather here in the northeast I'm a fan of fleece lined bibtights, a Craft baselayer, and then, depending on the temp, layers of merino wool (I've got longsleeved wool T's and jerseys). I try to ride hard through the winter, so sweating is my main concern when the temp drops. Lots of sweat buildup is bad/frigid news, that's why I tend to avoid windblocker stuff or anything that doesn't breathe.

[Dekonick]

I used to ride in the snow/freezing weather - when I was young and stupid. Now I am just stupid -

I always wore a jersey (coolmax or whatever), a long sleeve jersey, then a windblocker - typical cycling shorts, tights, wet suit material booties(the thick kind) over my shoes, and long finger gloves. Had a baclava (or whatever they are - full head/face cover) and then ear warmer - I couldnt ride for longer than an hour without having frozen hands, knees, and face/ears - somehow my main body was always fine, if not overheating. I just figured today there must be a better way...I have gotten soft in my later years...now I usually use a trainer or indoor cardio equip. - but in winter I just dont work out much (I should....and do the occasional stupid cold day run or whatever, but thats about it)

[Brian Smith]

for my commute, it's lobsters from 30F down to about -5F, then mitts down to wherever it goes (-35F is as far as I've tried them though.)

[spiderman]

that i use with a liner on really cold days.
much of my cold weather paddling gear doubles...
but nothing beats triple layering.
no matter what i wear
if i ride below 32 degrees
my cold feet are the limiting factor...
maybe i could put a cleat
on the bottom of my birkenstock hiking boots...