another winter glove thread - using non-bike gloves?

[cheesy]

I have heated gerbering's liners.. and they're great underneat a pair of normal gauntlet style race gloves that are a size too big.  Problem is that that i really need TWO sizes too big..  And that might be too big... bleh...  

so I went and looked at winter gloves at the bike shop.  None of them had any armor or extra abrasion protection or anything...  As a matter of fact they look just like normal winter gloves, but with a squeegee thing on the thumb.  The bike shop guy said the main difference is that they are curved to fit around the bars.  Um.. they really weren't. My leather gloves are, and most non-winter gloves I've seen are..  but these weren't.


So.. can I just go buy normal winter thick gloves from galyan's or an 'outdoors' store?

[Roadstergal]

Search for Cold Front Carbon.  I've recommended them.

As far as bike mods go, hand guards do more than heated grips to keep hands warm at freeway speeds, in my experience.

[cheesy]

I try not to be a drama.... king.. about my bikes appearance, but I really don't want to get handgaurds on my zx6r.  and unfaired GS, or k1200r... yeah.. sure...  but not mah baby!

I'll check out the cold front carbon.  If I can get protective winter gloves without breaking the bank then sweet... otherwise, what's the different between $80 winter bike gloves and $35 regular winter gloves... anything that is a secret noone's telling?

[Alphamazing]

Get a pair of $12 glove liners from REI or an outdoors store. They do wonders and don't require a bigger glove size. My hands were so damn cold in my leather racing gloves (hardly any liner on the inside, no warmth whatsoever) until I got the glove liners. They fit just as nicely and my hands stay pretty damn warm.

[Roadstergal]

You should first put forth the Texan definition of "cold."  

I have thin liners that I put under my summer gloves for cool days.  I have to put them under my CFCs for freeway speeds when the temps are freezing.  The CFCs are $60 and have armor and padding.

[cheesy]

Well, here in atlanta it gets sort of cold..  and I ride year round.  My heated liners are fine for as cold as I've ridden so far (1.5-2 hours @ 26-27 degrees) and I had some layers under my leather jacket, long underwear, etc.

The problem is the heated element (basically a thick wire) runs all around and along the back of the liner.. and it starts to really press against the back of my hand.  I think they would work well with actual winter gloves rather than 'race style' gloves that are a little bit too big (although the ones I have now aren't so big that I cannot wear them without the liner)

[Alphamazing]

My definition of cold would be sub-30s, which I had to endure on a ride back home from campus at freeway speeds. It was freakishly cold. I was so confused, I didn't know what had happened.

[Roadstergal]

The other cheap trick for cold temps is to get two of those chemical heat packs for first aid kits and slip them under your gloves on the back of your hands.  But if you see cold temps on a regular basis, I'd just spring for gloves.

[banner]

yeah man..the cold does make you confused. On longer trips, if its under 40 and i don't have proper gear...all i can think is keep going...keep going....don't die...don't die...lol

forget about following directions to get somewhere...

[Alphamazing]

No no, I was confused as to how the hell it got so cold. This is Austin. I'm not used to this sort of stuff.

[rritterson]

Your bike shop must not carry what the local cyclegears carry here. I bought a pair o frank thomas fleece lined, insulated, waterproof, kangaroo-leather palm, armored knuckle winter gloves for $70. The only problem with them is that they are too warm unless I'm on the freeway at sub-40 temperatures.

http://cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=3&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=FTL_H20080BZS_G

[ashman]

what works well for me is a pair of leather work gloves the goat skin kind that are tightly cut and a sinch wrist. they break the wind really well. under that I wear a pair of 3M insultech or whatever its called glove liners. the outer breaks the wind the inner keeps my hands warm. I just had the gloves and was riding north thru ohio and started gettin cold looked up and saw a harley dealership went in and found them for 10 bux. what a difference. been using that since. OH nd in the rain, dishwashing gloves under the leather. the leather gives u grip when wet.    cheap, and effective.

-ash

[calamari]

when I bought winter gloves (insulated), I felt my hands suddendly became like the ones from HellBoy (the movie). very difficult to use the controls.

[Badger]

when I bought winter gloves (insulated), I felt my hands suddendly became like the ones from HellBoy (the movie). very difficult to use the controls.

But you get used to it very quickly.

[Eklipse]

I wear my grandfather's normal leather gloves. They're not pre-curved or anything, but they work fine. I thought about getting some 20 dollar tourmaster winter gloves or something but the winter here is so short and these work fine.

But I may break in and buy some if I happen to walk by a pair 20 or under that are my size. It usually doesn't drop below freezing here so it's not a big issue. I can wear my summer gloves without my fingers falling off or anything.

But the normal ones are fine. Warm and comfortable and all. Took a little while to get used to after wearing my bike-specific gloves though.

[Roadstergal]

I wear my grandfather's normal leather gloves.

I crashed at low speed in "normal leather gloves" (Icon Superduty).  They did pretty much nada to protect my hand.  Broke my little finger in two places and lacerated the side, with no damage at all to the glove.  I go for gauntlet gloves that have at least some measure of reinforcement and armor after that.

[makenzie71]

You should first put forth the Texan definition of "cold."  

I already have...you've seen the picture.

Personally, I wear standard cycling gauntlets.  In the winter I head out to my local welding store (actually I weld a lot so I usually don't have to get some) and buy a set of heavy, long cuff leather welders gloves.  They fit nicely over a good fitting riding glove, and it's hard to beat 2.5~3mm thick leather when it comes to asphault.

The primary thing you have to worry about is the wind.  Winchill at 15~20*f doing 75mph is roughly the ambient temperature on Neptune.  Either keep those digits covered in lots of layers, or get a good, windproof layer and a good insulated layer.  You can also look into heated grips and gloves.  Heated vests also help.

[Roadstergal]

And Neptune is a lot colder than Uranus!    

I had heated grips on the F650, and they were actually not good for anything more than driving off the chill on a cool day.  For real cold, nothing beats hand guards - they keep the wind from stripping off the layer of warmth you build up.

[RVertigo]

Search for Cold Front Carbon.  I've recommended them.

+1

They're good for about 30 minutes at 70 MPH in the high 30's...  Anything more than that, hand guards...  Anything more than that... Heated grips.

[Straymonolith]

Here in Houston it's getting "cold", but I found that leather gauntlets with thin cheapo liners keep me pretty toasty. Plus a thermal undershirt and long underwear, and I'm practicaly sweating.
The only thing that still bothers me is the wind hitting my neck. I've tried turttlenecks or a ski mask, but doesn't really help.