Anyone every used something like these? Or have a better idea?
http://www.bikebandit.com/msr-hand-deflectors
I know they may look kinda dumb, but I was looking at them as a easy way to cut some wind off my hands for my early morning commute this spring. With my current gloves i can rid in 45-50 degrees no problem, but in the morning it is a bit colder and it ia a little rough on the fingers.
never tried those exact ones, but I have used hand deflectors and to be honest I didn't feel like they did a whole much. Theoretically they should be great, but I didn't feel much of a difference. One thing I need to remember to get before next winter are some neoprene/rubber lever covers, that's what kills me an using the cold brake and clutch lever.
If you want something worth buying, get some heated grips. They sell whole grips with the heat units built inside for closer to $100, but you can buy these on ebay and just stick them under your grips. I've used both and to be honest the cheap ones worked just as well as the expensive ones, plus you can use whatever grips you want. The only thing you have to deal with is the heat sink in the left grip. You lose some heat through the aluminum bars although the right side is stuck on plastic and gets much warmer. I fixed the problem by wrapping some heat shrink tube around the aluminum, which works well enough.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-Heated-Grip-Pads-for-Handlebars-Black-12V-/110830634787?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19ce054723&vxp=mtr#ht_3485wt_1163
I agree, hand deflectors are really only good for deflecting bug, branches and other debre. Hand warmers work well. You can also spray foam the interior to keep more of the heat in the bars. Jm2c
Quote from: tt_four on March 06, 2012, 08:32:59 PMneoprene/rubber lever covers, that's what kills me an using the cold brake and clutch lever.
Are you riding without gloves or something?
Quote from: Dizzledan on March 06, 2012, 10:17:16 PM
Quote from: tt_four on March 06, 2012, 08:32:59 PMneoprene/rubber lever covers, that's what kills me an using the cold brake and clutch lever.
Are you riding without gloves or something?
Clearly you haven't ridden in very cold weather. Even with my heavy winter gloves I eventually feel the cold bite through the fingers from the levers. I have looked at those lever covers but never pulled the trigger.
Btw, I think the deflectors linked too are meant to be strapped on to a proper bark buster.
if you want something that will actually keep your hands warm (and not just deflect roost and protect levers from falls):
http://www.hippohands.com/
Twisted Throttle also sells a product similar to Hippo Hands: Bike Muff. For $55 USD, I think I'm going to try them next winter.
Always wanted a muff for my bike... :icon_twisted:
Cheers!
I love the heated grips but I have been meaning to put some deflectors on too just some extra protect. Can't be all bad if BMWs come with them standard on their touring bikes.
Quote from: Bluesmudge on March 07, 2012, 12:49:55 AM
Clearly you haven't ridden in very cold weather. Even with my heavy winter gloves I eventually feel the cold bite through the fingers from the levers. I have looked at those lever covers but never pulled the trigger.
I use Alpinestars Apex Drystar gloves (goretex) down to about 40* around town for 30-40 minutes before I feel the bite on my knuckles, but they must have good inner lining as I've never felt the levers were too cold. Then again, mine are faux carbon-fibre painted so perhaps that insulates them.
Quote from: Bluesmudge on March 07, 2012, 12:49:55 AM
Clearly you haven't ridden in very cold weather. Even with my heavy winter gloves I eventually feel the cold bite through the fingers from the levers. I have looked at those lever covers but never pulled the trigger.
This winter we had about -5°F in most parts of Europe and trust me: levers are the least problem. What matters more is the cold wind. Couldn't feel my fingers right after 6 miles. :icon_neutral: I'd also recommend heated grips over deflectors.
I probably deal with the cold levers more than some because I live in the city, my left fingers get pretty chilly from holding that clutch lever in.
The other bonus to the heated grips is you don't have to wear super heavy winter gloves that are hard to ride in, you can stick to normal thickness gloves.
Hard to say about bmws. They're really into adventure touring bikes, not to mention a million buttons/features/styles on their bikes. They could just be there to give their bikes a certain look, just like the cityX version of the Buell xb9s.