Viewing 39 posts - 1 through 39 (of 39 total)
  • I desperately need some new winter gloves!
  • PJay
    Free Member

    Over the last few years I’ve had an increasing problem with my fingertips whilst riding in cold weather (4-5° or below) resulting in extreme fingertip pain.

    Following the first frost of the Winter down here in Somerset I went out for a cycle this morning wearing my Gore Urban cycling gloves and Gore liners and within about 10 minutes again had extreme pain in all my fingertips; the thermometer on my Garmin showed about 4° and there was quite a brisk cold wind blowing. Even in bright sunlight and 7-8° temperatures my fingertips failed to warm up nor did the pain ease up much (10 minutes off the bike with my hands shoved in my trouser pockets got things back to bearable); I even found myself cycling slower than I could in an attempt to reduce air flow over my hands & potential wind chill. However cold it gets the pain remains in the fingertips and rarely progresses beyond the first joint; the rest of my hands seems fine.

    I’m beginning to come to the conclusion, due to the progression of the problem, that I might have hand/circulation issues –  recently whilst at work I suddenly had a very strange sensation in the middle finger of my left hand following which its fingertip went numb; feeling has returned but ever since the finger has been red, puffy and sore (the index finger of the same hand spent 8 weeks in a splint at the start of the year due to a Mallet injure and remains sensitive). I’m also finding that 2 or so hours into a ride I get pins and needles in my fingertips which rapidly spreads up into my hands resulting in almost total numbness; my wife has Reynald’s and I’m wondering whether I might have something similar.

    I have a doctor’s appointment next Tuesday, ostensibly to look at chronic burning in the balls of my feet (turning 50 seems to have been the start of something of a physical decline) but I should get the chance to discuss my hands too.

    Anyway, whatever the issue is, if I’m struggling this early in the Winter I definitely need something warmer to get me through to the Spring. I think that Pogies might be overkill down here in Somerset (although I have found myself cycling in -5° before) but I’ve heard that lobster claw style gloves can be pretty toasty; do folks have any recommendations?

    yourguitarhero
    Free Member

    Rapha deep winter gloves on sale at Wiggle

    smashit
    Free Member

    I got some of these last week. Out in 4deg and raining at the weekend and I was the only one not suffering with cold hands. But sounds like you might want to try lobster gloves of some kind?

    https://www.tweekscycles.com/uk/sealskinz-neoprene-gloves-1210377/?sku=SKZ12116174206050&istCompanyId=56f52ebf-49f3-492a-9cbb-cb6ab0fc1bf0&istItemId=-xwiwrrlltq&istBid=t&gclid=CjwKCAjw39reBRBJEiwAO1m0ORfSTnUZlPRPax5c2C30kiWru3Uxs3GJcTfMR-BvoxDsyi98coQ7zBoCYxwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds/

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    submarined
    Free Member

    Hi, and welcome to Reynauds Club. It’s a cold, uninviting place.

    Best I’ve found so far is Galibier Deep Winters, with silk liners gloves. Still not perfect though. I’m going to try some PX Lobsters next.

    honeybadgerx
    Full Member

    Marmot XC gloves are great. Made for XC skiing so have the right curve for bars.

    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    I’ve also got the Galibier Barrier Deep Winter gloves. I’ve had thet since January and wore them on Saturday for the first time. It was about 5deg with very cold northerly in Cumbria, so probably -4 wind-chill (sunny but bitterly cold in the wind).

    My hands were quite warm but my fingertips were very cold for the first hour. I ended up taking them off so the quest<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”> continues….</span>

    failedengineer
    Full Member

    Another member of the Raynauds club here.  The Galibier gloves (also with silk liners) are some of the best of the very many I’ve tried.  The problem is worse if you have to stop for any length of time or after a long downhill, of course and then once it sets in it’s too late.  I’m thinking of going the heated glove or liner route – I’ve got some Gerbings for my motorcycle and they work well.

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    Aldi gloves toasty as a toasty thing

    swanny853
    Full Member

    After picking some up in a sale a few years back it’s going to be wrench paying full whack for another set of gore cold weather gloves now these are wearing out, but I think I’m still going to- most breathable set of warm gloves I’ve tried. Really helps with the ‘hands get too hot, hands get sweaty, windchill makes hands cold’ problem I’ve had with others in the past.

    Can’t comment on their outright warmth compared to some of the other options here  but worth a look.

    ratherbeintobago
    Full Member

    I’ve got a set of Giro Proofs which promise to be very warm, though I’d have liked them more if the inner gloves came out.

    Think pogies may be the ultimate answer?

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    Repeating what i said on the winter socks / boots thread – gloves won’t make your hands warmer, just maintain what you have. If the blood going into your hands is cold then they won’t miraculously heat it up. So make sure your arms are properly insulated particularly around the wrists where the vessels are naturally close to the surface and will act like little heat exchangers if you let them.

    brant
    Free Member

    Pogies

    Bez
    Full Member

    Fellow sufferer. Northwave Husky Lobsters are the only thing I’ve tried which I’ve not yet found the limits of (been down to maybe -10 at most since I bought them). Mine are 3+1 claws, which I really like but aren’t available any more AFAIK. No idea how easy the still-available 2+2s are to live with.

    mikertroid
    Free Member

    Aldi gloves toasty as a toasty thing

    +1. £5.99.

    StirlingCrispin
    Full Member

    North Face Pamir gloves are superb.

    A windstopper microfleece they keep my fingers warm in all sorts of winter muck.

    If it goes down to -15 or whatever I use fibrepile lined mitts or Specialized lobster gloves but 99% of the time I ride the North Face Pamir gloves. And a Buffalo jacket and long trousers and merino socks….

    theboyneeds
    Free Member

    These are the best winter gloves I’ve used. I suffer from cold finger amd these saw me through last winter fine. They’ve just come back on sale so i bought another pair as i use them normal gloves too. £14.99

    https://www.sportpursuit.com/catalog/product/view/id/1551821?click=eyJxdWVyeSI6MTQ5OTksInBhZ2UiOjEsInBhZ2VTaXplIjo0MiwicG9zIjoyOX0=

    justridemtb
    Free Member

    Pogies. Ideal protection from the elements

    shooterman
    Full Member

    This thread has revealed silk glove liners to me.

    Any particular brands? Do you buy a size smaller than you would normally buy the glove?

    Sorry for the hijack.

    mattyfez
    Full Member

    The problem with ‘5 fingered’ gloves is that the fingers are isolated and can still get cold, especially the little finger. I find.

    I’ve found myself folding up my little finger so it’s in the main glove to keep warm which isn’t ideal.

    The problem with mits or lobster style gloves means massively reduced dexterity..

    It’s a conundrum..

    I’ve not tried silk liners though.. That might be my next try before I go full pogie..

    brant
    Free Member

    >Pogies. Ideal protection from the elements

    Nobody is listening.

    boxelder
    Full Member

    What theotherjonv and Brant said

    boxelder
    Full Member

    What theotherjonv and Brant said

    +1

    The Aldi bargain pushers have good circulation (or ride for less time than you in drier, milder conditions). Likewise, neoprene works by trapping and warming moisture – if weather/circulation is wrong, the moisture will suck your soul through your finger ends.

    CraigW
    Free Member

    Pogies with Aldi gloves inside, for when it is proper cold.

    scaled
    Free Member

    Do people really rate aldi gloves?

    I’ve had a pair of their lobster things and my fingers were freezing, to be fair I’ve not found a glove/liner combo that works for me at all yet.

    I’m fine once i’m an hour into a ride and for the first 10 mins or so (assuming i’ve pre warmed gloves and hands) but there’s 50 mins of excruciating pain right in the time window that happens to occupy my commute. I even tried silk liners with neoprene gloves, that was a mistake!

    PJay
    Free Member

    >Pogies. Ideal protection from the elements

    Nobody is listening.

    One of the things that concerns me about pogies is that they fix your hand position for the duration of the ride; I use bar ends and need to move my hands around quite frequently for comfort and to help with the numbness I seem to be getting.

    I’ll have a good look at the options and see what looks good (hopefully trying to find something without leather or animal products in). I also have a large shopping outlet nearby with access to Mountain Warehouse, Tog 24 & Trespass so I might have a look in those too.

    bob_summers
    Full Member

    I don’t know about Reynauds , but what theotherjonv said about arm insulation. My hands are useless on very cold rides, can’t change gear, fix a puncture, even turning the key in  the  door when I get home is a challenge.  Wearing arm warmers even under a jacket seems to help, as long as they’re not restricting circulation.

    epicyclo
    Full Member

    Definitely pogies.

    But remember your body cuts off the blood supply to your extremities first, so if this is happening then odds are you’re too lightly dressed elsewhere as well.

    angeldust
    Free Member

    But remember your body cuts off the blood supply to your extremities first, so if this is happening then odds are you’re too lightly dressed elsewhere as well.

    I don’t find it as simple as that.  Rest of body can be hot, sweating even, and fingers and toes can be painful from the cold.  Usually subsides after an hour.  Also helps if I don’t spend too long faffing in the garage before a ride which allows my hands and feet to get cold.  Thinking of trying heated gloves and insoles, as nothing else has worked.  Thicker insulated gloves, and trying liners underneath has made no difference.

    PJay
    Free Member

    But remember your body cuts off the blood supply to your extremities first, so if this is happening then odds are you’re too lightly dressed elsewhere as well.

    I don’t find it as simple as that. Rest of body can be hot, sweating even, and fingers and toes can be painful from the cold.

    I tend to find the same; yesterday my torso was very warm and I was starting to sweat but my fingertips were as cold as anything.

    My toes also get cold and eventually go numb but they never really hurt; it’s the extreme pain in my fingertips that I’m struggling to cope with.

    johnny63
    Full Member

    These are fleece lined – use them with some fingerless gloves to get the extra protective palm padding

    https://www.safetygloves.co.uk/maxidry-zero-thermal-gloves-56-451.html

    globalti
    Free Member

    I find insulated gloves too squirmy on the bars so I stick with some cheapish single-layer gloves made from a very dense material, which keeps the wind off but doesn’t insulate. The first 20 minutes of riding are agony but then as I warm up and the blood begins to flow, my hands feel fine.

    angeldust
    Free Member

    The first 20 minutes of riding are agony but then as I warm up and the blood begins to flow, my hands feel fine.

    Yeah, I suspect most of us just put up with the pain for a short while, but I’d still really like to avoid it if at all possible.

    Any success stories with heated gloves/insoles?

    whitestone
    Free Member

    I read a piece by Jay Petervary about keeping hands (and feet) warm and he reckons people get things the wrong way round by adding extra insulation to the torso rather than arms and legs. Given he’s won the Iditarod 1100 and other cold weather races he’s probably got some experience 😉

    So rather than having two layers on the torso – say a long sleeved shirt and a short sleeved – vest you should have a long sleeved shirt then put arm warmers over the top of that. His reasoning is that the body naturally tries to preserve core heat at the expense of the extremities. It’s also much easier to regulate overall body temp by adjusting outer layers that affect the core – undoing zips and the like. But you also don’t want to make blood rush to the extremities where it cools and returns to the core causing that to chill so it’s a bit of a balancing act.

    I’d start by making sure your contact points on the bars are properly insulated so decent grips and cover brake levers with something like foam wrapped in electrician’s tape. The foam can be anything really – those weird corn/bunion protection rings would probably work for example. The grips can also help reduce the effects of vibration if you suffer from Reynaud’s.

    As above – arm warmers and a long sleeved thermal base layer. Extra layers as necessary but you should have a windproof layer amongst them. One item that will keep you warm is a neoprene face mask (motorbike and ski shops sell them) as it helps warm the air before it gets into your lungs and cools you from the inside. A buff or scarf over the mouth and nose do the same but in seriously cold weather can freeze up with the moisture from your breath.

    Pogies. They keep the wind off your hands and you can put some of those chemical hand warmers inside if the micro-climate they create isn’t warm enough.

    With all that you just need to experiment with what gloves then work for you. The pogies (and hand warmers) should let you get away with something pretty light.

    Finally try to measure your effort during the course of a ride such that you aren’t raising a sweat and if you have to stop at the top of a climb then have something warm to put on straight away so you don’t lose heat.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    I tend to find the same; yesterday my torso was very warm and I was starting to sweat but my fingertips were as cold as anything.

    My toes also get cold and eventually go numb but they never really hurt; it’s the extreme pain in my fingertips that I’m struggling to cope with.

    Genuine Reynaud’s sufferers, where the blood vessels constrict supply so much that circulation virtually cuts off – almost no amount of insulating will fix that because even if the blood is warm elsewhere, it won’t be getting into the fingers. But I stick by what i said, that layering up on the arms and wrists is at least as important, if not more so, than the gloves you wear.

    jonba
    Free Member

    But I stick by what i said, that layering up on the arms and wrists is at least as important, if not more so, than the gloves you wear.

    I’d agree with this. I’d often wear LS base layer arm warmers and jersey. Find it helps massively.

    Also Lobster style gloves. PX ones have been great for me.

    More than one pair of gloves. If they get sweaty you get cold. Switching mid ride can really help.

    roger_mellie
    Full Member

    Do people really rate aldi gloves?

    I don’t. I appreciate that others may get on with them, but the winter ones I had the inner lining wasn’t secured at the finger end, so when I took them off the lining turned inside out and was a bugger to get back on again. Not ideal when it’s freezing. They were also sweaty. And had **** all grip on the bars.

    hubamonster
    Free Member

    I’ve had bad circulation for a long time, so cold hands and feet are an on going problem.  With both once the blood stops flowing they remain cold for a long time even when i come inside, its like a cliff edge.

    With hands the following works:

    – Pogies (but a pain unless its really cold)

    – Arm Windmills (my usual strategy, spin about 30 times, blood returns, have to do mutiple times)

    With feet I wear winter boots, with overshoes and if it really cold heat pads aswell

    At the weekend I did an unintentional experiment.  Was biking along, cold hands, did my arm windmills, hands ok ish.  Temperature rose a couple of degrees so I stopped and took off my merino skull cap that was under my helmet, after that I had to keep windmilling.  So if ya hands are cold, wear a hat.

    Another tip is this time of year is to carry a spare pair of heat pads in case you have a mechanical, then stuff em in your gloves if you stop.  I’ve had scenarios where i’ve nearly been unable to change a tube as my fingers have lost all feeling

    submarined
    Free Member

    In response to the ”keep the pathways warm’, it doesn’t work 100% for me unfortunately. Yesterday morning it was hovering above zero on my way in, I had a long sleeve thermal base layer, Roubaix fleece long sleeve top, and then another light fleece lined softshell Jersey on top of that, and the Galibier gloves with silk liners. Legs had Roubaix tights and thick Sealskinz socks. Within 5 minutes my hands had started to go, lost all feeling at about 10 minutes. Didn’t warm up until the painful hot shower. Rest of me was pretty toasty though!

    Better than if I’d just insulated my core, but unfortunately not a massive improvement.

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