Not sure if this is the best place to post this... but I have poor circulation in my hands and the best normal glove solutions start to fail me around 38-40 deg F. This seriously cuts into my season as it is winter or near-winter for 6 months here. I have a fat bike for when there is actually snow/ice on the ground. We use pogies on those and they work well... they do feel a little constricted. But for days like today, the roads are clear and I want to ride my gravel bike, but the high will be 38F and with my winter gloves my hands will be so cold I can't feel the controls.
Does anyone have experience with either heated gloves or pogies for gravel bikes??? The gloves present all kinds of questions and concerns, not to mention the price... and the pogie designs I've seen for road bikes seem a little restrictive???
Looking for comments and opinions from riders that have actually used the above.
I had some heated gloves from Chaval. They are pricey, but they worked extremely well. They were also quite warm even with the heat off. Why am I writing all in the past tense? Because they failed after about 18 months, and after a certain amount of back and forth with the company, they refunded most of my money. We kind of came to an agreement that they weren't really designed for the amount of use they got as bike gloves. I have subsequently given up with heated gloves on the bike. I don't think bike gloves are all that warm- I have had good luck with Kinco insulated leather gloves layered over wool liners. I hated pogies for drop bars. Once it gets cold enough, I just switch to my fat bike and wear big ass warm mittens. That works better than anything else.
I found those before posting..... they seem to be the cream of the crop.... I will probably try pogies first (cuz cheap), but if they freak me out, this is probably my next purchase. Thanks for the post.... was really hoping to get some feedback from people who'd actually used the stuff.... if you read Afolpe's post above, it didn't work out well for him.
I have 45NRTH Cobrafist pogies that I run on my fat bike. I've had them for 6 years and they've been great, as I too suffer from cold hands (and I live in the Yukon, in northern Canada where it can get really chilly).
I have used lobster gloves in the past, I have a LBS brining in some road poggies which would allow fingered gloves and stay warm. since layering works on other parts of the body, this was my thoughts
Yes, other gloves might survive better. I should add that I also used the Chaval gloves for snowshoeing with poles, so they were getting pounded on. I think their electronics were a bit fragile for this. They are super nice, though, and a responsive, small, American company. I’m just tough on gear. YMMV.
Anyway- it’s taken me a few years to figure it out, but I really think that some kind of bar that allows you to use MTB shifters (or bar end shifters) and mittens is the key thing. I didn’t like MTB style pogies either, but I don’t need them ever since I found a really good pair of leather mittens and some good wool liners. I’m using Jones bars on my fat bike in the winter, and am totally comfortable now. And it is really nice being able to move my hands around, instead of being trapped in a pogie.
I tried Bar-Mitts pogies and they worked, but are restrictive. I've had good luck with 45NRTH STURMFIST 4 gloves. They are rated for super cold weather, but work for me in 25-35 degree weather on gravel, and with liner gloves in colder weather which is generally on the fatty on trails due to poor road conditions. This is the first glove that has actually worked for me. They work well at blocking the wind that I think makes gravel riding so much colder than trail riding.
bender16v wrote:I tried Bar-Mitts pogies and they worked, but are restrictive. I've had good luck with 45NRTH STURMFIST 4 gloves. They are rated for super cold weather, but work for me in 25-35 degree weather on gravel, and with liner gloves in colder weather which is generally on the fatty on trails due to poor road conditions. This is the first glove that has actually worked for me. They work well at blocking the wind that I think makes gravel riding so much colder than trail riding.
I'm really torn here.... the pogies allow me to use thinner gloves, which give me better dexterity. BUT they definitely take some concentration to get back in to, and they do constrict my movement. I've heard great things about the STURMFIST 4 and 5 gloves. I would love to try them risk free..... I probably have $5-600 in gloves that DON'T work for me.
You need three things to keep your hands warm; wind protection, insulation and blood circulation. You also need to keep your hands and insulation dry.
In my experience, the most important thing for cycling is having windproof outer shells and I've had really good luck with Windstopper fleece shell gloves, which are windproof, but still allow a degree of breatheability. They also provide a bit of insulation. The shells must be large enough to accommodate liners without compressing the insulation or restricting blood circulation.
Liners can be wool or synthetic and should vary in thickness depending on the amount of insulation needed for the conditions. This is important because too much insulation will cause your hands to sweat and they'll get just at cold as if you had too little insulation. If you have sweaty hands, you should bring extra liners so you can change them during the ride. They should fit comfortably loose to promote blood flow.
The vigorous exercise of riding should create adequate blood circulation, but a key element of this is having a relaxed grip on the bars. It's also important that your wrists are relatively straight, as cocking them can restrict blood flow.
Separate shells and liners provides a readily adjustable system to keep your hands warm. My hands get cold fairly easily, but what I often find is that I have to reduce the amount of insulation during rides in order to keep my hands from sweating. I may switch from thicker wool liners to thinner synthetic ones, or remove the liners entirely and use just the shells.
For really cold temps, I leave the gravel bike at home and use my fat bike with Bar Mitts, which I find to be incredibly warm. Even in temps below 40 degrees, I sometimes end up riding bare-handed in the mitts once I warm up. I typically leave my glove liners in the mitts so I can put them back on quickly if I need them.
Terramar gloves are very thin, soft and fit my large hand. I could never find a liner that fit in any of my gloves until I tried these. My fingers are so exposed (and frozen). With these I can get a lot more "open" time. The only downside I noticed is that they don't like coming into contact with the velcro that holds my glove in the open position.I have recommended these to others.
I ride in MN and I'm lucky in the fact that my hands tend to run hot, so cold fingers are never a problem (Now feet on the other hand). If you don't want to try drop bar bar mitts, I would suggest a pair of lobster mittens. Personally, I'd just keep riding the fat bike with bar mitts. That's what I tend to do. About mid December I put the gravel bike away and then use the fat bike until late Feb-early March. With bar mitts, I've never had cold fingers, even down to -14 F rides. But then again, I live in rural MN and only ride 100% gravel, no road rides. The lower speed of the fat bike also reduces the wind chill effect on the hands.
mtbnut87 wrote:Impulse bought these tonight at Costco for the both of us. As soon as this warm spell (40f) is over, I'll work them out and report back.
I have two pair of Mobile Warming gloves I use on my Motorcycle (much more wind chill). They work great. Overkill for the bike temps I ride in, but might be the ticket for you. I have used them on my fat bike, but not often. I've ridden down to 25F with Louis Garneau Big Will gloves. <- and here's a good deal. I love them. They are my go-to winter riding glove. 😉
