freezing fingers

[Thistle]

I live in Canberra Australia and we are in the middle of winter. I am new to riding since last spring, so this is my first winter. This morning it was -5 celsius (23 fahrenheit) and i thought i would cry with the cold on my fingers.

I wore silk liners, then cheap synthetic gloves, then an outer, "weatherproof" cycling glove i bought from a cycling store here. I thought 3 layers would do it, but within a couple of kms i was almost crying with the pain.

So my point, given you guys have really cold weather in some regions over there too, can you give me any ideas on what gloves to wear. Apart from my fingers, I was fine cos i was all rugged up. I love riding so much, but am feeling depressed that i'll never find a finger solution. I have already bought 2 pairs of gloves from the bike shops in this city (you'd think they'd know about cold fingers), but they are just not cutting it.

Any help would be really appreciated.
thanks, Thea

[Grog]

You might want to check this article:
http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Recreation/wintercycling.htm

Also check out http://www.icebike.org/

Lobster-claw mittens (basically three "fingers" instead of five) are great in the winter.

My Montreal winter-cycling friends also use something that I can't find online right now (not the season I guess) but it's like mittens that attach to your bike handlebars. They're really big, so you have to wear your gloves/mittens in them, and basically cut off the wind/rain/cold. They're great down to -15 C or so.

Check out the "pogies" on the Icebike web site (above) in the Clothing/Hands section.

I find crosscountry skiing gloves fine.

I never ride below freezing level because of the (23C tires + ice) equation. And Vancouver doesn't get very cold very often anyway. But if I was still in Montreal I think I'd give winter cycling a go.

Enjoy!!

[Kitsune06]

This winter I did a good chunk of biking thru the snow... My suggestion is wool glomitts. They're wool half-finger gloves with a 'mitten' part that folds back over the back of your hand... and they're lined with polar fleece. I'm not sure if that'll help you, but if you wear your 'all season' gloves under them, your palms should stay warm enough to maintain heat in your fingers.

What I'd be more concerned about is how warm you're keeping your core and head. With adequate insulation in those areas, your extremeties (sp) should (yes, "should" doesn't always translate into real life) stay warm enough. Trek should have some ideas... she's from roughly the same area I'm originally from...

[Trekhawk]

I live in Canberra Australia and we are in the middle of winter. I am new to riding since last spring, so this is my first winter. This morning it was -5 celsius (23 fahrenheit) and i thought i would cry with the cold on my fingers.


Hi Thea
Gotta love Canberra winters. Last time I was there it was -8 C definitely a bit nippy.
Im with Grog try the Lobster type mittens. I have those for riding here in winter and my fingers keep pretty warm even when its snowing.

My family and I will be heading to Canberra to live in about a year so I guess those mittens will come in handy for riding there too.:)

[Thistle]

hey

Thanks for all the advice. I'll certainly look into the lobster-type gloves. hopefully our LBS have them here. It has given me hope to hear that others ride in colder weather and survive! Bit of a newbie to discussion groups.. .actually this was my first posting! So thanks for your patience if I mess things up.

Thea

[crazycanuck]

Hey there from perth!

Ohhh..i wanna ride round the ACT area as i've heard there are some great tracks!!

Now, about lobster type gloves, there's an option closer to us ozzies & kiwis..

http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product_detail.php?style=CHI&category=ACC

I've not tried their lobster gloves as it's not that cold over here in perth & haven't checked out my lbs (that's local bike shop..) to see what wintry gloves they have...

Are you a mtn biker???

c

[Aint Doody]

Get some of those hand warmers. They're available at most sporting goods stores. They put out their own heat. I put them on the tops of my hands inside my gloves. They keep my hands just right.

[RoadRaven]

I read this thread and I marvel

I have enough trouble feeling like I am in control of gears and brakes wearing mid-weight, full-finger fleecey winter gloves

How you gals wear so many layers, and three finger mittens etc just stuns and impresses me...

[Grog]

How you gals wear so many layers, and three finger mittens etc just stuns and impresses me...

Let's say I wouldn't ride my road bike with indexed shifting with these.

And in heavy winter conditions I wouldn't ride my road bike but a mountain bike "tank" anyway!!

[rivergrl]

I really have no suggestions because I live in a warm southern state in the US so even in winter I hardly ever have to worry about getting TOO cold. I would LOVE to be in Austrailia in the winter (or anytime for that matter). I've always wanted to visit that country.

I personally enjoy cold weather, it just bites because it's dark at 5:00 p.m. in the winter and I have to ride on the trainer instead of outdoors.

Right now it's just hot, so I have to go early or in late evening to not have a heat stroke. It's just always too stinking hot in the south..but the food is great!

[Trekhawk]

And in heavy winter conditions I wouldn't ride my road bike but a mountain bike "tank" anyway!!

Yep as soon as we get ice on the road or snow out comes my trusty mountain bike. We dont get as far as normal road rides but its fun being out and she doesn't mind getting dirty.:)

[Thistle]

So interesting to read all the comments! To clarify, i ride a hybrid and i ride pretty slowly... being overweight and a beginner. But i do have a lot of fun, and now have a new pair of gloves that I got from a outdoor sports store (the bike shop guys just shook there heads and said they didnt know what else to offer me). The chap in the outdoor sports shop had ridden in that same morning and was a "freezing finger" sufferer like me, and said that he wore these gloves and they were good.

I wont get to road test the gloves til tomorrow (seems so long between rides!) but i stuck my hand out of the car window at 80kph yesterday with them on and they felt good. So here's hoping!

Seems everyone who rides in Canberra has their normal winter gloves and there sub-zero gloves. I dont feel quite so much of a wimp anymore :)

[Grog]

Just so you know: you spend more calories working out in the cold (to compensate for the temperature) but it also makes you feel more hungry than you should be right afterwards. I think that's because the body feels the winter (hence: lack of food supplies...) coming. Certainly don't starve yourself, but be aware of this effect.

Enjoy!!!

[Trekhawk]

So interesting to read all the comments! To clarify, i ride a hybrid and i ride pretty slowly... being overweight and a beginner.
Seems everyone who rides in Canberra has their normal winter gloves and there sub-zero gloves. I dont feel quite so much of a wimp anymore :)

Just so you know plenty of ladies on this forum ride Hybrids and plenty of us are slow so you are not out of place here.:)

LOL you are definitely not a wimp. Anyone that rides thru winter in Canberra ROCKS.

Glad you sorted out the gloves. Heres hoping for toasty fingers on your next ride.:)

[postiechic]

hey theav...just wondering what sorta gloves you ended up getting. I get cold fingers too but after about 15-20mins of riding they warm up and stay warm. But still, warm hands fromthe start would be better. I wear a pear of merino glove liners inside what is sposed to be a pretty good pair of winter cycling gloves. It obviously isnt quite good enuff. We aren't as cold here in Melbourne as you guys are.....but it's still bluddy cold!

[Thistle]

hey postiechic

yeh, melbourne can get cold too! i ended up getting them from paddy pallin's and got a pair of manzella blizzard 75's. the dude at the shop had ridden inthe same morning and said he suffers from cold fingers and he wears them. havent tried them on the bike yet, but as soon as i do, i'll let you know. was going to ride this morning,but am feeling really nauseous, so have piked out. that means probably wont get to try them til mon :(

[Geonz]

I make sure my shoulders are not scrunchy (and if I'm wearing a camelbak or backpack, that the straps aren't constricting blood flow) and pretend I'm in yoga class ("open your chest!" ... yea, like a surgeon?! I'm still a beginner ...) to try to enhace the circulation, and I get warmth in about 9 minutes that way (still have some thick gloves, though I can't remember the brand).
I like my hybrid for cold weather 'cause it's a little more work... so a little more blood flow...
If it's really cold (10 F. and the like) I'll get warmed up before I go outside so I don't have to wait, either with the jump rope (but never in underwire, ladies) or the bike on the trainer.

[Rai Sue]

My hands are always cold!

When it got cold (below 32 degrees F) over the past few years, i figued out that putting some cheap lycra gloves on under wool fingerless-gloves-that-convert-into-mittens worked better than all the other more expensive solutions. I found the lycra gloves in a free-bin, so can't tell you much more about them, but they are good for the wind.

here's a website on cold-finger solutions, that i thought was interesting, with suggestions in a range of prices: http://blog.orbike.com/archives/2005/11/time_for_gloves.php

i also once biked with a friend when it was quite cold. I was layering up, and she said she always had to take her gloves off because her hands got too hot, no matter what the outside temps! So, i guess whatever works for you, and no need to feel wimpy.

rai sue

[Thistle]

ok, well i gave my new gloves (manzella blizzard 75's) a real workout yesterday. it was another -5 degree morning in Canberra, and i headed out early. Gotta say they were fantastic. I didnt suffer from freezing fingers at all! So, if you have cold hands like me, and dont mind a glove that makes you sweat a little when it gets above zero, i think they are the go. Wore them in this morning again, and even though it was +5, the icy wind off the mountains made me appreciate them even more. Felt so happy this morning cos there was nothing to stop me enjoying the ride!

Thanks again to everyone for their help. I was so depressed about it when i first posted my query. Felt like winter riding was not going to happen, but now i think i've got everything organised, and nothing will stop me :D