[RidleytheRed]

So it’s finally cooling down here, and I’ve been bundling up a bit more. I got a nice wind skirt for my helmet that keeps me neck warm now, but wind chill on my hands when it’s already 40°F and under really brings a bite. Can anyone suggest a pair of gloves for cold weather riding?

[Jim]

Were/what type of wind skirt did you get? I need one, my neck is freezing now in the mornings, the rest is staying pretty warm.

[Matt]

I have a set of Olympia waterproof cold weather gloves. Nice leather, fleecy inside. Hi-vis yellow gauntlet. Very nice.
I keep meaning to do a write up of them and my summer weight gloves.
—
“The two seconds between ‘Oh S**!’ and the crash isn’t a lot of practice time.”

[Munch]

I have gotten these:
http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=3&L2=15&L3=&L4=&item=PAR_3310-0007_G&tier2=24
They are a bit ….cumbersome for lack of better word. It just takes a lil to get used to after wearing the thinner summer gloves. Water proof, windproof and very warm.
For my neck though I got the turtle fur baclava:
http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=3&L2=14&L3=&L4=&item=TFC_13201&tier2=103
Though about the time I bought it the mornins got back up to 50+ degrees farenheit. Next week its supposed ot be colder though… high 30’s low 40s in the morning… Will see then how well they work.

Yesterday is a memory, tomorrow is a prediction, but today…… is a Bi**h

[Rab]

I’ve got “Olympia Ultima I” waterproof gloves and I’ve been happy with them. They’re well made and indeed waterproof (which is important if you’re going to ride in the rain). There’s nothing worse than riding in cold, wet, heavy, leather anything.

Olympia make decent gloves at great prices compared to the famous name gloves.

http://www.olympiagloves.com/index.php

That said, once it gets really cold and you’re riding at speed, there are no gloves on the market, to my knowlwdge, that will keep your fingers from getting cold and numb (and I’ve done quite a bit of internet research on the subject).

A tip I’ve heard about but never tried, is to put on a pair of skin-tight latex gloves under your motorcycle gloves. They’re supposed to really stop the chill getting to you.

Another option is “Hippo Hands” or similar. These are big hand muffs that fit over your grips and you put your gloved hands inside them. Look kinda stupid but are supposed to work well. I don’t like the idea of having difficulty getting my hands in and out of them while riding though.

Heated grips or grip-wraps (like the Oxford’s I have) are a real comfort, but my thumbs still get cold and numb in Winter.

I’d suggest going for heated, waterproof, gloves if you truly want to be comfortable. They’re next on my shopping list…

[chromium ghost]

I did 40 degrees in the rain on my way home from the shop today…(this was my first time riding on the new Pirelli Sport Demons as well, but that’s another post.) Haven’t been able to pick up a decent pair of gloves yet, so I just bought a $2 pair of rubber palmed work gloves from the hardware store around the corner from the shop…had on a hoodie, my Power Trip armored jacket($50 on craigslist) and a big honking yellow raincoat over everything. I was perfectly comfortable, if a little wet for the first 20 minutes or so of the ride, then the fingertips on my left hand actually started to HURT from the cold so I pulled over and let them thaw out for a bit. Actually, I think I may have gotten a mild frostbite on the fingertips as they even hurt a little bit now! I have an open face Arai with a flip down visor which I kept up to act as a kind of brim to keep the rain off my face. Worked fairly well, then again it wasn’t raining that hard and I was in going through rush hour traffic in Midtown Manhattan, so my top speed was maybe 35. Like an idiot, I forgot to check the gas before I left so I ended up running out of gas on 103rd street and had to walk the beast down to 96th to get gas. Not my proudest moment.

Anyway, picking up a pair of Olympia’s today. They really do seem to be affordable compared to the Icon’s and Alpine Stars… They get decent reviews too. Been looking at these: https://www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=868
which don’t seem too bulky at all, and have great protection w/ kevlar reinforced palms and knuckle protectors. They also have kind of a badass vintage feel to them which I like.

[Budd]

Make sure to get an insulated glove. Windproof works great for a few miles but your hands will still get very cold in them. An insulating liner will keep the cold out and the warmth in. You can buy thin silk liners as a form of insulation on gloves that don’t have any.

“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine

[Clay Dowling]

Last week the temperatures got into the 20s and 30s here. I had been using fleece lined leather gloves, but discovered a hole in the finger of one glove on my 45 mile pre-dawn ride to work. A pair of glove liners from a sporting goods store made the ride home a lot more comfortable. A pair of snowmobile gloves from Tractor Supply Company made the day after, where it was 27 degrees, a lot more comfortable than the 37 degree day.

A balaklava is a good idea too. That probably made the biggest difference in my ride.

[Rupmisc]

Even with waterproof, insulated gloves, I found that 40 degrees gets to be too cold pretty quickly. I just bought a heated firstgear jacket liner and gloves. Tomorrow, when my Ducati 696 goes in for its first service, I’m going to have a pigtail installed that I can use for either the heated gear, or to attach a battery tender. It should be in the 40’s here tomorrow, so perhaps I can provide a before (on way to dealer) and after (with heated gear) report.

[dcJohn]

I got a pair of the Spidi Fjord H2OUT gloves, and so far I’m not a fan. They are warm, and they’ve got excellent protection, but I’m left with very little feel of the throttle or controls. They’re leather, so I’m hoping the stiffness and clumsiness will fade, but after three days of riding I’m still far-from-sold.

[Rupmisc]

Ok, had to take the 696 for its first service today, about 40 miles away. It was about 35 degrees F when I left the house, and probably warmed to 40 while I rode. I did 3/4 on a highway at 65-70mph. Going up I had waterproof insulated gloves on my hands, 4 layers under my lined jacket, and patagonia long johns, jeans, and overpants.

My legs aren’t usually a problem, and weren’t today. My core was ok with all the layers, but my chin went a bit numb. My hands got cold enough to be uncomfortable and be distracting. I would have needed to pull over for a break within another 20 minutes.

At the dealers, they installed a pigtail from the battery coming out under the front of the seat. The pigtail has a 15 amp fuse (bigger, I think, than the one that comes with most battery tenders) and was included in a First Gear dual heat controller. I also have an adapter so that I can hook a tender to the same plug when the bike is sitting.

I did my return trip at temps of about 48 degrees (so it was a little warmer). I was wearing heated gloves (waterproof, I think) from First Gear, along with a First Gear Jacket liner. I had removed a layer of fleece, and a cashmere sweater. Damn if I wasn’t comfortable as hell. My only issues are feeling like robo rider with several wires running from me to the bike, and finding a place to put the controller (my tank is covered in plastic, so I mounted the controller-small box with two dials-with velcro on the tank. Also, one glove seems to get slightly warmer than the other, which I will ask the seller about (but it may have to do with different hand positions, throttle vs. clutch).

The gloves are not as bulky as my non heated gloves, so sensitivity on the controls was excellent.

I didn’t need to turn up the heat more than 40% of capacity, so I get the feeling that this stuff would work great in any weather that I would feel safe riding in. About $200 for the “jacket liner”, $150 gloves, $100 for dual controller. May just give me an extra month of riding. One ride isn’t enough for a verdict, but I have hope.

[sarc]

I’ve heard a few people rave about “hippo hands” for the bike, and I’ll probably try them sometime this winter, with a review to follow.

Link in case you are interested: http://www.hippohands.com/

Sarc

[Author]

Posts