Time for Gloves

Funny you should ask...after yet another commute where my Manzenella gloves got soaked through (taking hours to dry, even in the dryer!), I went straight to River City after work and got the Pearl Izumi Amfib gloves I've had my eye on for over a year.

Expensive? Yes ($65)
Hella Warm? Hell yes.
Waterproof? Absolutely
Can I shift in them? You bet.

It's 33 degrees right now as I get ready to leave for work. Guess we'll really see what they're made of now. I'll get back to you after the ride

P.S. The Sugoi MidZero tights and hoodie will be covering the rest of me. Already been through a winter with those and I can't recommend them highly enough!

Last week I bought a pair of Gore-Tex bike gloves at River City Bicycles. Rather spendy ($59.99) but I think they're going to be well worth it. They've proven to be rainproof (so far), warm, and flexible. I love them. I've had plenty of gloves in the past that simply did not hold up to the weather and made me miserable. I hate that feeling of wind chill after your gloves are soaked through. It's more money than I would normally plunk down for something like that, but my round-trip commute is increasing from ten to fourteen miles soon. And, I've heard reports that this will be a La Nina winter, which means rain, rain, rain. I'm glad to be prepared.

I've been riding year-round, rain or shine, for about five years now, and I've tried many different types of winter gloves. Most waterproof gloves are too bulky/clumsy for my taste, and most other biking gloves aren't waterproof.

I've finally found some fully waterproof winter biking gloves that don't restrict my hand & finger mobility: the "Submerge" glove by Specialized:

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqSection.jsp?sid=05EquipGlovesWinter

Suggested retail $42.99.

I got mine at River City Bicycles, 706 SE MLK Blvd., Portland, 97214, but any shop that sells the Specialized brand should have them, or be able to special-order them for you.

I use a variety of gloves.

Next to my skin some lightweight wool Smartwool gloves that you can
occassionaly find on sale at Campmor for around $5.

Over them is either:

Sealskinz
Half finger, basic cycling gloves
Some shell that's just there for the wind block, could be rubber gloves, could be Specialized Wind Stoppers, could be a heavy wool thing

I'm always a little disappointed when spendy gloves stop being waterproof, and start taking on water. Then they take forever to dry, are harder to get on & off, etc.

For the last few years I've been riding winters in fleece gloves with a pair of larger fingerless summer gloves over them.

Disadvantages:
Yes, they get wet.

Advantages:
Warm even when wet.
Quick to dry.
Great dexterity.
Summer gloves provide palm protection in case of a crash and keep the fleece gloves from wearing out.
I can switch to the summer gloves alone if my hands get too hot.

In very cold/wet conditions, I replace the fingerless summer over-gloves with some serious waterproof glove shells. I use these rarely (so they haven't started leaking yet) and they allow less dexterity than I prefer, but in trade they do keep me warm/dry.

I wear "Spokes Wear" gloves that I purchased from Bike Central on Naito. They've got padded, leather palms, some sort of soft,synthetic back that stays warm when wet (and dries quickly) and a somewhat absorbent material on the thumb, which is, believe it or not, designed to wipe the snot dripping from your nose in the cold. They close with velcro. I've used them for 2
seasons now and am pretty happy with them. I think they're about $25 or so.

Roger

Found these at Next Adventure last winter and have been quite happy with the combo:

PL 150 Liners, Wild Roses by Outdoor Research
a light warm layer that still allows me great manual dexterity
got 'em for $13 (vs. the $32 you'll see on their website)
http://www.orgear.com/home/style/or_women/orw_handtools/orw_liners/70630

I combine them with the Nanaimo Rose Rain Mitts
also Wild Roses by Outdoor Research a split mitten, lobster claw style, a simple Gore-Tex shell - good for slipping on over the liners for rain protection or protection from cold wind (like last night - brrrr). These I got for something like $27 - don't see them on their website anymore - but that doesn't mean you can't get 'em.

Emily

I choose Stanley work gloves that I pick up for $1.97 at any hardware store. They are leather with cloth backing and hard covering for the wrists. Many are cloth lined as well. They keep me warm down to 20 degrees.

I gave up on "waterproof" gloves when the "Submerge" gloves I bought soaked through with the first heavy rain. Maybe they were just a defective pair? Anyway, being conscious about environmental and political issues I try to avoid buying any products made from petroleum and prefer to get things that are all-natural, and better yet locally made. Now I have multiple pairs of thick wool gloves, it's amazing how warm they are when wet. I rotate sets, and by the time I get back to the set that was wet a few days before it has dried out. You can actually wring the water out of these. They are very cheap, and last a long time. Oh, and the musky wool smell I consider a bonus. OK, they're not "vegan", but encouraging pesticided-cotton probably would do more harm than shearing some extra wool off animals.

Gloves? Andy and Bax wool glove liners under cycling gloves. 8 clams for 5 pairs! The best part is there all black and reversible. I usually use all 5 pairs by the end of the season (mix and match). They are both warm and cheep, an dI use them for cyclocross on the weekend.

"I combine them with the Nanaimo Rose Rain Mitts
also Wild Roses by Outdoor Research a split mitten, lobster claw style, a simple Gore-Tex shell - good for slipping on over the liners for rain protection or protection from cold wind (like last night - brrrr)."
I agree with Emily! These are great. I found them at The Mountain Shoppe on NE Broadway. They just fit me, no mens sizes. In-Sport had a lightweight Gortex mitten shell at their closeout sale,but that was last year.

In the cheapo category, I just picked up a racey flourescent colored pair of gloves at next adventure that I think are normally used for water skiing. They were 5 bucks. I guess I have just realized, on a good downpour, your hands are just going to get wet. Might as go with gloves that keep them warm wet. And.. they have the benefit of a flouro green
band across the knuckles... Yea baby Yea!

All sorts of gloves on sale:

https://shop.sunrisecyclery.com/display/1053/0/

Thought I recommend shopping locally, you can at least see a bunch of different options all in one place, then go local!

I recommend goretex (or similar material) overmits. These are often sold with thick fuzzy fleece liners, which are too warm for Portland. But the overmits are nice, come well up the wrist, and lets you choose what weight insulation you want to wear underneath. Outdoor Research makes a good pair. A tad spendy, and a tad awkward on bike, but dern good.

As for gloves...what ever I can find as I dash out the door. But my favorite pair are the Sealskinz I bought at the Chicago Millenium Bicycle Parking 'Structure'.

Their nubbies also help to grip my umbrella while I pedal.

[ ed. note: it's true. Todd Boulanger bikes with an umbrella. ]