Rich and I both like the work gloves sold at Home Depot, labelled "FG" (for "fixed gear," presumably). They are warm enough for non-freezing cold weather, they have some padding and grippy stuff that's nice for holding onto handlebars, they are available in muted gray or with safety-conscious day-glo colors, and they run under $20. Unfortunately, I recently lost/misplaced my pair and had to dig out my back-ups, a well-used pair of liner-weight black ski gloves. These gloves are three years old and for some reason, even though they only cost me $10, I keep patching them rather than replacing them. This morning, I continued that process by reinforcing a few fingertips with bits borrowed from even cheaper, older cotton work gloves. (The effect is super-ghettofabulous, which makes the gloves perfect for riding my super-ghetto-modified Mercier.)
(You should really click on this to see the larger version and appreciate the two generations of patchwork; the index finger was done two winters ago; the middle and thumb are from this morning.)
In colder and wetter weather I use these as liners and add a waterproof shell. Right now I have some ski gloves for that purpose, but I think I might like try pogies, which are said to be very very warm and allow the rider to wear stylish lightweight gloves. But I might get some mittens so I can sing that song.
did you scan your hand?
ReplyDeleteNo, that is a carefully staged hand portrait.
ReplyDeleteAs you note it depends on how cold is cold. For temps above 40 that I find I need gloves I wear an old pair of Specialized full-finger mtb gloves that have a nice leather palm for grip, a mesh back for some ventilation but have a neoprene knuckle that blocks wind on that oh so sensitive area. When it drops below 40 I have a pair of 'work gloves' as well but these are a model we sell at EMS that have a soft shell back, full leather palm and a light fleece lining. I do find if it drops below 10 with the windchill I start to get a bit numb. Ive been eyeing the Pearl Izumi Lobster Mitts but might just pull out my ski gloves and forgo some control in favor of saving money.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Prez was that you with the squeaky brakes I passed on Tunxis at about 10 on Monday night. Thought I spotted the Xooter but didnt want to freak out some stranger by stopping in the dark.
Yeah - those brakes were making me crazy! I was just running a quick errand to my office and ended up getting there and spending 45 minutes monkeying with the bike till I got the squeak out. I saw you go by me and figured it might be you, but, you know, I had squeaking brakes to deal with.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from New Haven,
ReplyDeleteThough I appreciate your recycling efforts, I'd save those old gloves for backup or hand underwear in really cold or wet conditions. Splurge on a new pair. Haha. Maybe some orange ones to match that Mercier?
--Bill
On second thought, please don't match your gloves. You guys seem a lot more sensible about bikes than a lot of folks down here who feel an obligation to match their deep-vs with their hubs, handlebars and chains.ugh.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to match my gloves to my bike, I'd have to own two pairs of gloves of every necessary weight. While I may be at the point in my life where I can afford to purchase four pairs of gloves, I am still not at the point where I could go an entire winter without losing two of them. Hence, no matching.
ReplyDeleteLast winter was quite the learning experience in the glove world. I now have a nice spectrum of gloves for various conditions.
ReplyDeleteThis fall, I got the FG gloves from Home Depot, finally finding a use for the $20 gift card I had there. I'm super pleased with them, and might even feature them in a future post. They're light and airy enough for 40-60 degree riding and also super reflective.
For temps of 25-40 degrees I have a couple options. For wetish weather, I bought some Marmot Spring Gloves on extreme clearance at the end of the season, although it was a tossup between those and the EMS work gloves. They are water and wind resistant and have a nice thin layer of fleece inside the high-quality leather palm. For dry & windy conditions, a cheap pair of fleece gloves I've had forever block the wind surprisingly well.
For below 25, I picked up a snug pair of lobster gloves made by a company named Swix from LL Bean. They are waterproof, but I'll only take them in temps where there would be snow, and somewhat breathable. I tried my heavy ski gloves once, but the lining got so uncomfortably soaked with sweat I could barely feel my fingers.
I'll probably be looking to pick up some sort of thin liner (maybe smartwool) and also some cheap rag wool grippy gloves. I hear that the rag wool gloves are wonderfully warm even when wet and also do a good job blocking the wind.
El Prez...those patched gloves are super ghettofab. You'll have a head start in getting street cred in our future hobo-dominated society in those!
ReplyDeleteI've been very tempted to test out some pogies.
This page has some great information, and the entire site is highly recommended...by me, I guess.
I have some pearl izumi ones and those ems windstopper ones. The pearl izumi ones are ok unless they get wet. then they suck. the windstopper ones are most just good for stopping wind. combined, however, they're awesome- all the way down to 20. once it's below 20 I have no hopes of being warm anyway.
ReplyDeletesince they're all black, they go with any bike, even ones with purple anodized parts.
Last year I upgraded from my bike shop bargain bin Specialized neoprene gloves. Those gloves were fine in California on cold days, but not adequate for Denver, and one day when I couldn't fully pull the brakes due to frozen fingers, I decided it was time.
ReplyDeleteI replaced them with some Louis Garneau "convertible" gloves, which are full fingered, but have a wind proof covering you can pull on that makes them Lobster-style mittens, and keeps your hands warm up to about 15 degree weather.
I wore them out over the course of one winter, but I took them back to my LBS and exercised the 1-year warranty to replace them. It looks like the replacements have thicker rubber in the places that wore through, so I'm hopeful they've corrected the weak spots.
I like these gloves up to about 20 degrees. After that, you want a fully dedicated mitten or ski gloves, but for 90% of cold weather, these are just great.
I have a pair of those FGs but haven't found another pair for the same price. Leather grips and neoprene shell - they were awesome until the finger tips broke through - too much TM on the fly.
ReplyDeleteFor winter riding, I have this pair of C'dale winter riding gloves that are awesome. Wore them on today's commute and never got cold. I also bring a pair of OR overmits that I use for XC skiing just in case I get cold but so far haven't needed to use these as of yet.
Not sure how Lobsters work with a rode set up, but riding Fixie is a no brainer.
i have pearl lobsters, they were a christmas gift a couple years ago. i have to say they kickass when it is cold enough for them and wet to boot. anything above 20 though and they are hot.
ReplyDeletei have cdale mtb gloves as well and they hate me, have wrecked twice with them on and my hands get torn to shit while the gloves stay in one piece, weird.