# Cold hands.......



## ray316 (19 Jan 2012)

l suffer from cold hands at the best of times due to what l presume is bad circulation.
So in these cold winter days when cycling most days and weekends my hands are freezing cold like blocks of ice.. l wear thermal gloves but this makes no difference after being on the bike after 10 minutes. Most of my bike rides are for around a hour so by the time l get back home l've lost all the feelings in my fingers..
Anyone else suffer with this problem of cold hands, and any suggestions welcome to how l can keep my hands warm while cycling.


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## biggs682 (19 Jan 2012)

we were always told to stuff cold hands down the back of our rugby shorts when i played rugby at school , nit sure that would help when cycling .

welcome to the mad house


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## coffeejo (19 Jan 2012)

I wear two pairs of gloves and when that's not enough, I do hand crunches and wiggle my fingers, which keeps the circulation pumping, if nothing else.

I know a few people who wear skiing mittens over their regular gloves.


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## timmyeatchips (19 Jan 2012)

I tend to get the same thing when walking in the freezing weather, I sometimes feel like gloves are more harm than good, keeping the fingers separate so the ones with bad circulation get even colder. Oddly enough, with the same gloves my hands have been fine on sub zero bike rides, maybe there's something you can do with your riding posture to help the blood flow.


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## timmyeatchips (19 Jan 2012)

coffeejo said:


> I wear two pairs of gloves and when that's not enough, I do hand crunches and wiggle my fingers, which keeps the circulation pumping, if nothing else.
> 
> I know a few people who wear skiing mittens over their regular gloves.


 
I've also heard of people wearing latex gloves under regular gloves so you get that wind barrier but still get dexterity. They would probably be more effective on the outside but passers by might think they were in for a probing.


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## Camrider (19 Jan 2012)

A good pair of gloves should keep your hands warmer for more than 10 minutes. You say you are using thermal gloves but you need a pair that are wind proof and maybe waterproof as well if you goo out in the inclement stuff.
I bought a pair of these and they keep my hands nice and warm on a hours ride on a frosty morning. Only down side is they are a bit too warm once the temperatures start climbing over 5 ºC


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## Davidc (19 Jan 2012)

Battery heated gloves are available. I have a pair but the ones I have would be a bit bulky on a bike.


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## Spinney (19 Jan 2012)

I've heard people with similar problems say that it helps to keep your arms warm as well. Extra arm warmers? Make sure there are no gaps at the wrists?


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## gaz (19 Jan 2012)

Get some proper lobster gloves, add a lining glove and you should be fine.


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## lukesdad (19 Jan 2012)

Make sure you are not leaning on the bars, this will cut circulation hold them lightly caress them you know it makes sense.


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## coffeejo (19 Jan 2012)

lukesdad said:


> Make sure you are not leaning on the bars, this will cut circulation hold them lightly caress them you know it makes sense.


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## kishan (19 Jan 2012)

wear latex gloves under your riding gloves and you should over come this issue.


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## mattobrien (20 Jan 2012)

I have got a pair of North Face etip Windstoppers, which I wear over my normal cycling mitts on very cold days. I have only actually had to wear them once this year, finding that my fingerless mitts are fine for anything down to around 5 degrees. I find that while my fingers are cold to start with, they tend to warm up after a while, depending on how hard I am working.

I have found that the Northface gloves are much warmer than my previous berghaus windstoppers, which seemed to stop the wind, but relatively poor insulation. I would thoroughly recommend the etip windstoppers.


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## jayonabike (20 Jan 2012)

In winter I wear Insulator gloves under Long finger summer gloves & when its really cold or raining hard I use waterproof gloves instead of the summer ones.


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## sixty (20 Jan 2012)

lobster and lining seconded


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## steveindenmark (30 Dec 2014)

Ray, buy a pair of these, they are brilliant. Just search on e bay for:

GORETEX Over Mitts Artic Cold Weather Fleece Lined Mitt

They are £15, I think. You wear your cycling gloves inside them. They will keep your hands dry and warm. If they are too warm just don't bother with the inner gloves.

I use them in Denmark down to about -10.


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## Venod (30 Dec 2014)

Todays Planet X deal, get them big & wear a pair of normal gloves underneath.

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLAGT2LG/agu-tec2-lobster-glove


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## Nigel-YZ1 (30 Dec 2014)

I had similar problems until I got Specialized Radiant gloves.


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## Gravity Aided (30 Dec 2014)

I use the handwarmer packets, they work quite well. Not enough to make the hands warm, just enough to keep them comfortable. They say they are good for 7 hours, but you can extend this by putting them in a ziploc bag with the air removed.
http://www.rei.com/product/760936/g...392682960&msid=hKx8E3pc_dc|pcrid|67114501120|


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## derrick (30 Dec 2014)

[QUOTE 1689188, member: 259"]Try skiing gloves. They're generally much warmer than cycling gloves, and they're generally pretty waterproof. It's what I use in the winter now. Very cheap in the sales at the moment.[/QUOTE]
They are what i use for commuting, but are a bit cumbersome on the road bike. Never found a pair of cycling gloves that keep my hands really warm, they just keep them warm enough.


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## summerdays (30 Dec 2014)

Spinney said:


> I've heard people with similar problems say that it helps to keep your arms warm as well. Extra arm warmers? Make sure there are no gaps at the wrists?


What she said

I keep my body, arms, feet and head warm. I have been known to wear two pairs of gloves, so far this winter has been fairly mild for me and I haven't been suffering as much as normal. I'm sure there is plenty of time left though for it to get colder. I wear arm and leg warmers, and if I do get too hot, I unzip and remove layers (I'd rather that than the opposite). Usually means I've got a pannier half full of additional layers that I can put on as necessary.


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## shouldbeinbed (30 Dec 2014)

ray316 said:


> l suffer from cold hands at the best of times due to what *l presume* is bad circulation.
> So in these cold winter days when cycling most days and weekends my hands are freezing cold like blocks of ice.. l wear thermal gloves but this makes no difference after being on the bike after 10 minutes. Most of my bike rides are for around a hour so by the time l get back home l've lost all the feelings in my fingers..
> Anyone else suffer with this problem of cold hands, and any suggestions welcome to how l can keep my hands warm while cycling.


 
Do you get whitening or discolouration of you hands and digits with the cold? have you considered or been tested for Reynauds - it could be that whatever you do, if you've got medical issues you're going to struggle *without a proper diagnosis* and some treatment or advice.

other than that I'd echo what others have said.
Glove liners inside heavyweight winter cycling or ski specific gloves & make sure they're properly windproof, a latex glove over the top too will trap whatever heat you do produce inside and be a proper physical barrier to wind and wet. I got some little heat pads from Aldi too, they can just about work in gloves but not brilliant grop and feel wise I may tinker with them on the back of my hand with looser gloves on.


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## mustang1 (30 Dec 2014)

Now let me tell you my story about cold hands. One freezing morning I was determined to ride into work despite having lost one glove. Men I'd be OK I thought but after 10 minutes I just could take any more. 

So I popped into wait rose in the way to work to buy some gloves. All they have were pink ladies gloves and I would have bought them if they fitted but alas they were too tights. I cycled some more and happened to come across a hardware store and went in there looking for gloves. I walked out with bright yellow rubber gloves younuae for such things as cleaning drains. I swear those gloves, on that day, were a miracle of god and I would have paid 5x the price for them.


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## nobbyp (30 Dec 2014)

^^^+1 for these - I bought some while skiing in Colorado when it was -30 and even my mutts nutts ski gloves where struggling on the lifts. Wear them under bog standard set of revolution winter gloves and make the world of difference


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## mikeymustard (4 Jan 2015)

User13710 said:


> Silk glove liners are very light to carry and surprisingly warm even when wet.





nobbyp said:


> ^^^+1 for these - I bought some while skiing in Colorado when it was -30 and even my mutts nutts ski gloves where struggling on the lifts. Wear them under bog standard set of revolution winter gloves and make the world of difference


Another recommendation for silk liners. I also kite buggy; we regularly buggy in 20-30+ mph wind while we might be travelling at 30+ mph at right-angles to the wind direction - 300m up on top of the common with the temp already hovering around freezing makes for some interesting wind chill factors I can tell you!


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## Kevoffthetee (4 Jan 2015)

[QUOTE 1689188, member: 259"]Try skiing gloves. They're generally much warmer than cycling gloves, and they're generally pretty waterproof. It's what I use in the winter now. Very cheap in the sales at the moment.[/QUOTE]
I've been out a few times on the MTB and wore a pair of Head branded ski gloves. My hands were toasty except from my finger tips which were still cold.


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## djb1971 (4 Jan 2015)

If you don't mind looking a bit of a tit, get some pogies. 

I use them on the fatbike, very cosy. I've had the oven gloves comment on a couple of occasions but my fingers are still warm enough to give the hecklers a salute, see avatar


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## confusedcyclist (4 Jan 2015)

As with body, it's all about layers of air between the skin and outside cold air. Silk glove liners, picked mine up from amazon for £7 for wearing when my thermal gloves aren't cutting it.


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## Nigelnaturist (4 Jan 2015)

Never put on cold gloves, keep them next to the body till you need to wear them. 
I tend to warm up even in colder temps, as mentioned two pairs neither particularly thick, do me in current temps, not so nice once wet and doing 30+ miles though, was tad cold when it snowed.


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## wanda2010 (11 Jan 2015)

I have silk gloves used as liners for my heated gloves when the temp is 6 degrees and below. Higher temps get bulky gloves with thinner ones as liners.

I have Raynaud's though and having tried the 'keeping the core warm with an extra layer (3 instead of two) and body heat will flow down to the fingers' method, I can categorically state that does not work for me. Dripping with sweat and cold fingers was the result. My toes are marginally better. Just.


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## Big John (12 Jan 2015)

I've tried all sorts over the years and until now wasn't successful in keeping my hands warm whilst out on the bike on a cold winter's day. I've finally invested in a pair of lobster Sealskinz, bought from Cycle Surgery (although I'm sure there are other places just as cheap). At last - success. My hands are finally toastie warm. Maybe a little too warm, in fact. Can't comment yet about them being waterproof but rumour has it they are. I'll let you know. They take a bit of getting used to but at the end of my first ride with them I'd got the hang of them. Not cheap but if you suffer from cold hands then well worth the investment.


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## runner (12 Jan 2015)

I suffer from bad circulation in my hands and if the weather gets very cold (which is not often) then I am in pain. I have tried many gloves including heated (too bulky) and at present I carry with me some reusuable heat pads (poundland) and after being out in the cold for some 15mins (and my hands are getting numb)...I break the seal on the pads and stick down my gloves...it certainly helps. I have read that the lobster style glove with a good inner is well worth trying but my only problem with this combination is not being able to use the brakes effectively as I would with full finger gloves....for the moment I will stick with the cheap alternative...and look forward to the spring


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## Big John (12 Jan 2015)

Agreed - a bit of a malarky getting used to the general feel of them, especially on the levers. However, with the STI's I've got they seem to work OK and pulling on the brakes isn't an issue. I've been out when my hands have been so cold I could hardly pull on the levers but with these things on you really are warm. The guys I ride with wear the silk inners (motorbike inners?) as extra insulation and swear by them. For me the inners would be too warm.
It's a bit of a trade off, thinking about it. They're not as flexible as normal gloves but on the plus side cold hands now seem to be a thing of the past.


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