[Closed] Hands and Feet - brrrr!

To aid keeping your hands warm use arm warmers snug to the glove with a jacket cuff overlapping, for your feet you need to keep the water out so overshoes if you can.

I was out today with flats on in a very snowy Rossendale at 1280ft

On the hands Planet X cheap merino wool socks with sealskin’s over the top

The hands cheap Merino liner gloves and a pair of Montane Prism gloves over the top again.

The feet were ok with a bit of hikey bikey and the hands toasty, if a little too warm.

Halfway around I took the Montane’s off and popped on a pair of 100% Briskers on

Sealskinz Ultra Grip gloves are great down to about zero, and have much better feel than most cold-weather gloves.

If it gets colder or there's much wind, then I wear thin liner gloves under a looser fitting winter glove (Aldi usually).

As for socks, I swear by Defeet WoolieBoolies - but have been suffering myself this last week.

I have to get off and push up the odd hill to massage the feel back into my feet.

Have been thinking about those chemical foot warmer pads, anyone tried them?

Been swearing by Brigdale socks (the heavy duty ones) for all my riding (north wales, the big mountains). Even when wet my feet can survive down around freezing - walkers know their shit.

Departure today though just for an experiment - got some Brigdale Stormsocks (their version of sealskins) - was knee-deep in water early on in the ride and then up and over Moel Siabod before turning home.

Feet stayed dry. My 5-10's stayed wet (why are all mountain bike specific shoes so shit? Amazing flat pedal performance - but why not just copy walking shoes for the rest of it? They stay sodden) - and my feet were cold because of heat transmission through the sock. I bet a short merino liner sock would do the trick.

Still - they were pretty good. I'll be up and over Llyn Cowlyd and back over Llyn Crafnant to Capel Curig tomorrow - so well worth trying out.

I've never found a pair of gloves that work good in the cold despite trying loads. I think "passable performance" is all I get out of them. Keeping your arms warm may work for some, but not for someone like me with no circulation.

Brigdale socks tho. Been pushing them for a while on this forum. I'm not affiliated - I've tried all sorts and they're hands down the best socks I've ever worn.

Just in from a 3 hour snow ride, wearing totally unwarm gloves, but with pogies. I don't like the pogies, they're weird to ride in and they stick out and they mess with my dropper lever... But I have warm hands,so, that's a pretty big thing. On a day like this I've never found anything that comes close (and I could still wear warmer gloves if I was riding in colder conditions)

Glacier Glove Perfect Curves are the next best option I've found, and have the advantage of being completely wateproofbut they also have drawbacks (they're thick neoprene so they are squishy on the bars, a strange feeling, and they can be very slippy on some grips. Also they're kind of a hassle to live with as they get very smelly and don't dry well)

For feet, keeping them dry is a big deal. Layers are good too. But most important is space in your shoes- people tend to cram a second pair of socks or thicker socks into their normal shoes and that harms circulation but also squishes up your socks which stops them working. So you do need to be careful what you do there, at the very least consider loosening laces. Buying a winter specific shoe in a larger size is a real luxury but it pays off...

These are fantastic for hands. Been using them for a few years never get cold hands.
https://galibier.cc/product/barrier-black/
For feet I use smart wool Merino walking socks feet always warm

Vinyl disposable gloves, worn under ordinary gloves work for me, keep hands dry in the rain, as an emergency measure pick up a pair from the fuel pumps at fuel stations, theyre plastic though but do the job.

I work outside and they work for me, before numb hands that i kept cutting,because i couldnt feel them, now vinyl gloves and fingerless mitts .

Pair of socks on feet, and then a plastic bag over socks and then anothe rpair of socks with insulating tape to seal the bag, if you have hairy legs avoid getting tpe on the hair as it hurts when you pul it off

Foot wise, it's always been a pair of warm socks and the winter sealskinz for me, but you need to have shoes that are a size above normal to fit this layout, otherwise you end up without wiggle room and your feet freeze just as much, if you have to sacrifice, i end up putting thin sports socks in the sealskinz.

Hand wise, always just worn normal gloves to keep the feel, but if i'm stopping and cooling down a few times, i would take my sealskinz mittens that i can slap on top when not moving, or trudging uphill slowly. I've tried others, but the loss of feel on the bike is a bit too much for my liking.

Raynauds sufferer here,

Galibier deep winter gloves are better than the sealskin gloves I’ve tried (can’t remember the model)
Endura flat pedal overshoes are very good but a pain to get on.

I occasionally carry a Zippo electric hand warmer that doubles as a power bank as well.

Heat pads are ok but need to be sticky otherwise they can dislodge and bunch up.

I’ve recently been looking at cheap AliExpress heated gloves/socks, and found that you can buy just the heating element for £1. Thinking of getting some and gluing them to a liner glove/sock of my choice, powered by the zippo.

I’ve tried others, but the loss of feel on the bike is a bit too much for my liking.

I find this frustrating too.

Usually I ride with thick Deathgrips, but I swap for a pair of the thinner ones when wearing winter gloves. Works well for me.

Spiked tyres, pogies and heated insoles yesterday, job's a good'un.
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The heated insoles take the edge off unless they get too wet - wading through a ford yesterday killed them.

Was out in the snowy Dales today, temps in the 1C to -1C range and a brisk northerly wind.

Long sleeved thermal top with Planet-X merino arm warmers. Shimano roubaix bib tights. Bridgedale socks (an odd pair as I was comparing two different models). Then I had a Gore windstopper jacket, full length buff as neck warmer and another buff, Alpkit merino, on top of my noggin. Gloves were Black Diamond ice climbing gloves. Boots were Lowa walking boots.

As above, most MTB oriented shoes are basically shite when it comes to bad weather, especially those aimed for flat pedal users.

So why the above? Well your core is how you heat up/cool down so you want to be able to do that while at the same time keeping your limbs warm so warm blood gets to your extremities. Thus I'd get to a climb and partially unzip the jacket and/or take off the head buff. As soon as the climb was over then buff back on and jacket zipped up. At stops the neck buff would be pulled up over my face. The idea is not to get too hot since as soon as you sweat you compromise your insulation, so it's a juggling act to keep in the "Goldilocks zone".

Clothing should be snug rather than tight. That goes for shoes/boots as well. Size up so you aren't constricting bloodflow.

Both my feet felt "cool", not cold but definitely not warm. This was actually sweat/moisture and when I got back and took my boots off the "cool" feet were actually warm to the touch.

Vapour Barrier Layer systems as @project notes are useful but I've found that the temps need to be well below zero for it to be effective.

Hands were fine. It's worth avoiding a "death grip" on the bars, you need to be relaxed anyway so relaxing your grip is just part of that.

I've a set of pogies, much the best option for cold weather.

Finally: EAT AND DRINK! You are using up much more energy in winter so take and eat more food. Cold air is also dry air so you need to drink more than you think.

The pogies have been a revelation for me this year. Unfortunately I have size 50 feet which means very limited choice in footwear, and no options for sizing up. As I get older my feet and hands suffer more with the cold, hence experiments with heated insoles. These initial disposable jobs have been adequate enough that I'm now looking at reusable options.

Go one size up on your shoes. Too many people (not just riders) wear their Norma footwear with thicker socks, but squeezing your feet will actually impede the circulation and make them colder.

As said above, concentrate on a warm glove to keep wind/wet off as best you can but pay attention to keeping arms and core warm as there’s not actually anything in your hands to heat up inside the gloves (minimal muscle, etc).

Spin in higher gears to keep warm and circulation pumping, keep the HR up, etc.

Once got a set of Madison wind proof gloves (basically neoprene gloves) which work fine. The best gloves I have found for warmth were a pair of Nookie kayaking neoprene gloves from about 15 years ago, the hade really thin palms which made feel/grip great while being warm even when wet.

It depends what type of riding you’re doing as to where your compromise on grip/feel vs warmth is.
Trail centres, DH, Enduro, etc is very different to long steady slogs across the moors. Pogies aren’t so great for BPW, but are great for exploring and steady snowy slogs.

Some useful suggestions there - thanks everyone. Nothing is in stock though!!!

Ive got a pair of 5-10 Freeriders which are completely useless in the cold. I have been wearing a pair of walking shoes with thick socks which are a massive improvement but still cold Ecco Shoes They have a surprisingly stiff sole and are quite grippy because of the big tread but my feet slipped a little on a couple of bumpy sections whereas they wouldn't have in the 5-10s. There seem to be loads of options for SPD type shoes but I want to stick with flats.

I might try the walking shoes with some Sealskinz socks..

I don't want massive gloves on my hands but I do want to be warm - I'm hoping there is a happy medium...

I used to work at sea so I know how to keep warm and dry but sailing gear is bulky and its much easier to choose what to buy - anything by Musto or Henri Lloyd will do the trick!

Hands - https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLCACHG/carnac-reflective-waterproof-crab-hand-winter-gloves

They usually have different colours/sizes in stock.

I know they look terrible and you've got less control of your brakes, but for such a small price they work so well.

Raynaud's sufferer so once my hands get cold, they stay painfully cold. These are the best solution I've found by far, you can wear a thin pair of merinos underneath also if needed. Toasty warm.

Feet - I've used Northwave celcius gtx SPD's in the past but I've gone back to flats. 661's, sealskins and a pair of thin merino socks underneath seem to be working at the minute but I've not had them drenched yet. I'm pretty sure this combo will be ineffective in this situation but we'll see.

Can anyone recommend some superthin liner socks (silk?) that would go well under Sealskinz? My current liner socks are a tad on the thick size.

I've had great success with the DHB line of gloves.
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/?s=dhb+Neoprene+Cycling+Gloves+
They aren't thick enough to feel squidgy, but they do the job and appear to be in stock.

Fancy sticking dodgy cheap electronics on your feet?, there are heated socks on ebay for a tenner or less for insoles. I haven't bought a pair yet, just considering it. Is it just stupid? the amount of faff required to attempt a normal 2/3 hr bike ride in winter is unbelievable!
LINK

Got a pair of endura pro S.L. 2 primaloft gloves from Santa.

Rode with them over the last 2 days around 0deg here and been very impressed. Fingers especially the tips always felt cold before but were very toasty even after a3 hour ride. Liner doesn’t come out and sizing is decent.

Been so impressed the wife might be getting a pair and I’ve ordered the matching primaloft socks so hoping for same results with the toes.