[Rendel Harris]

26km commute this morning and the Garmin never registered above -3 degrees…as a Raynaud’s sufferer even with my Sealskinz electric gloves on with liners I was in quite a lot of pain by the end and it made me nostalgic for my motorcycle days when I had “elephant ears” bar muffs in the winter. I was surprised to find that you can actually get something like that for road bikes, e.g. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bar-Mitts-Handlebar-Shifters-Externally/dp/B002VK765O?th=1&psc=1

Has anyone tried these and do they work? I’m aware they will probably look a bit daft and will gain sneers from purists, but I’m more interested in being warm than cool (see what I did there?). My main concern apart from do they work in terms of warmth is are they easy to withdraw one’s hands from quickly for signalling. If anyone has any experience of these I’d be grateful to hear about it, cheers.

Topic

[Creakingcrank]

No experience, but was asking

No experience, but was asking myself this very question the other day.

This US-made model is intended for drop bars or flat and gets good reviews around the Internet:

https://bikeiowa.myshopify.com/products/pogielites.

Hits the “gravel price” bracket too 🙂 

As far as I can see, drop-bar compatibility is achieved by installing them “backwards” (so the end normally closest to the stem on a flat bar bike is now down on the drops). Maybe this would be worth trying with some cheap ones sourced from large e-commerce company

 

[kil0ran]

Hand guards are a thing in

Hand guards are a thing in the MTB world so it’s only a matter of time before someone does a “gravel” version for drop bars and doubles the price

[Rendel Harris]

There are some interesting

There are some interesting pictures online of shields made from halved plastic 5-litre cooking oil containers…I too feel a bit of chanelling my inner Wallace coming on…

[IanMSpencer]

I’d guess a small faring
I’d guess a small faring (stares intimidatingly at washing liquid bottle that has been the source of many a mudguard extension) would be far less of a problem than those mitts. I might experiment tomorrow.

[Rendel Harris]

Many thanks for the advice,

Many thanks for the advice, going to give them a try.

[Rendel Harris]

I was contemplating that too,

I was contemplating that too, in fact I was looking at some of the companies that offer small farings – quite troublesome in terms of handling in the wind though I imagine.

[Rendel Harris]

Thanks for the advice, useful

Thanks for the advice, useful.

[Owd Big 'Ead]

I use pogies right through

I use pogies right through the winter. An absolute godsend when having to use a smartphone regularly while out on the bike making deliveries. Unless it’s extremely cold, I’ll just use them without any additional glove underneath.

I know other people who can’t get on with them, but I love ’em. Decent ones, aren’t exactly cheap, but you do get what you pay for. It’s Bar Mitts for me everytime.

[andystow]

Rendel Harris wrote:

Thanks for that, sounds positive! The only thing I’m concerned about is how quickly I could get my hand back to the brake when signalling in case of emergency, is that fairly easy?

Yes, they go in and out fairly easily. The opening stays open enough that it would be hard to miss.

[IanMSpencer]

I have often pondered whether
I have often pondered whether it is possible to create a wind shield to hide fingers behind. Assuming you don’t need your drops, a clamp on the lower section to a sturdy frame and then some plastic in front of the brake levers and above to the hoods might to the trick.

I ride with three pairs of gloves, merino liner, DHB thin glove with some sort of rubber backing then a winter glove, but biting winds still get through. Often I just want to hide my fingers somewhere, they’d be warm enough if sheltered.

[Rendel Harris]

Thanks for that, sounds

Thanks for that, sounds positive! The only thing I’m concerned about is how quickly I could get my hand back to the brake when signalling in case of emergency, is that fairly easy?

[andystow]

I modified mine to let my bar

I modified mine to let my bar ends stick out, making them a little roomier and allowing my mirror to stil be used. The fabric can be cut and does not unravel further.

[andystow]

Bar Mitts are great! They can

Bar Mitts are great! They can be a bit too warm above freezing, but really come into their own below about 20 °F / -7 °C. I generally have a thin liner glove on under, which I often end off pulling off if my hands start to sweat.

[Rendel Harris]

 Mine were velcro and easy to

 Mine were velcro and easy to get on and off, used to leave them on the radiator overnight for a nice warm muff in the morning (you started it).

Yes I guess standard motorbike ones would be fine with flat bars, I was intrigued to see these ones designed for drops.

[alan sherman]

No experience, but I did see
No experience, but I did see someone on the south circular in London with some bar muffs fitted to a hybrid. They looked like std motorbike ones which have stiffeners for ease of entry and so the levers don’t get applied at speed due to wind speed.

I never tried motorbike ones because my motorbike was kept outside. The idea of putting my hand in a cold, wet muff was just too much for me……

[Author]

Replies