WET WEATHER GLOVES and other gear

gbs

For the second successive ride the combination of wind, rain and of course my massive speed on the road has give me severely cold and stiff hands particularly the thumbs. What gloves are recommended?.

In these conditions how can I prevent water running down the leg and into the overshoe?

Crud roadracer 'guards performed well. Likewise Gore jacket.

meanredspider

Interested to see what gloves are recommended. I went with SealSkinz and they are poor. I don't expect to be wringing out my "waterproof" gloves after less than an hour. They are also sweaty inside and don't breathe well at all.

I can recommend eVent as a waterproof material though.

Unless you get a waterproof seal around the top of your overshoes, you're bound to get water run into them. Waterproof trousers that come over the top of them will do the trick. Other options are SealSkinz socks or the Shimano boots (MW80 RW80) - both of which I've been recommended for keeping my feet warm and dry.

phil s

I am going for neoprene gloves for racing in the wet this season. Same material as a wetsuit - hands get wet but stay warm. Specialized make them as do Castelli - the latter's model is the Diluvio.

paggnr

Endura Strike

Wamas

gbs wrote:

In these conditions how can I prevent water running down the leg and into the overshoe?

I tuck the top of my overshoes inside my leggings. On a very wet day, I wear seal skins socks too.

Anonymous

phil s wrote:

I am going for neoprene gloves for racing in the wet this season. Same material as a wetsuit - hands get wet but stay warm. Specialized make them as do Castelli - the latter's model is the Diluvio.

Decathlon do diving ones for about a fiver that are exactly the same!

Next time I'm passing I'll be getting a pair of them...

Barrie_G

phil s wrote:

I am going for neoprene gloves for racing in the wet this season. Same material as a wetsuit - hands get wet but stay warm. Specialized make them as do Castelli - the latter's model is the Diluvio.

Try looking in a fishing tackle shop first, you'll probably find gloves that are just as good but a fraction of the price

rolf_f

meanredspider wrote:

Interested to see what gloves are recommended. I went with SealSkinz and they are poor. I don't expect to be wringing out my "waterproof" gloves after less than an hour. They are also sweaty inside and don't breathe well at all.

Be specific - some have poor reviews, others good. The ones I've got are fine so far - they are the Technical Mountain Bike Gloves (Cold weather comfort). The All Weather Gloves got a crap review.

I'm not sure my gloves are the perfect solution but they are good.

KillerMetre

paggnr wrote:

Endura Strike

I have these.Water resistant for sure but waterproof no.30 mins of heavy rain and there pretty damp.Made even more annoying by the fact that on the wrist they say 'waterproof'.

Stellite

I have the seal skinz all weather red cycling glove and they have been fine on winter mornings. Hands get sweaty, but ill put up with that as long as fingers stay warm.

Some folk use conical ankle seals to seal boots

http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/Drysu ... eals1.html

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

Be specific - some have poor reviews, others good. .

It doesn't say on them what they are. They have Porelle tags ("Waterproof and Breathable" - yeah, right). "WATERPROOF" on the index finger and "GEL" on the palm. Reflective strip across the knuckles and a seal on the gauntlet-style wristbands with "velcro" fasteners. They weren't particularly good at keeping out the cold yet my hands sweat in them (clearly breatheability is poor). Nor do they keep out the rain for long.

Monty Dog

Endura Strike are the worst gloves ever - event worse that some Alturas I bought - once wet, the liner sticks to your fingers - take the glove off, the liner comes with it and you're truly stuffed. One very cold ride home wearing one glove.

meanredspider

Monty Dog wrote:

Endura Strike are the worst gloves ever .

I've had a terrible time with Endura kit - I would take quite some convincing to buy any more.

gbs

To Phil S: thanks for the neoprene glove notion. Now I need to check out the Specialised product v Decathlon (NapD)

To Stellite: conical ankle seals ordered yesterday!

nferrar

Feet: In really wet conditions your feet are going to get wet unless you wear waterproof trousers/tape seams etc (and even then it's no guarantee) so focus on keeping feet warm when they're wet. Main way is decent wool socks (pref. cycling specific ones so they aren't too bulky) and neoprene overshoes. Your feet will get wet but should stay relatively warm. Personally I'd advise against Sealskinz socks (and I have 3 pairs, although don't use them anymore), they don't add much extra in terms of waterproofing and have the disadvantage of being bulky and ill-fitting so can reduce circulation in your feet and end up making them colder. Winter boots are generally pretty good but although I have some I generally just go with the wool socks + normal road shoes + neoprene overshoe.

Hands: Again forget about keeping your hands dry, even if you keep the rain out they'll get sweaty and wet from the inside. I find if it's reasonably warm but wet then Sealskinz gloves (tech MTB are best IME) are fine however if it's cold out then I find the ends of my fingers going numb in them. Key when it's cold + wet is (as for feet) is to use layers. Either something like the Spesh Sub-Zero (2-layer glove) or silk liners from an outdoor shop + Sealskinz glove (or other preferred water/wind resistant glove). That way you're creating another barrier against the conductive heat loss once everything's wet through.
In the past I've tried lobster mitts and neoprene gloves to, lobster mitts are certainly warm but IMO too bulky and neoprene gloves I thought were bulky to and just didn't like the feeling.

The above comes from experience having spent hundreds over the years on socks/shoes/overshoes/gloves/mitts etc. YMMV but it basically comes down to using layers rather than trying than spending a fortune on one item that does it all (and invariably doesn't).

rolf_f

meanredspider wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Be specific - some have poor reviews, others good. .

It doesn't say on them what they are. They have Porelle tags ("Waterproof and Breathable" - yeah, right). "WATERPROOF" on the index finger and "GEL" on the palm. Reflective strip across the knuckles and a seal on the gauntlet-style wristbands with "velcro" fasteners. They weren't particularly good at keeping out the cold yet my hands sweat in them (clearly breatheability is poor). Nor do they keep out the rain for long.

They could be the same as mine but still hard to say. The ones that got the terrible review had little black circular sticky/grippy pads on the finger tips. The ones I have are just suede plus hardish plasty finger tips on thumb and index. Those are a bit annoying as they stop me wiping my specs with those fingers. I think my conclusion is similar to nferrer with the same gloves - fine but still cold thumbs when it is really cold - but I do have slightly duff circulation in my digits. And I don't sweat too much so maybe breathability is less of an issue for me.

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

. The ones that got the terrible review had little black circular sticky/grippy pads on the finger tips. .

That sounds like mine. I've only bought 4 products from my local Alpine Bikes:
- SealSkinz gloves - rubbish
- Endura Neoprene Road Overshoes (fell to bits within a month)
- Endura Meryl shorts (terrible chamois and different sized leg openings)
- Shimano R086 road shoes (so far so good - touches wood)

Don't think much of the Alpine buyer's skills.

sampras38

NapoleonD wrote:

phil s wrote:

I am going for neoprene gloves for racing in the wet this season. Same material as a wetsuit - hands get wet but stay warm. Specialized make them as do Castelli - the latter's model is the Diluvio.

Decathlon do diving ones for about a fiver that are exactly the same!

Next time I'm passing I'll be getting a pair of them...

i've got 2 pairs of neoprones...a Castelli pair and a some I usually use for diving. Both work well but I've found the diving pair to be much better in heavy rain, and they are thinner than the Castelli's. .

SealSkinz

Hi All

I work for SealSkinz and this exchange of views got sent to me via the wonders of Google! I just wanted to make sure you guys are aware that if for any reason a product is leaking, and it is not being waterproof, we are happy to test them and find out why. If it is faulty product then we can replace them.

We are aware that the hole at the top of a SealSkinz sock can let water in and this is being looked out by our people here to try and find a solution. One more thing, I noticed that some comments are that SealSkinz socks are to bulky, however we do make a sock now called a Thin Mid Calf, which is a lot lot thinner than other socks you might be aware of, like the Mid Thermal for instance?

I'll stop interfering now, if you need anything else then please get in touch with us!!

Kind regards

Hayley