Cold Weather Riding: Muffs vs Heated Grips vs Winter Gloves

[ViniH]

New biker here having passed my mod 2 last week, and having only 120 solo miles under my belt thus far (accrued in a return commute from Cardiff to Bath Spa - but I did almost all of my learning in extremely bad weather (high wind, heavy rain, etc)).

I have a question with regard to the only part of me that seems to get cold, my fingers.

I've done quite a bit of reading online, including reviews and forum threads, and I can't seem to really decide on the best method of avoiding the pain of really cold fingers on longer high-speed rides.

So I thought I would ask for some advice, in the hopes that the collective experience here will aid me in making a decision.

I currently ride a Divvy, more specifically a 2001 Yamaha XJ600N. My current weekly "routine" includes a once a week commute from Cardiff to Bath Spa, and a weekend ride for several hours. I intend to do this all winter, in all weather, with the possible exception of heavy snow. I am also intending to ride from Cardiff to Preston, a journey of a little over 200 miles, in mid December.

Generally I do not feel the cold, and while riding this is no exception, quite often I am too warm, however after about 40 minutes at 60mph+ I notice that my fingers, especially my fingertips, are very cold and it can get painful.

So my questions relate to methods of avoiding cold fingers, specifically whether I should invest in a good pair of winter gloves, handlebar muffs, heated grips, or some combination of these. My budget is approximately £100, although this is not set in stone.

Winter Gloves

The research I have done seems to indicate that you can buy a good set of winter gloves for under £100.

I am basing this primarily from Visor Down reviews (and the user comments), specifically:

>£100 - https://www.visordown.com/product-features/tested-sub-100-all-weather-gloves/21734-7.html

and

>£60 - https://www.visordown.com/product-features/tested-sub-60-all-weather-gloves/22259-7.html

But my friends who ride have all advised me that gloves tend to wear out reasonably quickly, so this is likely to be the least cost-effective solution to my problem.

Heated Grips

I have very little technical expertise with either electronics or mechanics, and I would feel very uncomfortable wiring up a set of heated grips myself, therefore the only reasonable scenario would be for me to buy a set and have a garage fit them for me, presumably at the extra cost of about £50.

My research has told me that heated grips have very limited effectiveness for my riding situation, and that they often keep the hands warm but not the fingers/fingertips - although it seems that a combination of heated grips and muffs are very effective.

In addition I am concerned that the extra power drain might be a little much for my old bike, especially given that the lights will be on almost all the time during the winter.

Handlebar Muffs

Although I cannot imagine handlebar muffs will do anything to improve my image, these are the direction in which I am currently leaning. They seem to be pretty cost effective and in theory could be transferred from bike to bike, and are unlikely to suffer wear issues like gloves. I have been reading quite a lot about them and my main considerations are the fitting (I don't much fancy anything that involves a Stanley knife and super glue), the possibility of interference with levers/instruments, and getting my hands in and out of them safely while riding.

Also, the ones I was looking at, based on reviews, were the Oxford "Bone Dry" muffs - although various forum posts recommend the Tucano Urbano which are apparently easier to fit, however some posts suggest these latter are only really suitable for scooters.

---

So I'm really looking for some advice on the above, and would welcome your thoughts and comments on this, it is entirely likely that I will make my decision based on the discussion in this thread, so please share any experiences you have with any of these methods (or indeed some other method I haven't yet considered).

[haroman666]

Winter gloves + Bar muffs = barely chilly fingers.

I use lobster-style gloves which cost me about £30.
Bar muffs are Oxford ones which cost me around £25 on Ebay.

Job's a good'n'.

EDIT: To be slightly more helpful here's links to what I have:
Gloves
Bar Muffs

I will say though; having a faired bike has made a massive difference to how warm I am.
____________________
The mistresses: 2000 Honda CBR600f, 2000 Honda VTR1000

[lozzypop1]

I'd suggest the other combo, Heated grips + Muffs = Lozzy riding all year round without cold fingers
____________________
Funny, I used to hate being spanked as a child!
Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.

[G]

[Polarbear]

Heated grips and and lobster gloves
____________________
Victory Cross Country American tractor.

[Rogerborg]

[pinkyfloyd]

Another vote for Tucano Urbano muffs. I ride all year round and finish work as late as 2:30am some nights when I'm bar working and spend the day out on the bike when I am CBT instructing. During that really cold spell the other week I put a thermal set of inner gloves inside my summer gloves and my hands were cosy. Takes a few minutes for the bars to warm up with your body hand heat but when they do you dont feel the cold.

They work so well the boss instructor got himself a pair for his bike.
____________________
illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[ViniH]

Thanks for the advice so far, I am now leaning quite heavily in the Tucano direction.

Is there a specific model or whatever that I should be looking for or will a shopping search for "Turcano Urbano" yield the correct set for my Divvy?

P.S. Don't you think Turcano Urbano sounds like a spell from Harry Potter?

EDIT: I found this:

https://tucanourbano.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Hand-grip-covers-compatibility-list_04_01_13.pdf

So, Nylon or Neo-prene?

EDIT 2: I've ordered the Nylon ones. Yes I am impatient (also I want them on Saturday ideally).

[Mark65]

Tucano muffs = win
Trust me Ive just been through this, my muffs cover everything,takes a ride or two to get used to them, I can take handout and wipe visor and back in no problems. And no numb fingertips any more and thats with thin summer gloves. I have the nylon ones for mirrors and bar ends, call Palmers motorcycle shop, they had them to me in less than 30 hours from ordering.
Mark
____________________
07 Yamaha YBR125, 07 Honda CG125 , 15 CBR300R (Chocolate Crank, Deaded), 16 CB500FA, 19 Honda Forza 300, 70 Suzuki SV650

[P.addy]

Hate the look of the nylon ones, if you are going to look like a bell end, might as well do it in style with neoprene

[pinkyfloyd]

[James83]

+1 on the Tucano muffs. Its the wind chill factor - winter gloves can keep it at bay for a period of time, depending on the gloves, but the wind chill will get through any glove eventually. Because the muffs don't touch your hands, it simply removes wind chill from the equation. After that, as long as your gloves are warm enough for the ambient air temperature, your good all day long.

Oh, and as others have said, don't cheap out on the basic muffs if you ever plan to ride at more than *mumblemumble* mph. Even the Tucanos begin to press inwards at 110+*

*As tested on a private road, under controlled conditions, with expert supervision, while wearing a high vis jacket. By someone who wasn't me. Honest.

[P.addy]

[Bendy]

I've got the muffs but still need the heated grips as well.

But then I'm currently sitting at my desk with the heating on and wearing 2 fleeces.

[James83]

[Polarbear]

[chris-red]

I have handguards and grips and gloves and my hands are fine.
____________________
Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[Walloper]

If you're not au fait with electrickery look at kies heated gloves. And you'll be fine.

As for winter gloves not lasting. You need to find better mates.

I have winter gloves I've used since 2009 every winter and still purfik.

I wear long sleeves thin woollen jumper. (Or a fancy Tech Base-layer).

Grips are not such a difficult thing to fit and there are good tips on this forum for how-to-do.
____________________
W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[G]

[Flatbadger]

I keep my fingers warm by contributing to all the 'cold hands' threads on here at this time of year..

Other than that, vintage lobsters off ebay for £15, a pair of normal wool gloves under those, and I'm sorted.
____________________
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
You're in ISIS

[Matt B]

You can even make your own muffs...

https://i45.tinypic.com/3495lc7.jpg

All very fetching and very Blue Peter. Full instructions here: https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=255922
____________________
stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[27cows]

Nice bit of muff is the only way to go, ideally with winter gloves and thermal inners underneath for the particularly bitter days.
____________________
The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[mgh0]

Anyone know where I can get an extra stiffening rib for the muffs? Managed to break one, Tucano Urbano just sent me a link to the bits you cable tie onto the grips, not the rib itself.

Cheers
____________________
"Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, it is defined by those who fell and rose to fight again." Adrienne Rich.

[Benno]

Heated grips can be very nice in somewhat cold weather - weather in which you are comfortable when not riding (and uncomfortable when riding due to wind chill).

In weather that is cold even if you are not riding, heated grips will only keep the insides of your hands [slightly] warm[er]. Your fingertips will still lose all feeling and your thumb tips will feel like blocks of ice.

I have heated grips and fairly decent winter gloves, and still sometimes on the colder nights my hands get absolutely frozen. It's the wind that does it.

Muffs are probably the best item for keeping your hands warm. It's the wind that really does it. With muffs and a normal pair of winder gloves you will never want for any fancy electronics or technology again

But if you do, make sure you get some that go off when the ignition goes off...because one day when you go for a ride way out onto the moors, and you stop somewhere remote to admire the view...you will end up spending a very long time admiring that view. Even after the rain comes.
____________________
I'm autistic. That means I'm smarter than you.

[bikersupermot...]