Heated grips or winter gloves?

PCeeeee

On my ~1hour commute to work the other morning I felt my fingers getting cold. Not bad but it was only 8deg or so setting out.

So I'm looking at heated grips. Or winter gloves. Or both?

I suppose I'm wondering would my Richa Street-Touring do me for the whole year if I had heated grips? I won't ride in the frost but do intend to bring the bike any day it's not filthy.

Wonda-Boy

Heated grips are great, especially the oxford sport series but contrary to popular belief they do not heat you fingers too well. Ideally a set of hand guards to deflect the wind is ideal but if you feel the cold then a set of x-fit winter gloves and grips is the best combo (apart from the old farts telling you about courier muffs!)

What I mean about the x-fit gloves (traction fit) is that they are contoured and not just big fluffy gloves that you loose all sense of tactile feedback from the controls.

I swear by the Held Air & Dry series. While they are not 100% winter gloves they will do you in all but mental winter days. I have had two sets of them over the last 6-7 yrs and they are absolutely brilliant in conjunction with either the heated grips and or hand guards.

As for huge big bulky winter gloves I am sure the lads might tell you as I never went for them as I dont like the lack of feel from them. But maybe a set of Gerbing heated gloves?

Sonics2k

Heated grips and a good pair of gloves are the way to go. I really miss the heated grips on the Deauville, even if I had them set to 50% my hands were really warm

Jimmy Bottlehead

Heated grips are absolutely wonderful but I'm curious what winter gloves people recommend? It's no craic having cold wet hands and facing into a chill wind in December.

Max Headroom

Muffs.....best thing for me..coupled with heated gloves theres nothing toastier...others would be more worried about the "look".....;)

Cork Trucker

Has anyone ever had an issue with the Oxford heated grips coming lose after a while?

ZX7R

Max Headroom wrote: »

Muffs.....best thing for me..coupled with heated gloves theres nothing toastier...others would be more worried about the "look".....;)

Same as muffs heated grips and winter gloves hands even sweat most of the time

fleet

Max Headroom wrote: »

Muffs.....best thing for me..coupled with heated gloves theres nothing toastier...others would be more worried about the "look".....;)

Muffs all the way.
They keep the wind off, and primarily the rain.
Totally unsexy, but I'd never commute in Ireland again without them.

If you have gloves but they get wet then they lose heat quickly, slide on the controls and feel awful... muffs prevent this.

Muffs keep the wind off enough to ride 30 min without heating most days of the year, but heated grips are luxurious. I never had heated gloves, but I think I prefer the option to change gloves that heated grips provide.

One word of caution to the rare idiots like myself who ride in all weather: heated hands gave me a false sense of confidence on icy mornings. Just beacuse your digits are toasty it doesn't mean your Dunlops are.

ZX7R

fleet wrote: »

Muffs all the way.
They keep the wind off, and primarily the rain.
Totally unsexy, but I'd never commute in Ireland again without them.

If you have gloves but they get wet then they lose heat quickly, slide on the controls and feel awful... muffs prevent this.

Muffs keep the wind off enough to ride 30 min without heating most days of the year, but heated grips are luxurious. I never had heated gloves, but I think I prefer the option to change gloves that heated grips provide.

One word of caution to the rare idiots like myself who ride in all weather: heated hands gave me a false sense of confidence on icy mornings. Just beacuse your digits are toasty it doesn't mean your Dunlops are.

That is very sound advice , nearly got caught out in the past because of this.
Over 20 years riding all weather's also
Bike is my only transport

thos

Heated grips.

Tried Keis heated gloves, found they still let air in, my Rocha arctic gloves were better.

PCeeeee

Thanks lads. Great advice

zubair

You'll need both, that's if you plan to ride in temps as low as 0. Heated grips and winter gloves are a must IMO. The Oxford grips are the best aftermarket unless your bike has a factory option which are good too, I can vouch for the Honda and yamaha heated grips. Oxford are cheaper typically and I wouldn't hesitate to get them.

I use the richa cold protect goretex in winter, they're probably one of the thinnest winter gloves going and are plenty warm in very low temps when combined with heated grips. The richa artic is also a good option, they're WP but not gore. I know wonda loves his Held AnD, I have a pair but I only use them in summer, there's no liner in them so I wouldn't recommend them for early morning winter commutes. I'll just add that I've been through a lot of winter gloves and so far the richa cold protects are probably the best, that said i have yet to find the perfect glove.

Max Headroom

I tried my mates bike with heated grips before I bought them..but didn't...I found they only heated my palms..and only if I held on completely...if I covered the brake , as I normally do my fingers were numb before long....
Honestly man it's muff all the way...I sometimes only wear my summer gloves with them...

zubair

Max Headroom wrote: »

I tried my mates bike with heated grips before I bought them..but didn't...I found they only heated my palms..and only if I held on completely...if I covered the brake , as I normally do my fingers were numb before long....
Honestly man it's muff all the way...I sometimes only wear my summer gloves with them...

Yes the heat spread isn't perfect on grips and like you said, if you cover the brake you'll have 1 cold finger. There's no doubt muffs are the perfect solution, but it's like drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa. Heated gloves are the next best thing but are stupid money for a decent set and gloves wear out a lot faster than grips.

Max Headroom

TBH if the lad is commuting I'd hope he's thinking of comfort over looks....few years ago hand guards were laughed at..now everyone has them....make sense...

conor2469

I am going to echo what some of the guys above have said. I have oxford hot grips and last winter with winter gloves I found that my knuckles and fingertips still got cold, for this winter I'm buying a pair of muffs

arybvtcw0eolkf

Muffs, muffs, muffs... All bloody day muffs.

Muffs and heated grips and you're laughing.

They look pig ugly but biking in winter isn't about looks, its about keeping warm, dry and upright!.

Muffs

CJhaughey

It comes down to safety, cold fingers don't work very well, slowing reaction times and if you are trying to apply front brake and your fingers are like sausages just out of the fridge you can see what happens next.
Having the sexy bike sliding down the road next to you isn't a cool look anyway

SmartinMartin

Having tried heated grips I've since settled on a set of heated inner gloves. Absolutely brilliant, they heat all the fingers and it means you can use the one set of gloves all year.

zubair

SmartinMartin wrote: »

Having tried heated grips I've since settled on a set of heated inner gloves. Absolutely brilliant, they heat all the fingers and it means you can use the one set of gloves all year.

I have heated grips but would be interested in what inner gloves you use. How thick are they? Could you wear them with summer (WP) gloves? That would probably be the perfect solution for the OP.

SmartinMartin

They're not thick at all, and yes I've worn them under summer gloves. The summer gloves are slightly large on me, say half a size, and everything fits nicely at that.

Zebbedee

fleet wrote: »

One word of caution to the rare idiots like myself who ride in all weather: heated hands gave me a false sense of confidence on icy mornings. Just beacuse your digits are toasty it doesn't mean your Dunlops are.

+1

zubair

CJhaughey wrote: »

It comes down to safety, cold fingers don't work very well, slowing reaction times and if you are trying to apply front brake and your fingers are like sausages just out of the fridge you can see what happens next.
Having the sexy bike sliding down the road next to you isn't a cool look anyway

A bit drastic

Max Headroom

zubair wrote: »

A bit drastic

Not really...its much the same with any cold part of your body..you can spend a time concentrating on it more than whats happening around you...

galwaytt

Max Headroom wrote: »

Not really...its much the same with any cold part of your body..you can spend a time concentrating on it more than whats happening around you...

Indeed: how does your body know it's 'hurt' - it lets you feel pain. Ditto for cold. It's a signal there's 'stuff' going on externally.

Breezin

Air-cooled engines on an accessible naked bike are, I imagine, better for a quick warm-up at traffic lights. Also, clapping hands briskly together. Not only does this drive the cold away, it's also useful for maintaining all-important alertness. All free.

I post this after viewing the astonishing pricing of winter gloves online.

SmartinMartin

Make sure if your buying glove liners that you get the ones that connect to the bike electrics, not the battery-operated ones. These are the ones I have, can't recommend them highly enough :

https://www.thevisorshop.com/Mobile/en/Gerbing-12V-Heated-Glove-Liners/m-m-22791.aspx?PartnerID=16&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz8bsBRC6ARIsAEyNnvpsGWFCM6iFvx19k6j4QmlT0L47qdXTiulRVFD5DTr0OYh9DFMRaw4aAoUtEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Ireland

Max Headroom

Muff said...soz..Nuff said....

listermint

If the wind isnt deflected away from your hand then all the heated grips and gloves in the world wont make you finger tips warm.

I have heated grips, good gloves and handguards on the bike and it would still be cold in the lower temps 6 Degrees and so. - its the wind scooping around the handguards.

I find my setup fine and i only get uncomfortable cold if its 1 or below.

If you want ultimate solution then you have to get muffs. I wont because i dont like the look or the feeling of not seeing my controls. (thats just me)

But they are the best solution if you want the top solution. My one is a close second though

Jimmy Bottlehead

Xzavier Eager Fishnet wrote: »

Muffs, muffs, muffs... All bloody day muffs.

Muffs and heated grips and you're laughing.

They look pig ugly but biking in winter isn't about looks, its about keeping warm, dry and upright!.

Muffs

Muffs?

Muffs.

Muffs...

Have had heated grips a few years now and they're an absolute godsend. But I've finally cracked and ordered a set of muffs from Aliexpress (to see how I fare with them) and I'll pick up a pair of Richa Cold Protect after Zubair's recommendation above. The reviews echo what he's said about them.

ZX7R

Muffs muffs muffs

ZX7R

Muffs muffs muffs part 2

conor2469

ZX7R wrote: »

Muffs muffs muffs part 2

They look very effective. Are they fit on over factory hand guards?
I'm looking for some that will fit over Transalp 600 handguards, they're pretty big

gctest50

SmartinMartin wrote: »

Having tried heated grips I've since settled on a set of heated inner gloves. Absolutely brilliant, they heat all the fingers and it means you can use the one set of gloves all year.

Maybe not good for blood circulation though, daft body will go : fingers warm - don't need much blood - we are in Spain yay

Maybe

ZX7R

conor2469 wrote: »

They look very effective. Are they fit on over factory hand guards?
I'm looking for some that will fit over Transalp 600 handguards, they're pretty big

Yes they fitted over the varadero had gaurds, I'd say they would be the same size as the transalp
With heated grips and good gloves you won't have cold fingers or hands

zubair

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I have been thinking about this myself, will be my first winter on a bike. Dont like the idea of modifying the bike with heated grips.

You'll be in bits without them. And they will be a welcome mod when it comes to selling.

mamax

I've handguards, heated grips and decent gloves and sometimes get cold fingers, anyone use muffs with all of the above ?

Richard tea

I commute all year round. I have handguards , heated grips and winter gloves. It's a great combo most of the time but the odd Misty cold morning still managed to chill my fingers. I'll be investing in muffs soon for this reason. I have set off in -4 temperatures some mornings and only ugly muffs will do in these conditions.

ZX7R

mamax wrote: »

I've handguards, heated grips and decent gloves and sometimes get cold fingers, anyone use muffs with all of the above ?

I use muffs , heated grips and winter gloves and have had gaurds

CJhaughey

IMHO, bikes electrical systems are for the most part just adequate with a few exceptions.
Adding high draw items like grips and heated clothing taxes the system a lot, add in cold weather and lights and all the rest and you can quickly end up pulling more from the battery that can be replaced.
Muffs keep your hands sheltered from wind and rain and allow you to concentrate on riding with fingers that work.
If you are worried about seeing the controls, some have windows to let you see the buttons etc.

listermint

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I have been thinking about this myself, will be my first winter on a bike. Dont like the idea of modifying the bike with heated grips.

Why ?

Max Headroom

*****MUFFS WARNING...******

When buying muffs be sure they will fit your bike...some are designed for scooters, as 99% of riders in France use them....they wont all fit around big mastercylinders ,handguards and mirrors....worst case scenario you might need to cut them a bit...the bigger the better....

H_Lime

Max Headroom wrote: »

*****MUFFS WARNING...******

When buying muffs be sure they will fit your bike...some are designed for scooters, as 99% of riders in France use them....they wont all fit around big mastercylinders ,handguards and mirrors....worst case scenario you might need to cut them a bit...the bigger the better....

So Max, your master cylinders too big for french muffs eh...:)

Max Headroom

H_Lime wrote: »

So Max, your master cylinders too big for french muffs eh...:)

too big for ALL muffs........:D

mamax

ZX7R wrote: »

Muffs muffs muffs

They look big enough to fit over most handguards, got a link ?

H_Lime

Max Headroom wrote: »

too big for ALL muffs........:D

Hahaha:D

ZX7R

mamax wrote: »

They look big enough to fit over most handguards, got a link ?

There from Oxford universal fit.
Bought about 3 year's ago at the Birmingham bike show

Max Headroom

Careful now...you need to get a pair with a wide opening, thats easy to get a gloved hand in....there are some out there that are too small if you have large hands.....stop sniggering at the back there....:p

conor2469

ZX7R wrote: »

There from Oxford universal fit.
Bought about 3 year's ago at the Birmingham bike show

Do they get much water in them if the bike is left out in a shower? Its an open car park at work, just wondering how I would get around that without sticking shopping bags over them!

ZX7R

conor2469 wrote: »

Do they get much water in them if the bike is left out in a shower? Its an open car park at work, just wondering how I would get around that without sticking shopping bags over them!

No water gets in , when you're hands are not in them the cuff hangs down at a slight angle .
You Will have to cut holes for the mirrors but you get big flexible washer to stop any rain getting in

zubair

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Anybody got any recommendation for a particular brand of muff? :pac: Going to get a set this morning. My hands were in bits this morning!

I love that you don't want to mod the bike but you'll put those hideous things on it haha. Actually, are you not just riding in town, no motorways?! A good set of winter gloves would be fine, no need for muffs or grips for now anyway.