A couple of rides ago we rode in 21 degree weather. I have never had my hands hurt so bad and the last half of the ride was horrible. Felt like my thumbs were going to fall off. I swore that was not going to happen again. The minute I got home I jumped on amazon and started shopping solutions. After looking at a ton of options I settled on some ATV hand covers. Feared they might be to restrictive and cumbersome but had to try. I just tested these. Together with my new grip heaters this setup was fantastic. Hands were in an EZ bake oven all day. LOVED it. Actually ran the grip heaters on low and even turned them off a few times. Was so freaking wonderful ripping sub freezing temps with toasty warm hands. I thought these might be to confining but after a short period I could not even tell they were there. Loved this setup.
Nice Kelly. That is the norm for endurance Iceracing. We call them handlebar "gauntlets" and combined with grip heaters I ride in regular moto gloves or sometimes neoprene jetski gloves. Can't live without them!
No, you can get your hands out EZ, it is just material and there is a plastic band that holds the arm ends open. I was in fear of this too. Even though they look like they go to your shoulder :>) they only go about half way to your elbow. I had all these same concerns and figured I'd be ripping them off 2 miles into the ride but ended up freaking loving them. So sweet to have super warm hands on sub freezing days. there is slightly less ability to move your hands from the bars but I found for me was a non issue. Rode on super slick frozen ground with frozen puddles in every rut and snow with ice on it so super slick conditions and never felt like I was trapped. I did not crash but think I could rip my hands out of there pretty EZ. I liked them a lot which is why I am reporting as I am sure other had looked at these types like I did and thought those would not work for bikes. Did for me. Love them. Not riding with frozen hands probably kept me from crashing. believe me it was super slick with an inch of ice under a layer of snow hiding it, had I felt unsafe using them they would have been removed.
BTW I had to take the plastic hand shields off my hand guards (cycra) to get these on but left the aluminum bar. Worked great like that. They also have a zipper and draw string for the bar end to seal it off some. Also a nice hard plastic front covers on them. Seem very nicely made and well thought out. http://www.amazon.com/Kolpin-92185-...&keywords=Kolpin 92185 Black Geartector Mitts
That's pretty cheap for such a useful product! Which grip heaters are you running? I always eschewed them as unnecessary sillyness, and then I went on a long ride with a buddy who has them on his XR, and in the right (wrong) conditions they were AMAZING. I didn't want to get off his bike. I don't know about my WR, but I really want them on my TE.
Thanks for the report Kelly. I just ordered mine. I can surely use them on my ATV or one of my bikes this winter. I'm sure my daughter will want a set for her ATV once she sees mine.
I'm just running the standard Tuck grip heaters. Work fine, inexpensive and will last a long time if you take your time and install them right and keep the wires free. http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/998/23097/Tusk-Grip-Heater-Kit?term=grip heaters
Those things are like a couple of portable living rooms for your hands. Kelly really had no problem riding with them and believe me the trail was so icy that you would ride long sections and could not even THINK about touching the brakes. 35 arctic miles yesterday.
Yep thats what I did. The thin gloves actually let the heat get to your hands quicker and are SO much better feeling than thick gloves.
Please post on crash incidents. I know you don't want to think about that, but that would be awesome. It doesn't even have to be that cold to wish I had some of those. Once you get cold, your flippin cold!
So do the handguards have to be taken off for the gauntlets to fit on? At present, I use heated gloves with a battery in each glove. I tried heated grips but didn´t like them. They only warmed the inside of the hands. The outside parts were frozen. The heated gloves are ok (even on the "hot" setting) for about an hour.
I've been using a set of MSR cordura and foam guards that velcro on/off for years. They aren't a full wrap around so will not be as warm, but I've used them on some long cold rides (450 miles in Death Valley in Feb) with just my regular gloves. They make a huge difference. I still need to put the grip heaters on my 610. That will make a big difference too. http://www.malcolmsmith.com/MSR-HAND-DEFLECTORS-detail.htm?productId=10228145&ez=Hand Guards&pos=49
I have several rides on these now and love them. They are staying. I really have no issues with getting my hands in and out of them. Yesterday was about 40 and rain and lots of mud. I waterproofed them before the ride even though they were probably waterproofed as is. I did not even run the grip heaters as I was warm as is. These things rule for me. I LOVED them in the rain and mud as your gloves and grips and levers and everything stay dry and EZ to grip. Priceless. I saw my friends struggling to hold onto wet muddy grips when mine were clean and warm. These will not be coming off. I have done 2 crazy slick rides, the first with snow and ice and yesterdays with mud and steep stuff. No crashes and don't fear them ether, I have no issues removing my hands. Did so many times while riding to adjust my safety glasses or jacket, no issues. It is just floppy material and there is a plastic loop thing in the opening keeping it open. The up side is I find it much safer as my hands are not frozen or muddy and I feel I have much more control and for sure comfort. Also really like that bashing through bushes and face slappers your hands are 100% protected instead of getting whipped. Maybe not for everyone but I freaking love them. Wish I had tried this years ago. I was in a groove yesterday. The 09 is starting to really come around. Running up on riders in front of you on big hills has me covered in mud on these guards and the front of my bike and top of helmet as I ducked the roost. Was awesome keeping my hands completely mud free and not fighting to hold on to big hills. BTW I was out climbing a TE310 and KTM 350 all day. So fun being the old guy on a 144 and waiting for the kids on there fancy new scoots to make it to the top or to the end of the gnarly trail. The little bikes rock. Yep, warm dry and mud free after 50 miles of muddy gnar. Love it. This little experiment ended up in one happy customer. Bought another pair for my TR650 and DSing. These are staying on my 144 and will have a very hard life
