Advice on cold weather cycling with Raynaud's?

[Fatal Swan]

Last winter I realised I've had Raynaud's syndrome/disease for a couple of years now (I googled something like "numb/tingly white fingers in the cold", and there it was!). The tingly white fingers start up when I'm outside in any cold weather for anything more than about 20 minutes, even with one or two pairs of gloves on. And while I don't cycle that much in the winter I've had a few experiences in the last few years where on autumn/winter rides my fingers and toes have been absolutely frozen after about an hour, while the people I've been riding with have been fine in similar gloves, overshoes etc.

The thing about Raynaud's is that once the extremities get cold they won't warm up again on their own until you apply some heat to them. I do probably need to try harder to keep my core insulated but given the wind chill from cycling I don't think I'm going to have much success with keeping them warm in the first place on winter rides of any length. So I wonder if anyone has any experience of managing this? I've been thinking about heated gloves which are cumbersome and rather pricey (the only ones that seem to have reasonable reviews on Amazon are around £100. There also seem to be heated socks, but again, pricey...

 

[novocaine]

Hand warmers. The sort you snap and they get warm (reusable microwave versions are a must) down the back of each glove and in each shoe. I have similar issues although i failed the diagnosis for reynaurds and I've done this for years with a reasonble amount of success (i commute all year round but its only 20 minutes direct in the winter).

 

[pigman]

Sorry in advance if it seems insensitive, but posted in July in UK ? What prompted that? Genuinely interested

 

[Fatal Swan]

Yeah, fair point, not the most timely request I guess! The summer is no problem of course (even in the UK!) - what reminded me was that the heated gloves were in my amazon list which I happened to notice today, and come the autumn I know it'll be an issue, so I'd like to have a plan for what to try out!

 

[grey-beard]

I'm curious to hear what people suggest, although I haven't been diagnosed with Raynaud's, if I'm honest I've never heard of it, but I suffer from poor circulation in my extremities and have had some mornings recently, in the summer, arriving at work with white numb fingers. north east of England summer.

 

[novocaine]

I was thinking about this at 2am when i couldn't sleep. The other thing i used to do,although not anymore was wear a pair of rubber gloves under my winter gloves. It stoped the wind reaching my skin which helped. I dont do this any more instead i wear a neoprene glove with a silk liner glove. Wheb it gets really cold i add a pair of ski gloves over the top. I still get cold hands but its bearable and only last 5 minutes after i get to work.

 

[mattr]

Meraklon liner gloves, cheaper than silk, more durable, probably warmer, also dry out in a couple of minutes. Used to buy three pairs for 20 quid at army surplus.
Lobster claw outer gloves. Probably a good time to buy them as they are available and very little demand.
And add a thin fleece glove in the middle if you're still suffering.

Pogies can work well if your riding needs match up.

Also, shoes, don't f**k about, proper winter shoes, size up, liner sock (merino/wool is good) plus seal skins or similar, foil insole. Leave them inside to warm up before you put them on, even get a boot warmer. Dicking around with big/insulated overshoes, extra socks, blah blah blah is a false economy that still leaves you with cold feet.
Can add a neoprene overshoe to keep a bit more wind off if you need.

For MTBing, maybe go flat pedals and winter hiking boots.

And keep core, legs and arms warm, if you're layering up, make sure each layer you add fits. Seen too many idiots with 2 or 3 layers all in the same size, so none of them work, because they're too tight.

 

[mk one]

I do not suffer from the problem myself, hopefully if you have been diagnosed with the condition there is plenty of help and advice around.

The issue of cold hands is a problem though on motorbikes, i ride all year and used to commute all year on a motorbike. I also spent many years in the mountains and have learnt ways to deal with cold.

First off it is the air that is cold, obvious i know, so the solution is to prevent the air/wind getting to parts of your body, the only ways is genuine windproof items. Even then the air will find a way into them eventually, on a motorbike the right hand gets cold no matter what as you always keep that on the bar and never move it, the left never gets cold, that is because it is always moving, so i always make a point of wiggling my fingers on my right, before they get cold, to keep the blood circulating and prolong the onset of numbness. Works for the toes as well which are pretty inactive also.

Other solutions for motorbikes are heated grips, not really an option for you, though maybe someone somewhere has made some, heated gloves, which are not cumbersome and some are run off batteries now, though as you say, they are popular, not cheap and hold their money. Also wind deflectors, which i have see for bicycles too.

Oh, and going back to gloves, it is always warmer to wear mitts instead of gloves, the fingers can keep each other warm.

 

[greencat]

I suffered terribly as a kid with cold hands. I can remember riding to the local town in winter with those crappy wool finger gloves and crying in pain while trying to warm my hands up in the library.

Now I don't piss around.

British army arctic gloves. Come with a goretex outer shell and separate thick fleece inner mitten. Most times, wearing just the shell or the inner is warm enough. Remember that Blue Peter lass who cycled to the South Pole? I saw her travelling companion wearing them on his bike.

You can also get usb powered handwarmers. A set of those with a usb power pack will probably also do the job nicely.

 

[firedfromthecircus]

Plastic pedals and pogies.
Thank me later!