Advice on cold weather cycling with Raynaud's?

[novocaine]

Dynamo powered heated grips, right I'm off to the dragons den with that idea.
I think I'm going to try lobster claws this winter.

 

[hookooekoo]

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...

I don't usually have a problem with cold hands when cycling. However, I do other sports where cold hands can be a problem.

In the past I used these inside my gloves.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/291197908
I found they're effective for maintaining circulation, but probably not suitable for daily use due to the cost.

 

[hookooekoo]

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.

Foil insoles is an interesting idea that I haven't heard before. I always try on cycling shoes with thick walking socks, because I'd rather have hot feet in summer than cold feet in winter. I bought some seal skins socks ages ago, but for some reason I've never tried them.

 

[Joe_Rides]

I've got Raynauds and have been through loads of different things.

These gloves have been pretty good as a liner, combined with some larger outer gloves.

https://srukshop.co.uk/silver-gloves-12/
Key thing I find is to keep gloves quite baggy and not too tight. I tried neoprene wetsuit gloves once, and they were awful, purely because they were really tight on my fingers.

I'll be trying Pogies with some handwarmers at some point. And I once considered making myself some wind deflectors out of plastic bottles, but never got round to it!

Whilst my feet are affected, I can usually live with the pain / numbness. My main issue is the hands.

 

[Joe_Rides]

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

ps. Regards the above - it can still cause me issues on a cool summer morning. I rode to work today (2nd August), and found that my left middle finger was completely white by the time I got to work, despite the rest of me being very warm!

I also can get white-finger issues when i'm feeling nervous. It seems to be quite strongly associated with the nervous system and not just cold weather.

 

[mattr]

Foil insoles is an interesting idea that I haven't heard before. I always try on cycling shoes with thick walking socks, because I'd rather have hot feet in summer than cold feet in winter. I bought some seal skins socks ages ago, but for some reason I've never tried them.

They're "standard" on many of the better cold weather shoes (cycling and non-cycling).
I have them in both pairs of my Northwave cycling shoes and my winter work boots. (Shovelling snow in -20 needs some serious insulation!)

 

[mattr]

ps. Regards the above - it can still cause me issues on a cool summer morning. I rode to work today (2nd August), and found that my left middle finger was completely white by the time I got to work, despite the rest of me being very warm!

I also can get white-finger issues when i'm feeling nervous. It seems to be quite strongly associated with the nervous system and not just cold weather.

Yes, definitely. Guy I used to ride with had some issues with a Raynaud's type problem. Worst time of year for him was a typical British summer, when he'd get hot and sweaty climbing, or riding with a tail wind. A change in gradient (descent) or wind direction would see him in tears with the pain as his sweaty extremities cooled down. Until he stopped and added clothing/warmed up.
The autumn/winter/spring was easy, because it was always cold enough for him to need serious insulation.

 

[ColdHands]

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...

Hi Fatal Swan,

What an accident. Fortunately, you are not the only one in the world who suffers from it! I also have it and I was diagnosed with it a long time ago. I bought myself Heated gloves from HeatPerformance. I'll add a link later, really a big fat recommendation. You still have the grip we are used to, but there are heating elements in the gloves. I hope this will help you ;-)

Thank me later!

 

[Shaznaz786]

Hi there,
Get some nifedipine from the GP
Works for some patients.
I've prescribed to some in the past.. 50 percent success rate.

 

[JimW]

Plastic pedals and pogies.
Thank me later!

I'm no expert, but I think there may be a distinction between poor circulation in the extremities and Raynauds syndrome. The latter, as I understand it, may arises from vasospasm which may well be induced by cold, but might also arise due to exposure to vibration (this used to be called vibration white finger) or may arise seemingly spontaneously. In ether instance all the advice about keeping warm seems sensible, but if it really is Raynauds, then it might not eliminate it in all circumstances.