Advice on cold weather cycling with Raynaud's?

[Shaznaz786]

Vibration white finger is an occupational disease.usually high powered pneumatic drills.. vibration wouldn't be causing these symptoms..
Carpal tunnel syndrome separate but common.. causes pain at night usually, nerve issue. waking up and shaking hand eases it. Tinels and Phalens test used to diagnose. Might be on YouTube demo somewhere.
Constant gripping of bike handles can cause this.. simple op relieves it.

 

[JimW]

You misunderstand me. I wasn't suggesting cycling as a cause of Reynauds, merely that if it is present, symptoms may occur in circumstances other than in cold and away from the bike. I understand that those who have occupational Raynauds may experience symptoms when exposed to a degree of vibration at an appropriate frequency (eg using a domestic electric drill) which would be insufficient in extent or duration to have caused it in the first instance. I recall a former colleague (a vascular surgeon) set up a rather crude laboratory test using an inverted orbital sander pad which caused bilateral vasospasm in volunteers.
As others have said, the best we can do on a bike, whatever the cause is to keep warm.

 

[Shaznaz786]

Lost in translation.
Agreed. Multifactorial causes..

 

[Fatal Swan]

Right, I'm pleased to have started some discussion anyway and get some ideas - thanks a lot for the replies so far! I'm definitely looking to keep out on the road bike right through the winter this year and to that end I have a) sold my turbo trainer and the bike that went on it, and b) bought (second hand) another road bike for the winter with hydraulic discs and clearance for wider tyres. Last weekend I even decided to take it out for a few hours knowing that it would rain heavily from start to finish - there were some absolutely biblical downpours and flash flooding. Oddly I loved it all.

So back to the cold... I'm not instinctively good at wrapping up warm, so my plans for kitting myself out are to make myself start sensible from the start of the autumnal chill (so now), and see how far into the winter those measures get me before I need to add to them. My starting point is going to be:

1) Keep the head warmer: a thin helmet liner/hat (don't have much on top nowadays, and what's left is always shaved short!). I'll add a neck warmer/face cover a bit later in the year too, which reminds me to order one...
2) Keep the core warmer: more layers than I normally go for, with a windproof jacket/gilet on top
3) HotHands warmers slipped inside the gloves (my fingers are always the quickest thing to go in the cold and will only come back with heat applied so I'm looking forward to trying these). I did try some of the heated gloves that Amazon sell for about £70, though I was a bit underwhelmed for the price and didn't like the fact that they had bright lights on. Also too bulky really for cycling so they went back.
4) Overshoes every ride from now on, and then adding the foot version of the HotHands above when it starts to get colder.

 

[2manyoranges]

Fatal Swan - keeping the core warm is a fundamental for me (and I have ‘instant Reynauds’ - my body senses certain temp variations and just immediately shuts down circulation to my toes/fingers). I use some brilliant black polyester mesh long sleeve base layers from Chain Reaction (30.00) which really work at wicking away moisture from my body and keep my core warm - so the body thinks ‘all’s well so I will keep the blood flowing...’

 

[boxxer]

Speak to your GP, my wife has Reynauds and she is prescribed Viagra as it opens up the blood flow to the extremities - it’s slightly odd but she got used to it pretty quickly (no sniggering at the back) and it helps her massively

 

[Joe_Rides]

Riding to work this morning in freezing temperatures has reminded me I need to try something new this winter for my hands. So i've bought some pogies from https://www.hotpog.co.uk/ and will use these with my usual 2 pairs of gloves set up, maybe plopping some hand warmers in there as well.

Other than that just sticking to wearing lots of layers on the torso, so I don't get cold to begin with.

 

[2manyoranges]

There’s an excellent vid by Cody Townsend on layering to keep core temp up (and Reynaud’s therefore at bay…)

 

[nunumumi]

I used to commute via bike in the last winter and learned a few things:

- What really messes up your hands is not just the cold air, but the combination with moisture! In winter the air is incredibly humid and rain/snow do their part to really freeze the fingers stiff.

- Something rather unusual which has helped me a lot was to wear 2 pairs of surgical gloves over my hands. They can be bought cheaply in packs of 100 or so and they are perfect at isolating your hands from the outside. Your hands will be soaking wet when you take them off, but they protect from cold wind fairly well.

- What helped me the most was to wear insulated, thick winter motorcycle gloves that go over your wrist. I looked like an absolute retard, but I didn't care because they kept my hands warm inside. Same here: Your hands will be soaked in sweat, but it's worth it.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

Some kind of knuckle fenders, like the old Breeze Blockers. I used to use them in my commuter when I worked and they're very effective, albeit worse looking than a Big Brother reject.

I found that instead of my old Seal Skinz I could get away with a lighter weight glove once my digits were out of the frigid aurflow.