Bar Mitts for Thanksgiving

[JimF22003]

It was 33 degrees this morning when I was ready to ride, so I decided to give the new set of Bar Mitts a try. It hasn’t been cold enough to need them before now.

These are the real deal. I wore them with just a regular pair of summer-weight fingerless gloves with a light liner underneath:

I was never cold at all. I actually got a bit sweaty in them, but no worse than riding in the summer I guess. I could probably have done without the liners.

Here are some pics of the mitts on my bike:

These things will never look elegant, but they look OK. I’ll have no trouble using them after dark…

I got the small size, but was surprised how snug they are. My shift levers are electronic, so I don’t have to worry about lever throw, but I think maybe if I were using a lever where you have to move the whole brake lever, it might be a little tight. For me these are just right.

Bad points are that you can’t use the drops at all. I missed them when it got windy today, and I couldn’t get down low. I’m not sure I’d want to come down a long, steep, twisty descent without being able to brake from the drops either.

Bonus feature: when it warmed up, I removed my balaclava, and found enough room inside bottom part of the mitt to hold it, so that was one less thing to stuff in my back pocket. They would make a nice little change purse too…

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[PotomacCyclist]

I tried out my mountain bike Bar Mitts for the first time on the day of the Columbia Pike light giveaway. It wasn’t brutally cold, but it was chilly and damp. The Bar Mitts held up well. I wore open-fingered bike gloves inside the Bar Mitts. My hands were neither too warm nor too cold. I should have worn long pants though. My legs got cold that evening.

It’s not possible to add bar ends with the Bar Mitts on. I don’t have bar ends but I’ve thought about adding them. I’ll have to wait until the spring.

[Dirt]

Cool to hear that they’re working well for you.

[Author]

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