Controlling the Heat
Just purchased a Gerbing Single Temperature Controller
LESSON ONE: The gloves aren’t going to burn you. (They can burn if your hands are shielded from the wind) I don’t know where someone would get the idea that you could burn yourself with these gloves. At 32° F the elements are supposed to heat to 130° F. And the elements are insulated from directed contact with skin so no burning is going to take place. Using them at 18 ° at 50 MPH you can barely tell they are heating. At sub-freezing temperatures I don’t want a thermostat, I want full power.
With the Tucano Urbano mitts shielding the wind the gloves get hot and will burn. In that case I don’t always want full power. I do want the controller. Riding today at 35F I had them set to about 1/4 power and my hands were toasty. It’s late in the winter riding season so I don’t know how much experimenting with low temperatures I’ll have but I’m ready for next winter.
Now on to some Vespa maintenance — oil and filter change to start.
You have every gizmo for cold hands now. Wind boots over the levers, heated grips, $200 heated gloves with controller. I guess your feet are next.,
Heated grips — check. Heated gloves — check. Wind boots over the levers — check. I am ready for the cold in terms of my hands. My body is fine down to about 10F with the gear I have. Feet are the next issue.
Felt pack boots!
I’ve thought of that. Seriously, that would probably do the trick.
Being able to modulate heat is nice now that you’ve achieved desired conditions for your hands. The heated grips I use can get so hot I have to move my gloved hands around a bit but like you, with grip covers, I usually don’t have them past the 25% mark.
Could be all in my mind too, but having warm hands seems to enable me to skip wearing the heated vest, at least down to the high teens anyways. I’ve yet to wear the heated vest I have, since like two winters ago.
I’m surprised how well the combination of covers, heated grips and heated gloves work. I suspect now that even in sub-zero weather my hands would be toasty. And you’re right about warm hands making everything else feel warm. Same with the head. When I don the baklava my head stays warm and my body feels better. The only time I feel a chill in my core is after I eat a big breakfast on the road and then start riding again. Ugh — no blood available to keep warm — it’s all digesting food.
Your physical body is probably on blood thinners of some sort (with regular checks to ensure the drugs are workng).
The fingers hence will not be the same,
and can burn more easily now you’re using a blood thinner perhaps).
The controller is a required option IMO.
I wonder how much of an electrical draw the electrically heated gear is
on the Vespa’s electrics?
Looks like a warm week ahead; you may not need those electrics!
The blood thinners definitely changed things and have required some adjustments on my part — hence the controller. Come May I’ll find out if I can stop taking that medication or need to continue indefinitely. Regardless, I think I can manage the cold now.
As far as the drain on the Vespa’s charging system — I’m told there is plenty of power for the gloves and grips. So far I’ve seen no suggestion of a problem in terms of the battery turning the engine over on a cold morning.
Warmth is ahead. I am looking forward to it.
I would agree that the controller is a required option though I’m thinking of trying the battery powered option next year for heated gear. I once again repaired the connection last week. This time it wasn’t the gloves but the one at the bottom of the liner.
I have burnt the back of my hand from the exposed wires in the Gerbing gloves. The pair I have, the G3, have the heated wires sewn through the insulation so 1/2 of the time they are exposed.
My chiropractor uses battery powered socks for riding horses in the winter. She said she burned her feet because she had the setting too high. I guess these devices need some careful attention.
I have the Gerbing leather Classic Heated gloves. The heated wires did a small burn on my hand that looked like a cigarette burn. The controller is required. Rode this morning and it was nice to set and forget it.
I’m wondering…how much cold protection do the Tucano covers afford? It’s too late in the season for me to bother about them, but given my current setup for riding (just a pair of insulated gauntlets), Im a tad curious. As mentioned elsewhere, Im toying with the idea of self-powered heated gloves for next winter, though I’ll probably pass on heated grips for now. My gauntlets have done the job for those necessary errand-rides, but I’m obviously thinking about longer rides, especially once I have license in-hand…which hopefully won’t be too long from now.
Just a comment, the heated gloves only heat on the back side of the fingers and hands. If the bike is left out in the cold, it takes quite a while for the steel handlebars to warm up and until they do, they just suck any warmth you may have in your hands. After all, without the grip heaters, the only way they can warm up is you. So, to me, it isn’t a question of which but I use all three. Even if the grip heaters are only used for a while on low to warm up the handlebars enough that they aren’t sucking any warmth you have from your hands. The gauntlets keep the wind from pulling heat from the back of the gloves.
Just a suggestion…
Gerbing’s website describes the gloves as “wrapping the hands with heat”. I’ve never paid much attention to the pattern except when riding with just the gloves the tips of my fingers and thumbs would get cold first. I need to test the gloves with just the grips to see if my hands can stay warm. With temps heading toward 60F not sure when that experiment will happen.
Riding yesterday I was using the gloves, then just the grips as the temperature moved toward 40F. I had the grips on the lowest setting and they were plenty warm. The covers keep the wind off the hands and it doesn’t take a lot to stay warm.
The Tucano Urbano covers make a remarkable difference. Cutting out the wind hitting the gloves means they can do their job of insulating and keeping heat that is just impossible with the wind. I rode with a pair of expedition mittens supposedly good to -40F. But riding along at 20F at 50mph my hands were frozen. Now, with the covers, I can ride to work at 20F WITHOUT the heated grips on wearing light leather gloves.
I’ve tried a number of winter and polar riding gloves and my hands were cold. The heated gloves alone weren’t enough and the heated grips alone weren’t either. I’ve not tried the heated gloves and grips without the covers though.
Again, depends on how cold you’ll ride and how far and how fast.
Electric gloves, heavy clothing, snow tyres, snow, ice…I know where I would rather be.
Still, it adds variety and challenge and makes your blogs all the more interesting to share.
Don’t go away thinking Queensland doesn’t ever get cold, even occasional snow and ice in the south western high country. Coastal is another story summer or winter it’s riding pleasure.
I wonder sometimes why I ride in the cold. I love to ride I suppose and don’t want to stop. There is visual variety and a bit of a challenge but mostly the riding experience is what attracts me. A warmer climate appeals as I get older but don’t see myself moving with the kids and grandchild here. So I need to buck up and deal with frozen temps!