Seal fur is waterproof, reindeer fur is warm and bear fur insulates well. This means that the Eskimos can withstand several days in the great outdoors at minus 30 to 40 degrees. But seals and bears don't have to sacrifice their lives for mountain bikers - which is why it's already over on the bike at much lower sub-zero temperatures.
Conventional winter bike gloves keep your fingers warm down to around minus five degrees. The temperature at which you switch to winter gloves is purely a matter of personal preference. While one person still feels like they're in a sauna, another is already turning blue. It is not the glove's job to heat your hands. The body generates enough heat itself under load.
The overshirt should be just thick enough to maintain a comfortable temperature. Thickly lined models generally keep the heat in better than thin ones, but this often affects the operability of the gears and brakes. This poses an enormous potential danger, especially on icy, wintry trails. A layer of windstopper, which all tested models have, provides a remedy here. This not only blocks the wind, but the lining can also be correspondingly thinner.
The test results of these models can be found below as a PDF download:
Chiba Wind Protect
Craft Siberian
Endura Dexter II
Gore Bike Wear Tool
Pro Team Gel
Protective Thermo
Roeckl Rovio
Shimano All Condition
Sugoi Firewall GT
Vaude Salient Plus
Downloads:
Stefan Frey
Editor
