The cost of carbon levers seems a small price to pay for warm digits in winter. But we're all different -- both in terms of budgetary concerns as well as regional climate and tolerance to it.
I spent a healthy chunk of my life chasing ghosts on the Iditarod Trail in winter. It took me a few years to dial in a system (<-key word is "A" system, not "The" system, because there is no one wrote way to make it work) for reliably warm digits that didn't use batteries.
Most of what I learned there wouldn't be applicable to riding tech trail on the shore.
But the main takeaway was that if you can't have carbon levers, go to a local fabric store (or even secondhand store) and find some thin neoprene. Cut as needed and use contact cement (3M 90 works great) to affix.
I even sewed myself some neoprene grip covers that I install on my fatbike every November.
Neoprene gloves and socks never worked for me, but applying that material to the cold surfaces my hands are touching emphatically does.
Oct. 28, 2022, 10:21 a.m. - mikesee
The cost of carbon levers seems a small price to pay for warm digits in winter. But we're all different -- both in terms of budgetary concerns as well as regional climate and tolerance to it. I spent a healthy chunk of my life chasing ghosts on the Iditarod Trail in winter. It took me a few years to dial in a system (<-key word is "A" system, not "The" system, because there is no one wrote way to make it work) for reliably warm digits that didn't use batteries. Most of what I learned there wouldn't be applicable to riding tech trail on the shore. But the main takeaway was that if you can't have carbon levers, go to a local fabric store (or even secondhand store) and find some thin neoprene. Cut as needed and use contact cement (3M 90 works great) to affix. I even sewed myself some neoprene grip covers that I install on my fatbike every November. Neoprene gloves and socks never worked for me, but applying that material to the cold surfaces my hands are touching emphatically does.