Who on earth needs thermal scooter gloves? I do!

As soon as temperatures drop, my body seems to stop pumping blood into my hands. In other words, I always have freezing cold fingers. It’s even worse when I’m riding my scooter. The cold air turns my fingers into stiff icicles – despite wearing gloves.

But since I fitted thermal gloves to my scooter, this problem’s a thing of the past. These large mittens cover the entire handlebar grips and protect my hands from wind and rain. There are various models – some cover only the grips, others the grips and the brake levers. I went for Tucano Urbano gloves because they don’t impact the lever operation, as the manufacturer states.

Attaching the thermal gloves

All you need to do is slide the thermal gloves over the handlebar grips and attach the loop to the side mirror of my scooter so they stay in place. The loop’s connected to the glove with a click fastener. This means you can remove or attach the hand protectors at any time.

The material

According to Tucano Urbano, the material that’s keeping my freezing fingers alive is mainly neoprene. The inside is lined with a soft fabric. To prevent the wind from getting into my jacket, I tuck my sleeve deep into the glove and tighten the elasticated band. Having said that, I can only tuck one sleeve in – I’d need a third hand for the other.

Good wind protection, but takes some getting used to

On my first test ride, the sun’s shining and I slip into the thermal gloves with my bare hands. The lining’s very soft and warm. Even at high speeds, the gloves withstand the wind. However, my fingers still freeze when the temperature drops below zero. But it would be even worse without the thermal gloves.

Unfortunately, the gloves have one flaw. The ring at the opening for the handlebar grip uncomfortably presses down on my hands, regardless of whether I’m accelerating or just holding the handlebars. After a short time, my hand hurts and I’m so annoyed I put on gloves to avoid direct skin contact. That makes it better.

Operating the levers takes a bit of getting used to, as the thermal gloves are quite bulky despite their customised shape and thumb bulge. As a result, I miss the indicators on my first few attempts or accidentally switch on the fog light. Luckily, the breaks are easy to operate. Nevertheless, I recommend keeping away from steep slopes or busy roads on your first ride with the gloves on.

Even though they make me look like I’m delivering parcels or food, I wouldn’t want to do without the thermal gloves in low temperatures. They definitely make riding a scooter in winter more fun.