Pogies / Bar Mits anyone?

[73Eldo]

Had a $20 set that didn't really seem to do much possibly because they didn't seal around the cables very well and seemed awkward to get in and out of em. E specific issues other than more cables were that my Bafang universal throttle rubbed on em do wasn't that easy to use and could get stuck and that my 500c mini display got covered which was kinda annoying.

Tried different gloves and just wasn't finding anything that had enough insulation but was comfortable and functional. Temps I have been dealing with mostly so far are 20-30 F.

Saw some people out on the trails with decent looking ones and they seemed to love em and my local shop is running a 20% off sale on 45Nrth gear so today I picked up a pair of 2020 Cobrafists. My store also had the 2021's which is a supposedly all new design. Biggest difference I could see was the 2021's have a built in 'donut' while the 2020's its just a hunk of foam you can buy as a replacement.

The Cobrafists and it looks like other similar higher end ones have a stiff plastic on the outer ends to make them hold their shape and leave inside space. There is also a hole in the end and a bar end plug included to hold them in place. The inner has this foam donut thing which has a split in it to go over the cables and clamp on the bar which seals the end and helps it hold its form. The 2021's the donut is built in. I picked the 2020's with the replaceable donuts because I was concerned about getting a good seal there with my cable layout and the extra wires.

The 500c mini display was a problem. 500 C is about 1/3 the size of the common displays and has the buttons on the unit so you typically mount it on the left right at the brake lever. There wasn't enough room to squish it inside and besides not being able to see it I'm not sure how well I would have been able to operate it. On another bike I'm not currently using I had a 850c so I swapped that in and other than kinda a weird dent in that area of the pogie right where the buttons go it works fine. I think the dent is from how they were likely sitting during shipping or storage. The right one doesn't have that dent so I stuffed a glove in that area to see if I can re form it to give a little more clearance.

So far so good. Looks strange but wasn't a big deal at all to operate and get used to. The look is a little strange and did take some time especially on the single track trails. Made the bars seem wider which freaked me out a few times going between trees. Just had to keep telling myself I have rode these trails a dozen times with the same bars and only hit a tree one time so far.

I started out today with light wool glove liners and there was plenty of room to operate things. Was having some issues with my hands sliding around since the liners don't fit that tight so on my second lap I decided to try it without gloves which is how I ride in the summer anyway and wasn't cold at all. Was about 27* F during the ride.

[blacktruck]

I"ll say it.We need pics.
it took me so many winters to get used to any kinda toeclip,does it spook you at all?

[73Eldo]

Pictures seem like something I could handle. Will see if I can do that later today and get em posted.

Might as well start a thread on clips clipless so more people find it. I think its a subject worth talking about. Or are you bringing it up because you are wondering if the bar mits give you that same feeling of maybe being trapped?

At least with the Cobrafists I would say not at all and I tested it by crashing. I was on a new to me section of single track. It was a short chunk of downhill that was more or less paved with 6 inch round rocks. It kinda looked to be like you could ride the edge that was smooth dirt but I was wrong, the bank was too steep and narrow.

As I was going down (luckily not into a tree) I have no memory of any issues or concerns with my hands other than wondering how hard they were going to hit on the ground. I don't think I popped my now ground side foot out because by the time I knew I was going down for sure my boot was already pretty much on the ground. That may have been part of the problem, that pedal was on the down stroke and hit the bank. That one must have released straight out from the tension. The now sky side I think I did manage to kick out of because by the time I hit the ground I wasn't attached to the bike at all. It still landed on my leg but I wasn't attached.

3 good things about the crash 1- just light scuffing to me and the bike. 2- no on else around to see or get involved as in crash into me or my bike. 3-not going very fast and not that steep so it was one of those where you keep going down the hill with the bike smashing into you till you hit the bottom or something a lot bigger than you.

[blacktruck]

any landing you can walk away from...
yeah I was curious if they made you feel trapped
I have clips on my specialized and not on goldilocks(my volthosre)
years as a downtown messenger got me to clips

the big takeaway is those mits interest me

[73Eldo]

Here are the pics. Like I said earlier they are the 2020, not the current 2021's. Easy way to tell the 21's is they have the donut things built in.

They really hold their form well and you barely know they are there when riding because your arm barely touches and there is plenty of room for your hands around the grips and controls. I don't have a twist throttle so not sure how that would work but I had no issues doing single track trails with lots of standing sitting and back for drops and I never really felt them.

I do have zip ties on the donuts here but you should not need em. I think I'm going to try hot gluing them on this bike and get a set for my other bike then swap them leaving the donuts because those are the slightly custom for each bike part. They seem to do a good job blocking the wind but I plan to go colder so making sure the split is sealed around the cables can't hurt. My theory with the hot glue is warming it up should allow for easy removal for the summer.

The Giro ones didn't seem to stop the wind that well. Not sure if because they just didn't seal well around the cables and such or what the deal was. Those were only like $25 shipped so quite different class than the $130 Cobra's. They also don't have the stiffness or space so your knuckles kinda rub and there isn't a lot of clearance for things like a throttle. The entrance also doesn't really stay open on its own like the Cobra's. It wasn't a big deal but you do have to kinda look where you are sticking your hand and make sure you hit the opening. The Cobra's just stay open. They do have that velcro strap inside to grip the end of the bar and stay in place. Was a little tight fit on my ergo grips but worked ok.

The Giros material is almost like a wetsuit material. Its kinda a nylon but sorta stiff like rubber. It seems like a decent material but things like not clearing the throttle well made me not want to try harder to make em work. I tried different gloves instead which didn't work well so that's why I just broke down and bought the Cobra's. I just stuck the Giro one on the bar leaving the Cobra donut in place so its not a good representation of how it really fits. The Cobras are more like a winder jacket. Its a nylon fabric like material with some insulation between the layers. There is also a sipper you can access from outside or inside that is a vent so if you get warm you don't have to stop and take em off.