I installed and tested the grip warmers tonight and I can't believe I've ridden sixteen years without them.
One of the best "Bang for the Buck" mods out there.
I headed out and it was 45 degrees which I can handle without warmers, so it wasn't bad. Felt good to try out the new warmers and see how they work.
The ride home was 33 degrees, and the warmers were definately helpful. Along with all my riding gear (layers), I was very comfortable and could've ridden a long distance in relative comfort if I had to. The half hour ride home was great.
I was actually surprised how hot the grips get. Riding through town the High setting was too hot, so I switched to low. But on the highway, the hot setting was perfectly adequate to do the job.
Here's what I wear whenever the temps get below 50 degrees. It took a while to figure out what works best. The key is layers and making sure there's no exposed skin. The Under Armor is awesome. It's like a second set of skin. But you have to use the tight fitting synthetic stuff that's not very breathable, it works the best. Here's what makes me comfortable down to at least 30 degrees:
Under Armor
Cotton T Shirt
Turtle Neck Sweater
Icon Leather Jacket w/ Liner (Sleeves of liner cut off so my arms aren't too bulky w/ the sweater, etc.)
Icon Timax Gloves
Balaclava (like a ski mask, w/ no mouth hole and one oval eyeport made of synthetic material)
Icon Helmet
Sweat Pants Under Jeans
Boots w/ Thick Cotton Socks
Symtec Grip Heaters
Every year I will ride regularly until the first real snowstorm brings out the salt and sand trucks. Then the road surface is pretty much shot until spring. I'll still ride on the occasional nice mid-winter day though.
Goodnight...