The weather's slowly warming up. It's not cold enough for gloves, but also not warm enough to bike without them. That frustrating middle ground! My heated jacket and pants are too warm, even turned off. I've invested in some lighter garments suitable for the season.
As for my bike, I think I've solved the problem by adding USB powered, electrically heated grips. I can choose between three heat levels, they run off the same accessories battery as the phone charger mounted to the handlebars.
I had a charging cable for the rear light plugged in before. I'll have to be on the lookout for a power bank with 3 or more USB ports now, if I want all the accessories connected at once. As for the temperature controller, figuring out where to put it was a bit of a hassle, but I settled on here:
I tried mounting it off to one side only for the casing to crack when it got pinned between the fork and the stem, when I turned the handlebars all the way left. I'll fix that with some superglue. Still works though, and the new placement is at least acceptable.
These are intended to be used with electric bikes, too. Chinese ebikes often have them as it gets bitterly cold in the Chinese winter, but people still have to travel and most only have ebikes as their powered transport option.
It works well enough for my purposes, and even adds a degree of springy cushioning to the handlebars that's quite comfy. The two velcro bits just barely reach, so I may have to permanently sew them on to keep them there. But all things considered, I'm pleased with the outcome.
What's next? Wind guards, probably. I only just learned about these. They mount to the same bit as the mirrors (I think?) and deflect wind from your hands. Wind guards, plus heated grips, means I may not even need gloves no matter how cold it is out.
More to come, watch this space.
Stay Cozy!