This will be my first winter biking, and with this chilly Monday, I'm certain that I'll be needing a better type of cycling glove, as I'm only wearing cheap cotton mittens. *my circulation is really poor, so I need a REALLY warm pair.
I prefer mittens, but am fine with wearing gloves too. I'm also looking for a pair that are not only warm, but not too hideous to wear when I get off my bike. Is there such a perfect pair?
Thanks

Mittens are warmer than gloves, so stick with mittens if they work for you. A lot of people recommend leather choppers. You can get them from Kaplan Brothers on Lake St.

One thing to look for is windproofing.

There are also the handwarmy chemical packs.

Chopper mittens FTW.

Go to Kaplan Brothers, buy a pair of slightly-bigger-than-you-need choppers. Also buy a pair (or 3) of thin wool glove liners (about $3 per pair) and a pair (or 3) of the thicker wool gloves (about $4 per pair).

Mix and match as appropriate to temperature and wind conditions. With this combination, I've been comfortable in temperatures from 50 down to -20.

I do what jweb does. Chopper mittens are a MN staple, so I don't think they are too uggo, but you can also spend a lot more money to get something technical that will probably be less warm. I find choppers are too warm above 5 degrees or so.

I agree that windproofing is where it's at. The choppers will keep the wind out.

Some of the tips here are actually really helpful for hands: http://greaserag.org/user_blogs/lowrah/toasty-tootsies/

Your goals with your hands should be to operate your gears and brakes safely and effectively (I can't use mittens with my STI shifters), and to keep your hands warm, but not so hot that you're sweating- sweat= cold and clammy!

This is an example of what I do for my hands, from early fall to OMFG winter:
Light wool micro-weight gloves- They are so thin they are almost see-through.
Cheap medium weight knit gloves/ fingerless knit mittens
The micro-weight gloves under the fingerless knit mittens
Windproof poly gloves
Micro-weight gloves under the windproof poly gloves- the gloves are super roomy, don't do this if your fingers are going to be constricted
Mittens with a leather top to stop the wind
Liner glove with the mittens,
Choppers
Choppers and liner glove/ mitten

I recommend the layered approach. As with the layering of clothing, layering of your hands is highly effective too. Get a pair of light gloves that are skin tight, breathable, and sweat wicking. Many local bike shops stock these, and they are perfect as a glove to wear under your heavy duty mittens on cold days, and adequate by themselves on warmer days. Gloves and mittens dont take up much space in a backpack or pocket so you can bring several pairs of varying insulation with you, and use them in combination as needed.

I'm male, but I think my selection is gender neutral.

This year, I'm going with a tight pair of "smartphone" gloves as a base layer and a baggy pair of three finger lobster gloves over the top.

My reasonings are this:

* The lobster gloves give me the shared pocket warmth advantages of a mitten while allowing me enough articulation to keep a firm grip on my bars while using the brakes. This can be nice if the road surface isn't.

* The tight gloves underneath let me take off the lobster gloves without having my bare hands exposed. This is useful if I need to do anything (secure a load, turn on or off lights with small buttons, deal with locks, etc.)

* For whatever reason, I seem to destroy the tight gloves yearly. I've done merino and wool in the past but am trying synthetic conductive gloves this year since I found some cheap and they'll let me deal with a phone w/o exposing bare skin.

I do recommend buying the lobster gloves baggy. I had a pair that was "right sized" and found that anywhere that my fingers pushed too much on the ends of the gloves, I'd get cold spots.

Another alternative that I've seen used to good effect is medium gloves combined with bike mounted mits (Moose Mitts/Pogies/whatever: http://www.trails-edge.com/retail/te_shirts/amfbikemits.htm).

Once it dips past 40 I use a OR Storm Tracker into the mid20s.

Once past that it's serious gloves. I can't stand mittens. Never could, not even in -40 Rocky Mountain winds and snow.

I know they are relatively expensive (60 bucks or so), but I have gone the gore glove route - I have a couple pairs of them - best thing for winter riding hand use/protection I have ever used - I do go to the lobsters when it gets really cold though.