Bicycling clothing for winter cycling?

[TopHatFox]

I re-visit this topic in preparation for winter cycling

I usually just throw winter gear on top of fall weather gear, so for instance:

Fall (70 to 40 degrees F)

Skull cap or Sun Hat or None
Short or long sleeve shirt in Fleece Jacket
Riding gloves or Light Gloves
Cargo shorts or jeans
Possibly socks in sandals or shoes

Heavy Winter Day (<10 degrees F) :

Skull cap, neck gaiter, and safety glasses
Short or long sleeve shirt in Fleece and Winter Jacket
Light Gloves in Heavy Gloves
Long Underwear in Jeans in ski pants
Merino Wool socks in shoes or hiking/snow boots

Rain Gear (Universal):

Summer and early Fall: usually only sandals and riding shorts
Late Fall through late Spring: Fall Gear/Winter Gear + rain cape, spats, helmet cover, and possibly rain boots as replacement footwear

-----------------------------------

Thoughts?

I actually don't own ski pants at the moment, so I'm still deciding what would be the best pant for winter cycling. There also seems to be a wicking type of material that seems interesting to me. Haven't tried it yet, but I imagine it'd fit into the under-wear type garment, like a replacement for my polyester long underwear and something to go underneath a shirt. Finally, maybe I should get some ski goggles instead of safety glasses, since snow in the side of the eyes is annoying at best, dangerous at worst.

[sky]

Michigan former winter cyclist here

The biggest issue is getting too hot and sweating, but you do need wind protection.

Your Heavy Winter gear list looks good but skip the ski pants.

[Slevin]

Out of the winter setup I'm most worried about the jeans in between the long underwear and ski pants. It seems like if these got wet, it would create an uncomfortable situation. If your jeans usually don't get wet, then not a big deal.
Are your long underwear moisture wicking material?

My personal preference is moisture wicking long underwear -> some kind of waterproof hiking pants. I personally like the g-1000 material from Fjallraven (or something equivalent where you can re-waterproof the pants as they lose the coating). I also sometimes use a pair of pants I own with a DWR coating. If going to work I keep a spare change of pants with me.

I feel both of these pants do the same job as the ski pants, but with less weight (as they are not insulated). They are good enough for light snow, but with a large wet snow they will probably be soaked through.

[vexed87]

Last winter was my first cycling and at worst it fell to 23 degrees fahrenheit here. As sky says, paradoxically getting too hot and sweaty is the main issue. Because your legs are doing the work, they don't get too cold. The main thing is to keep covered and avoid overheating. Long cycling tights are perfect if you don't mind changing at your destination, they have great wicking properties.

Last year I ended up buying a thermal windproof jersey and thermal bib tights, if it got really cold, I often put on an extra merino baselayer under the bib tights and always use a technical baselayer under the jersey. A skull cap and cycling buff work great for keeping ears and scalp warm, particularly useful if your helmet has vents. I bought a balaclava too, though I only used it twice, had issues with glasses steaming up though.

Keeping water off your hands and feet is essential when it gets really cold. Waterproof gloves, glove liners and waterproof socks are life savers. I use clipless shoes when it's not icy/snowing so neoprene overshoes help keep feet toasty and dry in the wet, if it is icy I stick with hiking boots in case of a sideways tumble.

The dedicated cycling kit isn't cheap, but it's important to be comfortable if you're braving the elements every day in the winter. I wear the same kit every day and wash every 2-3 days, so just one outfit is sufficient. Buy winter cycling kit in the spring and vice versa for the best bang for buck, but obviously it's a bit late to be picking up winter gear now!

[jacob]

When it's cold and speed is optional and the destination is assured (like a warm place), it's possible to underdress. Then if you get too cold, you go faster. If you get too hot, you go slower. This requires the fitness to go as fast as you need to stay warm and the light touch of not creating any sweat. Obviously this introduces some real risk here ... suppose you're using this strategy in the BFE or the project ghetto and you get a flat. It's cold enough that you'll lose your sense of touch in the 10 mins to change the tube (now you're rather screwed!) ... so what do you do? You start jogging with the flat bike. Can you do this? Or you run to the nearest indoor place? Can you do this? Not a good weekend-warrior noob strategy for sure but something to consider.

For just another data-point, I have three different cycling bottoms. Some just-over-the-knee shorts for summer (70-100F). A just-under-the-knees bib for spring/fall (50-70F). And a pair of thick full bibs for light-winter (30-50F). I have never ridden colder than that. I have these because I vastly prefer them to "cycling jeans". Also, before I bought them, I tended to wear our my regular pants at a prodigious rate which certainly wasn't cost effective.

For the top I just use my goretex shell (hiking, walking. sailing, .. same as praised in the book --- it's nearing its 20 year anniversary), some non-insulated but rain/windproof goretex gloves (winter) or some ironclad tac-ops gloves(*) (other seasons). A cheap balaclava goes under the helmet. My only bike specific top is a cheap jersey I use for events or really long rides. Otherwise I use whatever, including cotton *gasp*! Thus I have little idea if I'm missing some great advance in comfort in the above-the-belt department.

Leg and arm warmers can also add flexibility. Also useful when you're not biking!

Of sites I've used in the past: nashbar and niagaracycle.com ... and couple of others I forget. Nashbar has deals and coupons all the time.

(*) These are better than any bike-specific gloves I've ever owned. After 10000+ miles (I lost count) they haven't worn out or down. No stitches have come out. They're comfy for 100M+ rides and 100F temperatures. You can wipe your snot off with them. And you can stick your hand in the chain w/o getting pinched. Only thing is that they don't remain color fast when washed. The soft cotton turns brown. The plastic/nylon/leather remains black. They have zero thermal value though.

[vexed87]

@Jacob, how far are you riding in cotton? Don't you find in if you apply some beans/riding in hilly areas and start sweating cotton absorbs sweat (rather than wicking) and you get cold as a result? Obvious solution is to slow down and avoid sweating in first place, but I'm always running late and the hills never get easier

I've found technical baselayers essential to staying dry (and by extension, warm).

[jacob]

Based on the dry-heat of CA, not more than 30 miles for sure. Actually my main problem was that I wouldn't be sweating much when I rode but after I arrived at the office I'd just be dripping for the next 30 minutes---consequentially, I'd wait half an hour to cool down before changing . With cotton, it gets wet (<- not really), but the apparent wind (because 15-20mph speed) immediately evaporates it off, so the cotton actually remains rather dry... as long as I'm moving. Once I stop ... drenched!

All this comes down to personal fitness + temperature + distance + humidity. I doubt anyone would change into full cycling gear if they were to ride around the block. My reasons for not changing into fancy-wear are exactly the same.

[theanimal]

Some people's winter is another's fall and spring .

My setup is like Jacob's. I don't ride in anything fancy or high tech.

Above zero (F) - long sleeved base layer top and bottom. Jeans or whatever pants I'm wearing.
Hoody or light jacket
Bare hands in poagies or lobster gloves. Headband. Regular shoes.

0 to 15 below. Hat or balaclava/ headband combo. Bare hands in poagies or lobster gloves in poagies. Long base layers. Fleece pullover and hoody. Jeans.

15 to 30 below- hat and balaclava. Lobster gloves in poagies. Long base layers. Jeans or rain pants. Hoody and insulated jacket (often unzipped in lower range.. still get too hot)

In below zero temps I wear my regular winter footwear, air force mukluks. I've also worn regular shoes with overboots.

Haven't had the opportunity to do any biking at 40 below yet...maybe next year

Some things to note:I'm riding a much heavier bike than I imagine most do elsewhere. There's very little wind in this area. And often I'm riding on soft trails.