General Cycling Discussion - What pants should I use for riding in cold weather?

I live in Washington and the weather gets very cold and foggy during the fall/winter stage, and I can't wear my shorts any more. If I wear jeans, my front gears rips holes in them. What should I wear? Spandex? I wouldn't mind the spandex thing, but is spandex common on FS mountain bikes? I do street tricks, mountain biking, trail riding, light freeriding, that stuff.

Go to a surplus store and get some German or Dutch wool army pants, if you don't wanna wear tights.

AND GET SOME PANT CLIPS OR STRAPS TO KEEP YOUR PANTS OUTTA STUFF

Stay away from cotton, it makes you colder when it's wet

Ride Warm
pat

As an alternative to tight leggings, windproof polycotton material works quite well in cool weather, and dries quickly when wet ie. mil surplus , cargo pants or hiking tousers. Some riders cut them off just below the knee to avoid catching, and it adds that grungy urban chic. For colder weather, you can add thermal underwear, or use some nylon overtrousers (pertex material is cheaper and IMHO better than expensive Goretex).

Hey Jump,
thanks for asking about the cold weather pants. I was wondering what to do myself. The army surplus idea sounds good. My wife found a pair of snowboarding pants for me. I thought I'd try them too. I just don't want to get too hot.
Have a great ride!
Filark

Try some of the micro-fleece tights. Here are some good examples.
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.html?SKU=15777
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.html?SKU=14154

Funny thing is I wear skater pants that tie at the bottom. They are thicker to take falls and have elastic at the bottom. Fantastic for riding :)

When I started to commute I wasn't going to wear any of those "funny looking bike clothes" but we live in Seattle and cold here is different it usually includes rain. I have tried wool, cotton (very bad) and fleece now polar fleece should be part of your ridding gear it does keep you very warm and with treatment it can protect you from the rain. Last year was my first winter on commuting where I finally dialed in all the components and had a most comfortable ride. Polypro was invented for Seattle winters it is light weight and waterproof and no mater how wet it get it keeps you warm. I found that wool works well but can be to warm at times,absorbs water, and has a certain smell to it when it gets wet. So I went to REI and got their light weight polypro under wear (shirt and pants) and a pair of polypro ridding tights from Performance cycle just those worked well and I don't use my rain pants anymore cause the polypro works and then there is no vapor lock creating all that sweat. For the upper I wore the light weight polypro shirt and a cycling jersey than a pull over polar fleece top when not raining if raining replace the top with my gore-tex outer rain shell. And on those really cold days I wore the shell over the polar fleece. for my feet I stuck with the wool but will probably upgrade to gore-tex socks or polypro. but anyway wool and bought some sealskinz socks to pull over them I never really cared for shoe booties but that is a personal preference they do work well on keeping you feet warm and dry. for my hands I got some good gore-tex gloves from our store they are designed for sailboaters but their gear and bike gear is very much the same. and for my ears I got a cool-max head band from performance. All this worked so well I remember on one of our colder winter mornings waiting at a red light at Green Lake thinking that I am just as warm as those people in their cars. One other benefits to all that gear is they are quick drying so they dry out before the ride home (except the socks so I always had a spare set) . I also found a line of bike jerseys that are more Conservative than some of other jerseys out there. Nema is the name and I find them to have excellent wicking properties and the are comfortable as well. I found them at overstock.com (http://www.overstock.com) which has some really good deals on bike clothes, helmets etc. Sorry fpr being so long winded but I found all this to work so well in our cold, damp, and wet winters. Have a good season:) oh yeah on our warmer wet winter days I just left off the bottom layer of polypro underwear!

I like the looks of those tights and the army pants seem to be really cheap too! That's great, now I can continue riding in the other seasons. I can't wait till it snows so I san thrash around in it with my bike that doesn't even know what snow looks like :)

filark, no prob!
If ya got any more suggesstions, keep 'em coming!

I have bought a bunch of Assos clothing. I think it is the best clothing on the market (expensive too) The price is the drawback. The comfort, durability, and warmth of their "system" is unbeatable. If you want comfort and are willing to pay for it. Assos is the way to go in my opinion.

I have a question....

Do you get pants that have chamios, or do you wear the cycling shorts under a pair of warm pants? What is the preference? I am trying to make a decision, and I really love my shorts, but they don't make pants. I was thinking that I could wear the shorts and get some type of fleece pants to go over them.

Also, do you wear a long sleeve jersey and a very warm jacket?
Or a short sleeve jersey? I get hot very easy, but I have asthma which is triggered by cold air. I just spent $75 bucks on a special mask for my face which should help keep me very warm, but I question the jersey/pants thing. Any advice would be appreciated, as I really never rode in the cold, but I am going to this year.

Padded leggings need to be washed after every ride, same as shorts. Unpadded ones over shorts are more practical.

I prefer long sleeved jersey in winter. It doesnt need to be a cycling one with rear pockets. A zip neck and a high collar are useful, but not essential. My current jersey is a fancy Paramo mountain shirt, but I have also used simple long-sleeved T thermal.
Worn with a good windproof smock or jacket, you can then add thin fleece, woolen pullover, sleeveless bodywarmer etc as insulation.
Sometimes its better to wear a body warmer over the windproof, so you can add/shed insulation very quickly.
You dont need that much insulation when riding, but you do when you stop.