General Cycling Discussion - shorts in insane temperature

The daytime highs around montreal have not been higher than 45F in quite a few days and some mornings it is below 32F. However on a daily basis (sometimes in morning too) I see bikers (mostly courriers) bike around with only shorts (and whatever they are wearing underneath), this seems insane to me. Are they more resilient or does short spirts of cycling not require leg protection?

Hi, That would be cold,I've been riding every day well most of them.I'm just a little south of you 60 to 70 miles.an the am commute is getting cold 25f-35f. I start at 3:00am,But I still love it no traffic.I just use nylon wind pants refuse to bring the gor-tex out this early. Those guys get a chance to warm up every few miles I think. happy riding

for us canadians that is approx 0 to 8 degree celsius.

Ok now whats the problem with wearing shorts in those temps? :D

I wore shorts on my ride to work this morning, it was 32 degrees F. I suppose, like quite a few things in biking, everybody is different but I think it feels fantastic once you warm up.

There is no problem in wearing them.If you can make enough heat. go for it.You no what I just got to try this again thanks for the pump up.I'm going to put the shorts on for the AM ride. thank you

Machismo is all fine and good, but I have read more than once that you should wear knee warmers when the temperature gets into the 60's F. Knees have very little circulation. Long term exposure to cold can cause knee problems later.
FWIW,
Raymond

It seems to me the older I get the less tolerant of
cold I become. I don't mind being chilly for the first
few minutes of a ride, but 0 to 8 c. is a bit too cool
for me.
I agree with what Rainman said about circulation
and knees, and also think that there is much more
oppertunity to pull muscles that are cold.

Marty

It seems to me the older I get the less tolerant of
I've noticed this as well. Knickers look like the ideal solution, my winter purchase I think.

Spire, after awhile you go number and start to warm up, so it's no biggie. The problem is when you start to thaw out, that can be bad.

;)

it was in the mid-30's here in syracuse, ny last night and i wore shorts. But i wore a pair of tights underthem. I wore 2 shirts with arm warmers complete with windbreaker. I put lotion on my legs so they dont dry out too fast.

aaaaa

I agree with Rainman and the rest. I feel very strongly on this issue. You have got to wear something over your knees when the temperatures are cold. Anything below 65 degrees calls for some sort of covering, may it be knee warmers, legwarmer, or whatever. You don't want to be 50 years old with serious knee problems because you couldn't take the time to pull on something.

0 to 8 degress celcius I can still handle but the windchill I can't handle when they drop to minus 20, that is cold.

I try not to ride uncovered in the harsh weather. When someone else does though, I am not uncomfortable at all.

So if I understand correctly, going in shorts in cold is fine, as long as you don't stop? Is that right? Makes sense. (still though 32F does seem rather cold)

I honestly didn't know about the knees needing warmers when it gets to 65. So if it's 70 or something, should you wear knee warmers to account for windchill once you start moving?

Oh dear, I'm headed out to ride home in a 36F, 17mph wind. I'm going to be a cripple when I grow up! :cry: By the way, it has nothing to do with machismo - it feels good, like riding naked. An interesting note - after the cross race on Sunday my knees were purple. I'd attributed this to my Irish heritage (skin tone) but maybe it's the first stage of knee death?

I just hate pants. If I had my way I would wear shorts at work, play and winter. As it is I have always pushed the limits of short wearing. I have a very high resistance to cold and have no problems walking around in shorts in winter. Just my thing. Someday I may move south but I really don't want to sacrifice BC life. :)

Heck I come from Ontario where -40c isn't unheard of. Still nothing compared to Alberta but hey thats COLD. 0 degrees celsius is still a nice fall day :)

Originally posted by Maelstrom
I just hate pants. If I had my way I would wear shorts at work, play and winter. As it is I have always pushed the limits of short wearing. I have a very high resistance to cold and have no problems walking around in shorts in winter. Just my thing. Someday I may move south but I really don't want to sacrifice BC life. :)


Pants are from the devil I say. It's shorts or nothing for me!!! :D

We cyclo-cross folk do all sorts of strange things to keep wearing shorts...

Try rubbing a warming liniment or heating balm [usually camphor-based] into the exposed skin of your legs and then cover that with a coating of vaseline. That'll keep your legs warm in crummy weather down to about freezing for about 90 minutes. If you don't like the goo and it's not that cold or wet, you can get stick-on camphor plasters to paste onto your knees to keep them warm [or at least to promote circulation that keeps them warm]. You may have wondered how pros like Mario de Clerq stay warm in shorts in February. That's how.

I think the sub-65F [18.5C] warm knees rule is a little over-doing it, to be honest. I feel quite comfortable and have never had problems down to about 14C [57F]. From there down to about 7C [45F], however, I'll always wear kneee warmers, knickers or vaseline, and below that, tights. This morning, I was wearing polypropylene tights at -5C [23F] and quite comfortable.

Here in Queensland, the insane temperatures usually happen in the summer (not to mention the humidity, which I find to be a bigger factor than the temperature). Basically, we don't have any choice in the matter - lest yuo want to wear knee warmers in temperatures exceeding 45C (no thanks).

mornings are near impossible to have exposed skin anywhere. for some reason evenings are easier to go without. i have a hard time getting out of a warm bed early - so i wear long johns and a jersey so i am 1/2 way there when i want to go out.

give me layers or give me death

My previous post was a little flippant. Occasionally we get cool mornings during our "winter". My rule is leg warmers below 10C (around 50F). Of course, this is not totally steadfast, and on my last tour I wore them in temps of 12C during summer at Toowoomba and Queen Mary Falls.

last winter was my first winter riding, and i never got around to getting tights.. and was unsure enough how to wear the combo shorts/tights... so i didn't bother. I rode really fast.. only trouble i had was my eyes watering on the descents.
yes your knees get red.. yes vasoline helps but i put on glycerin-silicon creme and i have not had chapped skin... in fact it keeps your skin soft.
still haven't got tights..(i secretly do not want to) and i run in shorts all winter.. soooooooooo... i suppose i better stock up on the g-s creme again.:D

Back in High School it was joked around about voting me in as "Most likely to climg Mt. Everest in a pair of shorts and sandals". My fashion is shorts 356 days a year. When I do go to church, its in shorts and flipflops.

I know here in Houston it does not get as cold as Canada, but when your used to 100+ degrees in the summer, most people have a hard time with anything below 50. I find it funny how people get all bundled up, and here I am wearing shorts (sometime leggings, a tshirt and a long sleeve tshirt. I love the feeling of the cold air rushing through the lungs. It is almost like my lungs are getting cleaned out.

What I do hate though is the increase chance of upper respiratory infections in the winter, especially after I train a little too hard.

I know what you mean spidermike, just trying to recover from a 5 week bout of pneumonia.. and a super sore throat that just won't leave.. oh well.
um summers here are pretty hot... was over 100 at least 1/3 of the summer.. and rarely less than 85 the rest of the time.
glad i live near enough to the lake.. at least the beaches were fun to ride by. :)

I dunno Luci, three hours at -5C wearing shorts is not something that I'd really enjoy. :)

Lol V... at -5 its still warm
at -10 your smile is frozen on your face... so at least you LOOK like you are enjoying it.. :lol:

Ontario is the epitome of extreme. 100+ in the summer with humidity making up 20 degrees of that heat if not more and -30 to 40 average all winter.

I am so happy I moved. Everyone in Whistler thinks -20 is cold and in vancouver, if it gets to -10 people are wearing winter jackets and snow pants :D

It's all of about 20 degrees out in NH right now and I'm wearing shorts and a Tshirt. Shorts are ok if you like the cold.

Wish I could wear shorts in cooler temps. while riding. Unfortunatly I have problems with my knees if I do. Found out the hard way during a MS150 ride. It was a unusually cool Sept. I ended up purchasing a nylon "wind suit" so my knees would be comfortable enough to complete the ride. Any kind of long garment I wear while riding, no matter what it is, feels to restricting and uncomfortable, and I've tried a lot of things. So my cool/cold weather rides tend to be pretty short if they happen at all. I envy those of you who do not have this problem.

On my long rides I very much need traditonal shorts with chamois..Leg warmers usually take care of cool temps for me.. But then here it does not often get below 50 degrees F. while I am out riding.. I do have a couple pair of tights for really cool temps..

There is a big difference between dry cold and humid cold. Cold damp air just sucks the heat out of you.
I just dont undserstand the "Im on a bike, so I must wear shorts" mentality, but then Im very thin and dont have the benefit of a layer of natural insulation. If I need to wear long trousers for walking around, I need to wear them for riding around.