Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Clothing for Brooks + cold weather

I used to have pain/numbness problems on longer rides, but I was able to solve it with a B17 and some bike shorts. I normally wear bike shorts if I am going to ride any distance. However, I'm riding to Maryland this weekend (~60 miles / 97 km each way) and it's a bit too cold in Philadelphia for bike shorts. I know they make bike pants, but do I really need them? I wear jeans to commute to work (~7 miles / 11 km), often with this saddle, and have never had trouble. Would they work out for a longer ride? Any suggestions?

Wear your bike shorts with one (or more) of the following things over them:

-- cycling tights
-- cycling leg warmers/knee warmers
-- running tights
-- sweat pants
-- light sweat pants with wind pants over them

It just depends on how cold it is! At the very least, I'd suggest purchasing leg warmers ... they are very versatile.

But if you don't want to purchase cycling specific gear ... personally, I wouldn't advise using jeans because of the seam ... I'd think that basic sweat pants would be a lot more comfortable.

I can't tolerate any seam at all, so I use PI winter tights. They have some kind of thin fleece-like finish on the inside. If it's cold with rain, I use rain pants over them.

I guess what I was really looking for was a way around buying any new clothes. I've got a pair of "athletic pants" that don't have a seam, I'll try those.

Thanks.

I guess what I was really looking for was a way around buying any new clothes. I've got a pair of "athletic pants" that don't have a seam, I'll try those.

Thanks.


It really depends on how cold you ride, and how cold it will be. Some folks can tolerate the cold when moving, others can't.


Wear your cycling shorts with some tights or windbreaker pants. You can also get leg warmers that are fairly cheap and wear them with your normal cycling shorts - combine these with the wind breaker pants and you should be good to go.

I've done a 40 mile rides with my cycling shorts, thermal underwear, and an old pair of cargo pants. Was plenty warm, and the seam didn't bother me through the shorts and thermal underwear. Temp was 22 degrees F.



Currently I like layering up my torso, but keeping my legs as simple as possible - this means tights or bib shorts with my xc ski pants. Or bibs with knee warmers or leg warmers.

I did a century this weekend with cycling shorts and leg warmers. Was a bit cold in the morning on the decents, but was fine throughout the day. Temps were 39-44 degrees F.

Bears: Right noew the forecast is calling for showers on Saturday and Sunday. Cotton clothing would be a big mistake.

I would suggest a pair of light rain pants from Walmart or Target over maybe some long underwear in the AM since it is likely to be down in the 30s or low 40s. The rain seems like a definite part of the weekend so ride prepared for wet.