Southern California - Tights vs. knickers vs. leg warmers

I need some cold-weather apparel for chillier mornings (around 40-ish temps) that warm up to around 60. I tend to be cold-blooded but of course I heat up after a while when temps are around 60.

I wear a light-weight pair of BMX-type shorts that come to just below my knee. I'm wondering if I should replace them for winter with knickers and leg warmers (the latter of which which I could remove later), or just get tights.

What works for you in these temps? Typical morning rides are 20-40+ miles.

I'd also appreciate suggestions for particular brands for women -- I have my eye on the Terry Bella Knicker but will keep my mind open for others.

Thanks!

I prefer knee warmers. IMO it's almost never cold enough too need full leg warmers and I almost always want to take them off at some point later in the ride after I've warmed up. Knee warmers are a good compromise, as you can take them off easily if needed, but they aren't as annoying as full leg warmers if you don't take them off, making it less likely I would need to take them off. I don't think I would ever consider tights unless I lived somewhere with snow and below freezing temps and I knew I would absolutely not want to shed clothing during the ride.

If you buy knickers with roubaix fleece, that would be ideal for this weather.. I find it has to be low 40's or lower until I need to use tights..

Knee- or leg-warmers: no tights needed here in SoCal.

For LA I don't need anything more than knee warmers.

Tights-wearing wuss checking in.

Thanks.

I guess I must be a cold-weather wimp ..... yesterday morning I wore my long pants (like tights but loose) with a jacket over a long-sleeve jersey. My bare fingers were almost numb when we reached our destination.... I should have worn the full-fingered gloves. A headband to cover my ears would also be nice.

I wear tights only once or twice a year (like today). For the most part just knee warmers.

Hi Yen!
Good to see you on the Socal forum.

My advice would be get them all! On my last double (Dec. 13th) it was near freezing at the start. I actually had knee-warmers under my (full-length) wool tights.

I thought I'd take off the tights and dump them in the SAG car when it warmed up. But it never did. Or really, it did warm up slightly (high 40's), but not much (we were out in Hemet / Riverside / Temecula / Corona areas). Plus it rained. The nice thing about wool is that it keeps you warm, even when its wet.

So . . . I would recommend one pair of wool tights, one pair of knee warmers (mine are Pearl Izumi, but whatever), and one pair of leg warmers (again Pearl Izumi, but I don't think brand matters much here).

Rick / OCRR

Depends on what time I plan on getting home. If I leave at 6:00am and plan on being home around 8:00 I'll wear tights, If I am heading out later in the day or for a longer ride knee warmers or tough it out until it warms.

I tend to prefer knickers over knee warmers...but I use both. I have pretty large thighs so I find that I need to adjust knee warmers a few times during the ride when they slip down.

wool knee warmers from de feet..... end of story...

I tend to prefer knickers over knee warmers...but I use both. I have pretty large thighs so I find that I need to adjust knee warmers a few times during the ride when they slip down.

+1, except for the "large thighs" part. ;)

I just got my first pair of knickers, and they rock! You don't have the option to remove themif it heats up, but otherwise they're great! I've actually tried to adjust them a few times, but realized it wasn't necessary.

I'll wear knee warmers or knickers down into the 40's, but like the tights for colder, or in the same temp ranges as warmers if I just don't want to be that uncomfortable. They're nice and cozy!

You guys who say you don't need tights in Socal are nuckin' futs! I rode to work this morning and nearly froze my butt off (lol). Maybe I've gone soft and can't handle the cold anymore (I grew up in the East Coast).

Well, more power to you people!

Oh...I wouldn't say we don't need tights ('cept maybe Cassave :p). We just usually don't need 'em. I woke up this morning to 31-degree temps in Santa Clarita bbbrrrrrr... And I'm from upstate New York. Add to it the lower moisture content/desert conditions we live in..... That's cold.

When it goes below 40-degrees, I get out the full leg-warmers, full jacket, head-band, etc...

It was 35 degrees when I started my ride yesterday morning. Knee warmers were fine, but even if you need that last few inches of leg covered, I would still prefer leg warmers to tights.

Yen, get some glove liners to wear under your fingerless gloves when it's not freezing. I use them for everything cold and they are cheap and easy to take off and carry.
Consider wearing a base layer under your jersey when it's cold, it's surprising how much this helps.
I also like to cover my head with a skull cap or something similar. This helps a lot, too, and is easy to take off.

Thanks everyone! (Hi Rick!)

OK, I bought him a pair of knee warmers from Velo Wear, and also a headband. They may be an early Christmas present because he keeps saying "I can't ride this morning, it's too cold and I don't have any goodies yet......". Today while I'm out I'll try to stop and get him some gloves. He also complained that his toes were cold... he wears Specialized MTB shoes and all the toe covers I've seen are designed to fit around cleats, which he doesn't use (he rides with platforms).

If he says his legs are still cold with the knee warmers then I'll encourage him to get some tights or leg warmers.

nike thermal arm & leg warmers FTW

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v413/middnight_son/misc/IMG_2286.jpg

On shorter rides I usually opt for full tights, instead of knee or leg warmers, simply because I'd rather be too warm than too cold.

I am rather new at this but I have found that if it is cold enough that my Bibs aren't enough then it isn't likely to warm up enough that tights will be too warm for me. At least not for rides under 40 miles. As for gloves I picked up a pair of light weight cloth gloves from walmart that slip under my cycling gloves. If it does warm up they are easy to slip off.