Winter Cycling - Equipment for the cold weather

Hi All,

I am a student from Copenhagen Business School and currently conducting research for a paper. The winter has hit Denmark hard this year and many bicyclists are often complaining about the cold weather. Therefore I am trying to find different solutions for some sort of heating in the handlebars and bicycle seat. Thus I need your help to find different solutions, referrals to existing solutions or experts within the area. If you know of any creative visions I am very interested to hear about them.

Please note that I have not intentions of developing any of the ideas further, however it would be a great help for my paper.

Regards
Stephanie Espersen

I use ski gloves and thermal underwear for warmer hands and seat area.

Here ya go:

Heated handlebar grips (http://www.amegrips.com/mountainbikeheated/heated-mtb-ergo-tri)

Heated Saddle(without covering):
http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/iron-saddle.jpg

Here ya go:

Heated handlebar grips (http://www.amegrips.com/mountainbikeheated/heated-mtb-ergo-tri)

Heated Saddle(without covering):
http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/iron-saddle.jpg

LOL !! , that's one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

Why not just wear warm clothing?

+1 on clothing. The Danish is not used to dress for cold weather. Peopel ride bikes down to -40 C . Nothing like that in Copenhagen for sure.

Just ask a Swede. They say there, "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing."

Seriously, though, a cyclist generates more than enough heat to keep warm, even in very cold temperatures. The more pressing concern is frostbite. If skin is well covered, the heat will be kept in and external heat sources are not needed. If the Danish are too worried about losing their stylish look while cycling, add layers under the stylish outerwear.

It is very true that danish people are not used to seriously cold weather, therefore I started this research as many people has been expressing a wish for some sort of heating. I thank you a lot for your answers, it is definitely something I can use in my paper.

Thank you.

forget that - work on heating the water bottle!

There are perhaps billions of sets of handlebars and seats spread all around world. Many are undocumented and not readily located. Therefore, it is far simpler to just heat the world up a smidge. You're welcome world, now get back out there on your bikes.

j

I've been a winter commuter in Alaska for 10 years now, and I've never seen anyone with a heated handlebar or seat. stepes, you might have more luck looking on a few snowmobile forums. Handlebar and seat heaters tend to come standard on newer machines, but maybe there's advice on there about retro-fitting handlebar/seat heating onto older rigs. In the meantime, try decent gloves and doubling up on the underwear.

I ride used to ride my motorcycle quite far into winter, and also used to snowmobile. It probably isn't very effective to heat the handlebars, as the bars act as a heat sink. The most effective heated grips I have tried have elements in the grip rubber, and not wrapped around the bar.
What is more effective is to heat the core, as your body shuts down blood flow to the extremities if core temperature drops.

However, I've used heated jackets, and unless you have something really breathable, you will quickly build up a real sweat underneath on a bicycle. Best bet is layering with breathable clothing: I'd suggest looking at skiwear and see what is available.
One other option is to use the chemical heat packs often used by skiers and other outdoor types.

However, you probably want to look at one of the battery driven clothing companies: http://www.gerbing.com/coreheat.net/Products/Products.html

Heated gloves, jackets and

Boring but true, the only thing to talk about is dressing for the weather. Electronic gadgetry is best left for the cars. But, in the spirit of trying to help your paper, here are some cold-weather clothing solutions that are a bit less common:

-electric socks
-do electric gloves exist?
-handlebar pogies (I've never seen heated pogies for a bicycle, but that maybe could be done, much like electric socks).
-neoprene half-face masks
-ski goggles (again, some heating might not be a bad idea, because they fog up so easily)