Winter Cycling - tights in the winter?

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA

View Full Version : tights in the winter?

darkmother
12-02-04, 07:29 AM
Hey guys,

I'm a year round commuter in Toronto, Canada. Winters here are not all that cold, but it does get down to -10 or -15 C (14F - 5F) quite regularly in January and February, with moderate to high winds. I commute 16 km (10mi) each way. I usually just wear some cotton pants, with long underwear under them, which is OK, but I figure I could do better. Does anyone use cycling tights in this kind of weather, and if so how does it work for you? I've seen some thicker ones, with waterproof front pannels that look promising, but are they warm enough?

thanks,

Jeremy

Mars
12-02-04, 08:22 AM
They are warm enough, and a very positive addition to your cycling wardrobe. I ride about the saem distance as you in Vermont, so we face similiar conditions. I switched to tights after my wife bought me a pair for Christmas last year. I find them to be a huge improvement over the long underwear pants or windpants combo I was trying before. There is much less aero drag and they are far more comfortable in wet conditions. I find that the heat exchange is far superior as well.

Get the kind with the panels though.
slvoid
12-02-04, 08:50 AM
The ones with waterproof front panels are EXTREMELY warm, down to almost 0 F. I'd wear tights over flappy cotton clothing though. Just because tight clothing helps me cut through wind a lot better.

Melo
12-02-04, 09:04 AM
Get the waterrepellent fronts with angulated knees, and vented light material in the back, I almost never use long Johns unless it gets super cold. Oh yes I also wear my snow ski helmet and goggles with a balacava, Keeping your head warm will help keep the whole body warm Keep peddlin
darkmother
12-02-04, 09:55 AM
Cheers guys. I'll pick some up this weekend. Thanks for the tips.
Iron Chef
12-02-04, 10:06 AM
I wear tights ever since I got a pair of warm up pant caught in my chain ring.
darkmother
12-06-04, 01:29 PM
I picked up some tights, based on your input. These things are great! So comfortable, and even though it was snowing, I stayed dry. I think they made the ride quite a bit faster as well. I will need some long underwear when it gets farther below freezing, with the ones I have now at least. Pretty thin on the back.
dobber
12-06-04, 02:27 PM
I favor UnderArmour ColdWear Leggings.