How do you do it, in sub-zero temps?
03-04-08, 02:48 PM
#26
Hooligan
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Base of the Rocky Mountains, Canada. Wonderous things!
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Bikes: 2010 Cannondale Hooligan 3
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Soft shell MEC jacket, two layers of choice underneath. The MEC commuter shell is deceptively warm considering its thickness, and has little reflective bits as a bonus. Typically, a long sleeve shirt and a thin hoodie go underneath. Cold weather army pants with thermals underneath, a windproof combination if done right, very comfortable and normal looking. Wicking socks, two of them on each foot which are *very* important to have rather than regular cottony socks. Lobster claws, wool face mask and a pair of good goggles round it all off.
So from my experience:
Basically, wicking, windproof, warm. Layering to create heat pockets can turn -30C into a comfort zone. The chest doesn't need a huge amount of protection, its the extremities and the face that get to be the most needy.
Around -10, I wear my jungle boots instead of my birkenstocks. Oh, won't wear sandals if its super slushy out either, thats just silly.
I find that around -30C, it becomes difficult to ride mostly due to the stuff in the bike going wonky: cables tighten, grease freezes, soon the suspension fork is rigid, 27 speeds become "whatever you picked last", and the game is just over when the drivetrain stops responding well. Thankfully this year there was only one or two days when it *started* to go wonky, and none where it got terminal.
Living in Ontario, you could head out to MEC and pick up some Nanu gloves and a Commuter soft shell, they're the bees knees. I don't really get that saying, but its supposedly good.
So from my experience:
Basically, wicking, windproof, warm. Layering to create heat pockets can turn -30C into a comfort zone. The chest doesn't need a huge amount of protection, its the extremities and the face that get to be the most needy.
Around -10, I wear my jungle boots instead of my birkenstocks. Oh, won't wear sandals if its super slushy out either, thats just silly.
I find that around -30C, it becomes difficult to ride mostly due to the stuff in the bike going wonky: cables tighten, grease freezes, soon the suspension fork is rigid, 27 speeds become "whatever you picked last", and the game is just over when the drivetrain stops responding well. Thankfully this year there was only one or two days when it *started* to go wonky, and none where it got terminal.
Living in Ontario, you could head out to MEC and pick up some Nanu gloves and a Commuter soft shell, they're the bees knees. I don't really get that saying, but its supposedly good.
