Clothing When Cold - New Riding Group
 

I always ride by myself otherwise and usually on my roadbike thus traditional cycling attire. Since I'm cold i've been wearing tights.

I will be riding with a co-worker and his group. This is a mountain bike ride and I know mtbikers wear baggies. To fit in I will commit to a pair of baggies or board shorts over my shorts. But what you guys wear when its cold?

Baggies over tights? Baggies over knickers? BMX pants?

No flaming, I just want to fit in. Thx

When it's cold, it's tights.

Being concerned about fitting in by what you wear is needless and silly. Wear what you like, what works best for you.

For cold weather cycling, I wear bib tights, mtb or road.

I wear REI Headwind pants. They are a close-fitting crossover pant that they sell for both biking and XC skiing.

I wear bib shorts, on the road, track and MTB. But I do throw some baggies on, but that's only because my 'local' trails are a hour and a half away, the shorts keep my arse clean for the car journey.

I'd wear the same gear while mountain biking in a group as I would on the road, even though each other person in the group was strictly a mountain biker. When it's cold they wear the same stuff too. (This was in Massachusetts, anyways, I'm not sure where you're from)

The most important thing is you'll be wearing less on a mountain bike than you would on a road bike at the same temperatures, or you'll overheat FAST. My first two or three rides with that group always ended with me drenched in sweat, but I learned quickly :)

I wear tights when it gets cold. Or baggies over tights.

The reason to wear baggy shorts is not fashion. It's because they're made of much tougher fabric than lycra. Try crashing on gravel with each, and see which one is shredded and which one is merely dusty. :)

I wear tights with baggy shorts over them. My junk still gets cold. :( Windproof thermal tights are necessary if it's below 40 and windy. You'll want ear protection too, I use a cheap nashbar thermal cap. It has to be thin to fit under your helmet. If you have ventilated shoes you'll need shoe covers (they make some cool toe-only models that aren't as annoying as full booties) and you will probably want thick wool socks.

You could solve that easily with a pair of good pants. Royal SP247s do the trick nicely. Understated, without the usual Sam Hill/race kit pajamas effect ;).

Sweet... how's the sizing? I wear 33x32 jeans, and large in most cycling tights. Same deal on these, large?

Those should do ya. I wear 34x32 jeans (my >ahem< "33" has expanded somewhat in my advancing age) and wear the Large. You can doublecheck off their sizing charts and see if you feel the Med might suit you better. Large seems just right and not overly large for me though.

Backcountry had one set left in large for $76 free 2-day shipping. Thanks for the tip!! :D

If you ride hard you don't need no stinkin bibs or tights! Get manly and just ride! :)

On my less manly days I also enjoy a nice wool cap under the helmet, a wool sweater under a wind breaker type top and a couple of moisture wicking layers next to the skin. Tights and Long shorts, good wool socks from REI, Gortex socks as well.

^^ If you were really manly, it'd be Carharts, Sorels and a Bell Moto III ;).

LOL, my super-cold helmet is a Suomy Spectre. I wore it a few weeks ago during a cold snap thinking 40 with 25mph wind was good.

Uh, no. My head roasted! My Giro Remedy is plenty warm at that temp.

I had a Bell Moto3 as a kid, though. :cool:

I did ride in Carharts back in 2008. A local Star Bucks locked the doors when I rode up front. I think they were afraid I was homeless.

It probably didn't help that you had that bedroll tied to the back of the seat and all the plastic shopping bags hanging on the handlebars.

Back then a 20 mile ride was a 2 day affair. Judy always packed the bike for me and shoved me down the drive way. She always had that weird smile when she did that, never have figured that out.

lol. i wear jeans and a slayer shirt. in the summer its jeans with holes and a slayer shirt

Baggies over tights and a longsleeve jersey with a wind-proof jacket is generally fine for me. I usually wear a knee/shin combo with tights because tights are freaking expensive and rip easily. That's never the problem though...it's always fingers and toes. I trade my bike gloves for a Burton Pipe Glove and have some cold-weather running socks that keep me kind-of-sort-of-but-not-really warm for running (but not biking), but it's a hopeless battle.

You too need a simple, sensible pair of Royal pants ;) - - save you a lot of folderol and the roomy knee articulation still lets you slip in a nice pair of 661 Evo knees underneath, stealth-style, for the gnarlier stuff.

What is the coldest you all ride in? I know for me, below 40 has to be clear, sunny and dry-little wind. I have been caught in some mountain showers when I was not prepared. Pure misery! How cold do YOU go?

I rode into work today with the temp about 25F. I'm going to try and keep this up all winter, I think the average lows around here are 15F at the coldest. Hope all the clothing I have can handle that.

I draw the line at mid-20s and it has to be a pretty special adventure (top of our mountain, ride with my son home for the holidays, etc.) to feel it's worth it. Otherwise, I'd probably just opt to strap on the XC skis or snowshoes.

Got the pants today! (Free 2-day shipping. :D)

They're very much like my motocross pants, but they have intelligent stretchy areas to let you pedal. SUH-weet! :thumb: And they're thin enough to not die in the summer, if you need that kind of protection, but should also work great over my tights on 30 degree days.