johnce

Hello folks,
Just wondering what some of you wear when riding in cold weather? particularly when it comes to long johns, base layers, etc. I wanna get something warm that wicks and is fairly light. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

8bit

Winter pants are luxurious. I get the unpadded sort that you wear over bike shorts - you can wear them off the bike as well. Craft makes some great 2-layer pants that are really toasty and I hear a lot of good things about the Pearl Izumi ones with the windproof front side.

I have winter bike shoes (Answer brand), though I did make do for a while with a stretched out pair of summer shoes and neoprene socks. The winter shoes are definitely warmer and more convenient. I also use a thin fleece hat under my helmet and maybe a helmet cover above since that makes a nice insulating spot. If it's below freezing I use a neoprene face mask because my nose starts to feel like it's twisting off my face at the point where I broke it several years ago. My BF is less of a wuss about the cold but still the face mask is nice - it's vented properly so your glasses don't fog up.

As for base layers, I use whatever is in my closet. It's generally a lot of Capilene and fleece, but it's more about the number of layers than what they're made of. Wool (of any sort) gives me a rash if it's next to my skin and I'm strangely more sensitive in cold weather.

nun

Here's what I wear in the winter down to freezing

Light weight beanie liner under my cap or helmet
Wool neck gaiter to protect ears and face
Long sleeve wool T-shirt
Marmot Dryclimb jacket
Wool long johns
3/4 length kickers
Long wool socks
Shimano MTB shoes
Pearl Izumi gloves.

Ken Wind

Blocking the wind goes a long way to keeping you warm as long as rain isn't an issue. There are many ways to do this cheaply and effectively, but I like to buy expensive things and look good *.

I love Merino Wool, and I love Smartwool. Merino is a specific type of wool, and Smartwool is a company that uses a proprietary synthetic/wool mix. It does a good job of keeping you warm, even when wet, and generally wool smells less than synthetics. There is wool in almost every piece of cold weather gear I own.

A long neck gaiter is one of the best purchases I've ever made for winter cycling. It keeps the air out of your jacket, and you can pull it up over your chin, mouth, or nose. Much more versatile than a balaclava. When I'm riding in cold weather, usually my hands and feet are the first to succumb to the chill. I recommend getting good gloves, and figuring out a way to keep your feet warm. I have different gloves for different temperatures. If you don't use clipless pedals, then good boots will keep your feet warm and dry. If you do use clipless pedals, there are boots out there, but they are very pricey at full retail, and they may not work as well regular cold weather boots.


* Looking good is subjective, and some people are all about putting bags over their feet or stuffing newspapers under their shirt. There's nothing wrong with that.

Ken Wind

This website is starting to get a little outdated, but it has some great information.

https://www.icebike.org/

Bekologist

bike touring in winter?

It depends on how cold. It's relatively easy to keep your core warm while winter touring and riding, the tough bits are shoes and hands and windproofness overall while staying adequately ventilated.

Need to make sure you have enough warm clothes after you've stopped biking. Down jacket, overpants, and non-cycling footwear are a virtual must.

Have you winter camped before? the skillsets are a little different camping in winter. Stoveboards, lots of fuel for melting snow, combating boredom from 14 hour nights, preventing frostbite..

I've been happy with layers of wool, windshells for both top and bottoms, a windstopper skull cap, and wool gloves under waxed leather choppers.

check out my winter tour slideshow, nothing spectacular....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ORO_nxEba0

and bikecamping with skis is a rockin' biathalon....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjW6mTrazXY

you can see my ski boots and skis in that one...

brucewiley

Your thoughts on camp shoes for the winter? I used to have some fake fur lined nylon slip-on boots (with soles) that I would carry when ski camping but I haven't found any more like that. They were light and easy to stuff in.

Bekologist

winter camp shoes?

I'm a fan of Outdoor Research Modular Mukluks. you can see them at 1:05 in my first youtube video I posted above. OR modular mukluks are big enough you can slip the shells over your cycling shoes around camp, and they also come with a pile sock you can supplement with a thick wool sock and be almost as warm as down booties. They also work over down booties to keep spindrift out when wallowing thru deep snow around camp.

If I were riding the Iditabike or across Siberia I might bring along USAF mukluks as these are quite robust and not that heavy with an excellent action sole for using them with platform pedals. The USAF mukluks are an excellent winter riding overshoe for anyone living in serious snow country.