I need some winter clothes !!!!!!
 

Yep, I got the first taste of it last night, riding through the dips and bottoms of my route got a lil' nipply. I MUST ride this winter no matter what or Ill get Phat again. 220 on july 30 to 204 right now. I gotta get some Clothes.
Any Suggestions!~?

thx:)

I always have to think "windproof" more than warm. You can wear layers, but whenever the wind can cut through the layers they're pretty much worthless. Get a good windproof vest or jacket for your outer layer...it'll be worth the money.

in portland, wool-based clothing (with spandex in it, of course) is the way to go. it'll keep the wind out, while at the same time retains its shape while wet. i'm a fan of leg/arm warmers and socks with at least some wool in 'em.

and, of course, it's a good idea to get some goretex or other wind-breaking/wet-breaking gear for jackets, etc. and gloves. and ear-covers.

of course, that's portland -- where it rarely gets below 40 in the winter, but rains for 5 months straight :)

Patagonia capilene. Made from recycled soda bottles, cannot absorb moisture. Hi thread count blocks wind. Many differant weights and layers. Wears and washes well.

The trick is stay cool, no sweating in winter.

Tops :

http://www.patagonia.com/za/PDC/Pgon...rchant_rn=7385

You could get some good cold-weather work clothes as used by men who do strenuous work in cold weather.

Layer up starting with a cotton flannel one-piece union suit. You can wear 2 of them. Then layer as needed. One of those one-piece Carhart brown duck insulated coverall suits makes a good outer layer. NEVER wash Carharts. If you do they lose their ability to block wind and fire, not that you're worried about the fire.

For your feet wear heavy shoes like Redwings and WOOL socks. If not good enough wear simple 2-buckle rubber galoshes over your shoes.

Get a GOOD wool hat. Keeping your head warm will let you discard a layer. A mask and safety glasses will help too if need be. And good gloves, mittens are best.

Dressing like that worked fine for me building 200 foot smokestacks and such in the dead of winter off Lake Michigan. You might not look like Joe Bicycle but you'll be warm.

Now there may be sports clothing that's better, I wouldn't know about that.

This is a perfect description of HOW NOT TO DRESS. With all due respect, this is the worst advice you will get so please don't follow it. Search this forum for winter dress etc. and you will learn the right way to do it.

Maybe this was a joke and i didn't get it??? :o Maybe hence the name Boilermaker.

LMAO redwings


I hope that was a inside joke of somesort

I proof read it and Im still LMAO !!!!!!!!

Mittens and some work goggles******************************?

HOly Moly!

Hey Heath, you're the guy asking how to keep warm. You don't think mittens are warmer than gloves? You don't think a mask and safety glasses will protect your face from the cold? You don't think Redwing shoes are warm? Well if you know the answers why did you ask?

I worked outside in Chicago for 33 years. I know how to keep warm during rigorous activities in bitter cold. You can accept or reject my advice, suit yourself. But why bust my chops? You should feel shame.

C_heath, you were asking about WINTER clothing. If you really think mittens and work goggles are an overkill, then congrats, apparently your winter is not a real winter after all. Where do you ride?

--J

your right, It gets cold, but Instead of LMAO I shoulda said that it dosent get that cold here. I am sorry, just was trying to figure out the red wings and getting into my clipless with them. Anyhow, 30 degrees is the coldest Ill ride in here.

Again
Sorry

Heath---Thanks buddy.

30 degrees? I'd try a union-suit under pants and sweater, wool socks and a windproof jacket. And a good hat, always a good hat, keep your dome warm. I'd bring some gloves along, not too heavy. No mittens. ;)

Here you go :

http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/boots.html

Someday I might do it to an old pair of boots. We have a lot of ice and snow here, though, so I go to platforms in the winter....

Oh and, 30 above? That's balmy in winter here. 30 below hits my commute way to often. I'll do it (only 3.75 miles each way) but I definatly don't go on longer rides when it's like that...

boilermaker,

You are way off on your advice for cycling advice. Perhaps you want to reveal how far and fast you have ridden a bike in such clothing as you described. Nobody is here to bust your chops, but it is conventional wisdom among those of us that cycle in cold weather, that what you listed would make a person sweat an incredible lot and likely get hypothermia very quickly.

Please go to icebike and learn how to dress for winter. These guys know what they are talking about, as do most members that frequent the Winter Cycling area in this forum. YOur recommendations for dress are probably what most people would try if they didn't know better.

After 15-20 miles on a bike they would KNOW BETTER!! Again, nobody is trying to "bust your chops" here boilermaker. But it is important to give out good advice to people that would become very frustrated with winter cylcling if not injured following your advice, and soon give it up. With the proper attire, winter cycling is a blast.

Wearing what you described would be miserable. Please go to that site and read up. I appreciate that you have worked hard outside in cold temps. I have too. Your dress recommendations would be great for cutting wood, or some other activity that was physical yet not nearly as heat generating as cycling is.

Hi,
you want a layer to stop the wind. Then you want some insulation.
You will want something to cover your ears, which can be tricky with a helmet. I remove the padding on an old helmet; put on a balclava, and then the helmet. If you have downhill ski gloves, they work nicely. Up top, layering works. I have problems with the pants situation because I have 26" legs. That's cold, they are closer to 27" when I ride. I have yet to find a perfect solution when the temp drops below freezing. A lot of guys use old style pedals and big boots in the winter. I got some neoprene shoe covers, but I don't know how well they will work. The Icebike.com site is good.

30 below!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Ive never felt that, they that once it hits 0 its mostly all the same.

sheesh

Got balls?

lol

Zero degrees is nothing compared to 35 below with a wind chill approaching 50-60 below zero. An old member here said this once you can feel the stitches in your clothing at those temps.

You can throw water in the air in those temps and it will crystallize before it hits the ground. (Cotton, very cold temps and moisture don't mix) Those temps are nothing to be played around with. You can get frost bite to exposed skin in less then a minute and get hypothermia in a few minutes.


STAY AWAY FROM COTTON! COTTON KILLS!

"You can throw water in the air in those temps and it will crystallize before it hits the ground"

I can only imagine
sheesh

Rains for five months straight?!? E gads man, do your fingers ever get "unpruned"???

Repeat after me. Wool is my friend. Wool is my friend.

Not the nasty scratchy kind - the soft semi-expensive kind. Believe me, It will be money well spent. For socks. Wal-mart hunting section. Just make sure they have at least a 70% wool count. You will also need one 100% wool sweater for an outerlayer. This can be the scratchy lambs wool since it won't be near your skin. Merino wool long underwear is heaven on earth. That is where you'll spend some coin, but aren't the family jewels worth some extra comfort? You can wear merino right next to your skin. It is so soft. Most of it is machine wash, hang to dry. As easy to take care of as expensive plastic bike clothes.

Winter, funny old thing. In some places its really cold and in others just a bit cool and damp. It's hard to dress for a generic "winter" without more info: latitude, altitude, temp, wind, precipitation.

If it is that cold, where would you find water?

Anyone have recommendations for fall/mild winter (30°-60°F) women's clothing? This will be my first winter of road riding and I currently have NOTHING suitable for the cool weather. I know I need a good jacket, long pants, and gloves - any suggestions for brands/styles that are not too expensive?

To give boilermaker the benefit of a doubt I would say he is most likely addressing how to commute/get around with existing clothing one might have where aerobic training or great distances/speed are not an issue. However it would seem from C_heath's post, he wants to ride to lose fat thus boilermaker's recommendations probably won't work for him. I personally have layers of cycling specific clothing that is supplemented with some general outdoor/backpacking type stuff. Usually when I'm on the bike I am trying to get in an aerobic workout regardless of whether its a training ride or commuting. However, some people are using a bike just to get around w/o trying to maintain a certain training HR. For example in Europe, comfort/cruiser type 3-5 speed bikes are purposely geared so they can be ridden w/ very little effort and sitting almost straight up so they aren't sweating when they reach their destination and can do so in work clothes.

Dave

Are they not pedaling to get around? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that there might be a place for boilermaker's clothing advice on a bicycle. However it is pretty limited. I think distance is the limiting factor. IF you are going to ride anything over a couple miles you are going to have an aerobic workout, unless you are just coasting.

If you are going to get on the bike and maybe average 3-5 mph you can probably wear coveralls and all of that. A person out of shape may have a pretty "aerobic" sweaty workout just doing that.