Leebo

I commute year round from north of boston to brighton. Do you all have a lower cold limit on bike commuting? I have done down to 10 F. It was -6 this morning and had to drive for work issues. I'm 18 miles one way.

newenglandbike

I rode in this morning from Newton Upper Falls to Lexington-- 17miles the way I go, which is through Weston and Lincoln. It was seriously crisp out, but I was not too cold... just the toes a little bit. I don't have a cold limit currently b/c I don't have a car. But, if it was like -40F I'd probably stay home.

What I can't get my head around this winter is all the @#$% snow we've been getting. Now they're predicting another storm Wednesday. WTF.

Chalupa102

^I agree about all this snow.

I think I might have hit my cold limit today. It was -11F average, but that's not including whatever the windchill was. I dressed pretty well for my 19 mile commute. The only things that were cold were feet and sometimes fingers. I hope this is the coldest weather I ever ride in.

I say this now, but that can always change though.

hubcap

I have not found my limit yet. It was -6F this past Friday morning and the wind was blowing pretty good. The bike was sluggish, but no other problems I don't have to deal with when the temp is 10 or 20 degrees warmer.

Jim from Boston

Today was apprently the first single digit day in metro Boston in two years, and I was looking forward to testing some modifications I had made since then. I was going to post about my 14 mile commute from Kenmore Square to Norwood, starting out at minus 1 degree F, but why bother now?

I did call into the WRKO morning talk show in response to the topic "Is it cold enough for you?". Afterwards I sent this E-mail to the hosts:

exile

The coldest I've ridden in so far has been 1F. I'm glad a keep a pair of glove liners in my back pack because it was 20F when I left.

xtrajack

This morning I set a new record for me for cold weather riding. It was -22F when I got out of work this morning. The ride home was Awesome. Jim from Boston is right --- "It's the Adventure, Stupid."

irclean

After working the graveyard shift this past weekend the temperature during my early morning ride home was -24 degrees Celsius (-11 F). It was so cold that a patch of fog inside my ski goggles froze and I had to pull over to scrape it so I could see.

Jim from Boston

I hope you realize that is a paraphrase of Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign slogan, "It's the Economy, Stupid.". It's not my style to call cagers "stupid."

Joe1946

Today was the coldest day here in NJ with below zero temps in the morning and I used my best winter gear and my Surly Pugsley with 29r 2.35 schwalbe big apple tires on 29r Snowcat wheels.

Bat56

I find -10 F to be pretty cold. That is as cold as I have ridden. When it was -20 F last week I bummed a ride from my wife. Thing is, if she was not able to drive me, I would have ridden.

For me things change when the temperature gets cold enough to kill me. The extra precautions start to outweigh the fun. I mark that temp somewhere below -10.

bijan

One thing that hasn't been commented on is the OP's commute. It's 18 miles one way...

I don't know if I'd ride 18 miles one way in the summer. I don't want to commit the time to that. Unless it's a nice path with right of way that's well over an hour for me. In winter it could easily take me 2 hours (or more)...

scroca

I once declared 0F to be my limit. It was uncomfortable, but since then I have acquired much better gear. So now I only know I'd try it colder. We rarely get anything in the minus range, so it might be awhile before I find out.

digibud

for those interested in learning to be able to ride in colder temps than they currently do, I would suggest keeping a log of your rides. Jot down the exact clothing you used, the temp, the effort you put forth and what worked and didn't work. You will see patterns develop and learn some unexpected thing like bringing a cotton towel to dry your sweat off in mid-ride when necessary. consider chemical hand warmers. When it gets under 0F I often have a chem warmer in each pogie. that allows me to have thinner gloves on while in the pogies so i can actually use my hands when needed, then return the hands to the warm pogie interior when I no longer need it.

scoatw

I have a clothing log. I learned that trick here on Bikeforums. That and learning what folks in Canada and Alaska do. My lowest was -14. And I feel confident that I could go lower if I had to. Spending the money on good, quality gear helps too. You'll actually save in the end.

This is my frigid temperatures Outfit

Wilbur Bud

For me, it's time (or distance) and temp. I rarely see below 0F temps in central Indiana, so I generally commute 13 miles each way year round. Winds shift in the winter, so my commute can be worse in the winter, with a small number of days seeing a ferocious headwind that saps my legs. As mentioned earlier, a clothing chart is the trick, plus being able to convert what you wore in the morning when it's colder to something comfortable for the ride home at night.

I'm so slow, it can take me 65-75 minutes in the winter due to the general winter slow-down plus the studs drag, so I'm not sure I'd maintain my comfort if my ride was 3 hours instead of 1, but I've only worked out the clothing chart for my commute distance and haven't ever taken a half day tour in low temps. If my ride was 15 minutes, I think I wouldn't have a lower limit because you could put on so many layers that the cold would never penetrate and you wouldn't have to worry about the steady state heat transfer once all the fabric was saturated with perspiration and a conductive path was established. If my ride was 8 hours, I'd have to work into it over a seasonal change to be sure I had the right gear to wear. The trick for me is to find a way for the perspiration to evaporate on your shielded surfaces so that you don't chill the exposed surfaces.

bijan

This is so true. As you say what works for 15 minutes vs 8 hours is pretty different.

My commute is 30 minutes, and I would wear about the same clothing for that when it's -15F as I would for a 3 hour ride when it's 15F degrees.

I find that I can start out warm and then later the sweating will kick in and I will cool down, but eventually as you say it will reach steady state, where I'm neither drenched in sweat nor freezing.

clasher

I was out riding around that same night I think, my beard was nicely iced up, despite having a scarf over my face. I don't plan on stopping to ride when it's cold, I don't see it going below -20c again this year, and if it does I have enough layers for it.

paul2432

I may set a new record this coming Wednesday. Forecasted low is -18F. My previous coldest ride is around -10F to -15F. I'm actually looking forward to it.

For an idea of what is possible, check out this video. A self-supported tour across Alaska, with a stretch of days with a high of -20F and lows near -50F. If he can ride all day in that, and sleep in a tent. I can certainly ride an hour to work.

https://vimeo.com/18575749



Paul

irclean

According to The Weather Network, it's supposed to be -17°C (0°F) tomorrow morning, -23°C (-9°F) with the windchill. I'm leaving for work at 6 am, and I got my balaclava and ski goggles laid out. Brr!

Edit: It's a balmy -21°C (-6°F) without the windchill right now, and I'm leaving in a few minutes. Spring is starting to sound good. Oh, and we're supposed to be getting another 30 cm (1 foot) of snow by Wednesday, too!

Leebo

Last I rode in friday of last week. 12 F to start the day. No issues to speak of. Beer coozies over the water bottle prevent frozen gatorade. The engine was slow but steady.

Lamabb

I haven't hit my limit yet, but I live in New York where we don't get too many sub-zero days. I have ridden down to -6 alright. you just gotta dress right!

Bat22

I leave at least a half hour earlier in the morning. In case I want to turn back and upgrade my outfit.
(or wuss out). Only carry a spare set of gloves and a spare clava.

electrik

The shorter the distance the lower the limit, and in a city it's easier.

If you need to slog 18miles through BFN(suburbia counts because there are so few places to stop) one way the limit may reise!

Jose Mandez

I once did a 60-ish mile trip in 10 degree weather from Terre Haute to Camby (just south of Indianapolis), an experience I'd rather not repeat. It was difficult to get in as much calories as my body felt like it wanted to stay warm, as it was hard to eat anything in such freezing weather, and caloric beverages were hard to intake because they froze so quickly. I wore SPDs and my feet were pretty cold, my hands were cold despite wearing gloves with liners.

Kudos to all of you who regularly commute in weather that's much colder than I dealt with.

I'm thankful that I didn't have to change a flat during the trip.