I think this helps explain, at least to some extent, the (mostly) good natured argument prompted by Mikael Colville-Anderson, who inveighed against winter-specific cycling gear recently on his blog, saying that pushing that sort of gear helped to create an exclusive sub-culture that makes spreading acceptance of cycling more difficult. He offered the example of Danish riders in everyday clothes on Dutch-style commuting bikes in wintry weather, suggesting that anyone who goes in for higher-tech clothes or gear (bright cycling jackets, studded tires) is doing so unnecessarily and scaring people off in the process.

I'm with him to a certain extent. I don't commute in special bike socks, shoes (no SPDs on my winter rig), gloves, etc... Almost everything I wear I use for other stuff. The only truly bike-specific gear I use most winter days are my jacket, my bar mitts and my studded tires, but I probably wouldn't use much of that stuff if I had a more Danish-style commute.

But mine is a Pittsburgh-style commute. On a snowy or wet day with the temperature in the 20s F., I might see two or three other commuters. Our roads aren't really designed for bicycles, my city is very hilly, and my commute is 12 miles one-way. My tires protect me from patches of black ice that is a routine part of my winter commute. My bar mitts help block the wind and rain on a commute that takes more than 1 hour and is often in bad weather. My jacket has helpful vents to keep me from getting soaked in sweat which my regular rain jacket doesn't have, but more importantly, it's bright yellow and has reflectorized trim and on some of the narrow roads I travel where traffic is heavy and intersections can be complicated and confusing (and in a place where the winter sky is almost always gray, flattening out contrast), that can save my life. Would I need this on a five mile commute in Copenhagen in a plowed and designated bicycle lane? Probably not. Do I appreciate having it here? You bet I do.

I don't think Colville-Anderson is wrong, and I definitely understand that the gear thing can get way, way out of hand. You talk to some cyclists and you'd think that if you haven't spent at least $3000 on your bike and your stuff you're probably not fit to run around the corner and pick up a carton of milk. I think these guys are, as we'd say in Pittsburgh, "jagoffs", but I also think everyone's riding environment is different. I recognize that, for instance, many of the Danes Colville-Anderson references are lifelong cyclists who have a lot of skill and confidence in the winter and treat cycling like the everyday activity it should be, but I appreciate your pointing out that most of their commutes are different from mine. I have looked at some of his photos and concluded that I wouldn't try to regularly make my commute dressed like the folks in those pictures or riding those bikes.

I think a poster on another thread said it best: many European commuters seem to use biking as a substitute for walking whereas many American bike commuters seem to use biking as a substitute for driving. The difference necessitates a very different approach. Neither is right or wrong.