this psycho was out in traffic last February in Burlington VT when the wind chill was 30 below zero


I believe when I was commuting my lower limit was 17 degrees. the trick is having no exposed flesh and not fogging your glasses

My personal low is -14f/-25c. I learned how to handle the cold from reading blogs from Alaskans and Canadians and all of the different websites out there. And some trial and error. I wish I'd done it sooner. Nothing like riding in the snow.

My limit is 20-degrees F. I'm in the south, so it rarely gets that cold, but at least a few times a year I skip the bike for the comfort of the climate controlled car.

I want to say when farts frost, but, the real answer is if I go to leave and my knee jerk reaction "screw this" then that's when it's too cold/wet/crappy out.

It depends on the kind of ride.

My commute to work is about 2.5 miles, taking 20-25 minutes depending on traffic lights. It takes just as long to drive and find parking, and longer to take the bus. So for the sake of convenience, I'll definitely ride if the temperature is 40ºF, and will usually ride down to 30. It doesn't often get colder than that here. Combine cold with heavy rain and I'm more likely to drive.

I'm more of a fair-weather biker when it comes to "fun" rides, usually noping out if the expected high temperature is below 60ºF. I had too many hellish rides thanks to Raynaud's.

Of course, this year I'm thinking of doing an event in February so I better start getting on my bike despite the cold weather.

I really don't have a cutoff temp and ride any day I have to get to work. My coldest ride though was -6 F with a wind chill of -30 F. This picture is not from my coldest ride ever, but this was the worst conditions ever. It was white out conditions and the truck you see tried to pass me about a mile back until he started sliding when he saw an oncoming care and tried to get back in behind me.

This picture was taken by someone who knew a co worker at my wife's work. When they sent it to my wife's co worker the guy said "look at this poor SOB", the worker said "I think I know who that is" and sent it to my wife. I really didn't have any problems for what it looks like, I have studded tires and they work good! I hope this goes through as its my first attempt at posting a picture on the forum.

4°F is the limit. Colder than that I'll need more gear, that I don't have. Fortunately it rarely gets that cold here - never, for all practical purposes.

I had a 30 min commute for many years. Initially, my limit was mid 20's F. Then I found large mittens and got a warmer coat for a motorcycle I had for a few years. Commuting at 8-10 degrees F (-12 C) was then fine; weather never got any colder.

In my area, I found raw temperature was more useful choosing clothes than "real feel" or wind chill.

One morning temperature was reasonable (about 40) but wind speed was 40-50 mph. I rode about a mile and found a bus into town rather than keep fighting the wind. The afternoon ride back was 60 degrees and sunny.

Our winters are pretty mild in NC, so the coldest temperatures I have ridden in were the mid-teens. Usually I have one or two commutes each winter when morning temperatures are that cold, and I have been reasonably comfortable with my current gear. My biggest concern about riding in cold temps is dealing with mechanical problems. I do not look forward to fixing a flat in temps below freezing, and it's often dark outside when temps are that cold around here.

I am very comfortable riding in temps in the 20s and 30s, and actually prefer riding at those times to the hot, muggy weather we get here through most of the summer. It is much easier to dress for the cold than extreme heat and humidity. You can always add more layers of clothes but you can only take off so much, and high humidity makes you soaking wet within minutes of riding.

We get very little snow, sleet and ice in NC, and I don't ride in those conditions. I tried riding one day when we had about 6" of snow-sleet and only made it about 100 yards before I fell over. That was enough to convince me not to ride anymore. Black ice is especially treacherous, and we don't get enough snow and ice to justify putting studded tires on one of my bikes.

I've ridden in at -29C with a windchill of -42C but that is unusual (I think I did it just to give Mother Nature the finger for thinking that she had me and my bike beat). Dress for it and you'll be fine.

My son got a new snowboarding helmet, I think I'll repurpose the old one for cold winter bike rides this year: it'll provide protection and warmth (insulation) at the same time.

I'm in the Southern California/Los Angeles metro area. I haven't found a lower temp limit yet. The temps can get down a little below freezing here in December/January (this morning its about 32F/0C), but that can be mitigated with a few extra layers of clothing. It DOES freak out my co-workers when I come rolling up to the building on a bicycle in that type of weather.

FWIW: I hate riding in the rain, just won't do it.

The cold hasn't prevented me from riding yet but the ice and snow have. I layer on clothing depending on the forecast and adjust as needed for the ride home. Keeping my feet warm is a challenge though once the temps are below 0... Any recommendations for really warm socks or winter cycling shoes for SPD pedals?

Cold feet and hands are my nemisises (sp?) too. Thicker wool socks are better but it depends on the boot/shoe you plan to use because of the extra space they take (and you shouldn't compress your feet because that will reduce circulation and cause more problems with cold). You could also put in a warmer footbed or, I'm thinking of pulling mine out, cutting out a piece of mylar reflective sheet (space blanket) and putting it underneath then putting the footbed back in, it might help. Winter cycling shoes are expensive (from my perspective), $200+ but others in this forum have used the same pair for 10+ years so, over the long term, the expense is not so bad.

I commuted one winter when the temperature didn't get above zero F for an entire month. I only really had trouble on the 2 days it was -20F. There is a cutoff in there that makes frostbite a lot easier to occur. Now that I've moved to a little warmer area, somewhere around 5-10F is probably my limit. I keep thinking about putting bar mitts on my commuter, but I haven't done it yet. I have trouble with my hands getting too cold. There is one spot on my commute that is really exposed to the wind, and I haven't successfully found gloves that will keep my hands warm.

I am a wimp and don't ride in weather colder than 35F. It is limited by clothing. I am interested in getting out in worse weather. In my youth, I rode a motorcycle off road in the snow. For some reason that really sticks in my mind of how tough it could be!

I love that you call him a psycho; I'd say 17 degrees is crazy enough...

When I was younger, there was no low temp limit (or none I ran into), and my personal record is -8°F. These days I'm not as tough, or just value my personal comfort more, so I have limits. I won't go out into the rain if it's below 40, though I'm willing to go lower for short runs, and will race home from work if I have to. In dry or snowy weather, I try to set a limit of 25°, but will go lower depending on my mood. Below 20° takes all the joy out of riding, so that's only for short necessary runs when I don't have a better alternative.

Ha, GA? You probably have 4 days a year that I would not be able to ride a bike in shorts and short sleeve, LOL.

My theoretical lower limit is -30 Celcius (about -22 F) but I think that -25 is the coldest I have experience of - but I over dressed for that ride and had to open up some venting at the top of my 200' of climb in my daily commute.

I don't wear anything that is cycling specific though. I use platform pedals so I can daily choose differing combinations of footwear, and I have a variety of hand options - and I usually take along a second option when I an going to be out for the day in case the need to put something dry on my hands arrises - ditto for head gear.

For footwear one of my best combination is casual leather (unvented) hiking/running shoes with a felt insole with reflective layer - over which I wear a pair of ordinary overshoes (which have another layer of felt in them).

Wool gloves inside of an unlined leather mitten gives good hand protection and reasonable dexterity- though I also have a couple of mitts made for skiing that I also use. Big advantage of the wool glove/leather mitt combination is that it costs very little in space and weight to carry along an extra pair or two of the wool gloves - and you have a two stage system that allows you to deal with locks etc. without touching metal with bare skin.

For my head - I use a thin layer that covers the ears - either a fleece beanie or an army surplus winter combat cap if I want the brim. Over that I wear a MTB helmet with the brim removed - over which I have a nice stretchy fleece hat that fits the helmet snugly, and a high viz rain cover as a wind break. I use wrap-around sunglasses over my perscription glasses to reduce wind over my eyes - yellow lenses for night. I also grow a full beard for winter - though this is not an option for all.

For my legs - wool or tech layer - then corduroy trousers (for the loft - traps more warm air) and a wind breaking layer. All loose, but not floppy.

For torso and arms - thin wool, wool, and maybe more wool - or maybe a tech or fleece layer (this all gets shifted day to day according to temperature, wind, and how long I might be out. For extreme days a down vest may be added. Then a breathable wind breaking layer over top - the warmer of my two options (made for snowboarding) at this point has pit vents.

Complicated? Yes, I guess so - but versatile and it works for me.

I find that keeping hands, head, and feet warm is key to enjoying the ride.

I have multiple options also for the secondary reason that I sometimes have gear hanging to dry while I need to change clothes and head out again (split shifts, eh?)

Depends on your equipment, and also on your body and how acclimated to cold you are.

I've ridden down to -25*F and enjoyed it.

Down to the teens I can just slap on what seems like an appropriate layer set and just go. Not really a problem.

When it starts getting down to 0 and below, it starts getting actually dangerous if you don't know what you're doing; you can wind up with frostbite and frozen digits.

My current max cold gear is wool base, then one or two layers of long sleeve poly Ts or poly sweatshirts in extreme cases, poly running tights with insulated underwear underneath, thermasilk glove liners underneath some 3-finger gloves (pinky and adjacent finger are joined), smartwool socks under Lake MX303 winter boots, a J&G cyclewear jacket+pants vented rain set combo on top, a motorcyclist's neoprene face mask+balaclava and goggles that seal down to the face, and a fleece scarf draped over the neck and crossed in front for a little extra insulation against wind blast.

You do have to be very careful to not allow any gaps on the face if you're riding below zero F. On the fingers and toes, the important thing is to block the wind.

Me too, but I grew up in Miami...

Sure

I have a cycling jacket that is a bit too hot at anything over about 20F, so I have to ride on colder days or I feel like I wasted my money

You could always sell it on ebay...

To me it's all about how FAR the ride is. I'll go a few miles in below zero temps. My actual commute is about 20 miles and as the ride goes on it gets harder and harder to keep everything comfortable. My limit right now is 17F as in that is the coldest weather I've done the 20 miles in. This year I have some better gear and am going to try and push that down to 10F.