My previous limits were:
1) no lower than 30 degrees
2) nothing frozen on the ground
3) no rain if it's less than 50 degrees

This year I got some Conti Nordic Spikes on my commuter-tourer road bike and my rideable zone is wider.

I've done down to -2 on my commute in, which had me thinking possible frostbite, so at this point I am deterred by temps less than 20 degrees. Some new gear could bring that down into the teens.

The Contis are good on packed snow and ice, but not so great in deep snow.
My Plus bike ("almost fat" - 3" tires) is good for deeper/fluffier stuff but not good for packed snow or ice.
So I can do hard/slippery or deep/fluffy, but not both.
Typically my commute gets cleared, so usually don't have to deal with deep/fluffy.

Where do you draw your lines?
How have your lines changed... and what was the gear or attitude change that helped you do that?

It's 4 or 6 inches of snow that stops me - I can't remember exactly how deep it was, 8 years ago. Any snow covering rutted ice, and water reaching my bottom bracket are show-stoppers.

I've commuted in the record cold and record heat for this area so my temperature range is effectively unlimited unless I move out of the Atlanta area. Nothing special for the heat except fingerless gloves and a cap, covering two places that I hate getting sunburned.

The cold - took some learning. Keeping my hands and feet warm were the most difficult and critical.

Less than 20F is sub optimal for a 17 mile commute. Is your plus a 27.5 ? 3" studs available from 45 north. Keep your head, hands and feet warm, the rest will follow. Really warm boots, plus those heating foot warmers for backup, very nice. Got places to seek shelter/warm up if needed? And studded tires, all the time during winter. Hit that one ice spot last year from taking the studs off a week too soon. Full on left body slam, elbow tucked under, wind knocked out, again sub optimal. Took 10 minutes to walk that one off after lying on my back writhing for 5. No lasting issues except for some bruises to body and ego.

Down to -2 was basically OK hands and feet, except for the tips of my big toes and my left index finger.
Those hurt for a while then didn't; I was probably getting close to frostbite territory.
Today I wore the same gloves in the mid to upper 20s and just about soaked them in sweat.

I'm 12.5 miles each way, so, yeah I hear you.

It is a 27.5, and I saw some studs for it (not sure if they're the same ones) that were something like $120-140 per tire.

for me, the bottom end of the temperature scale is governed more by what the wind is doing rather than the raw temperature.

a sunny and still 6 degree morning is more pleasant than a 16 degree morning with a nasty 25mph headwind.

generally speaking, if windchills are below zero, i tend to throw in the towel and walk to the train station.


as for the white stuff, chicago is pretty damn good about plowing and salting for most regular snowfalls. the real danger most of the time is ice, and my studded marathon winters do a nice job with that stuff. every once in a while i find myself riding in more snow than the marathon winters should be expected to handle, but slow and steady wins the race in that case. really big snowfalls like that typically only happen 1-3 times per winter on average anyway.

Before this year I only rode in the summer, so nothing below 50F or so. This fall I decided to keep riding. Last week I rode to home from work in -10F. Snow and ice are a non-issue now. So I've learned that biking is 95% mental.

My zone of comfort expanded pretty quickly during my first winter of commuting. Seemed like every week from Nov to Jan there was something different to contend with--ice, more extreme temps, wet snow, slush, etc, different types of snow.

My limit is more than 3-4 cm of fresh fallen snow. So if it's fallen during the over night, then the morning commute is a no go. If it falls during the day and the plows and salters have had a chance to come through, it's good to go.

Temperature wise I haven't really found my limit. I've done it down to -20*C.

I will ride in the rain down into the 40s, but you have to be careful. You can definitely get hypothermia in those conditions.

In my early thirties I would commute down to 15F with occasional rides down to 0F just to try it. With knobbies I'd commute up to 4 inches of snow. It was before I was on the web (in fact there was no real WWW inthe early 90s) I was totally ignorant of smart cold weather cycling and it's a wonder I didn't loose fingers and toes to frostbite. I over-dressed and sweated a lot while wearing cotton. Plus I stuffed my shoes and gloves tight. But my commute back then was only 6 miles.

Up until age 52 my cold weather threshold continued to rise to 21F. My commute extended to 9 miles, and as I learned more about commuting I switched to road tires which put the kibosh on snow and ice riding. I also acquired an old road bike which I kept fenderless.

On days that were too cold or too icy I'd jog on the treadmill in the basement. But two years ago it was unusually snowy and icy and so in order to reclaim more days biking I lowered my cold weather threshhold back down to 12F, and being older and wiser thanks to bikeforums I was more comfortable and safer than when I was in my 30s.

Then last year I bought a new commuter and bought studded snow tires for the old commuter. That first icy day I took the studded bike to a steep downhill that was completely ice covered. I repeatedly braked to a stop until I was confident. I also symbolically lowered my cold weather threshold to 10F. I had a freakin' blast riding last winter! And this year has been even better! I find loose snow over 3-inches slows me down enough that commuting is no longer practical, but ice filled side streets are no longer a barrier. Riding up icy hills that un-studded cars and trucks have trouble with is very good for the ego.

I have been thinking I may try to push down to 5F, but I'm not sure if I'm ready yet.

I guess the attitude was fighting getting old. And after being off the bike for a year due to a non-bike related slipped disk at 48 years old, I have been more aggressive about staying fit and more aggressive about pushing myself endurance wise.

Mine was a disc fragment, but otherwise you are telling my story (51 now, and so far no back surgery ;-))

We have reached the age where people become injured doing nothing in particular.

Cagers here play bumper cars in ice or snow, so I'll take the car to play with them in those conditions.


Otherwise, I've been able to commute via bike down to 7 degrees F, which is as cold as it's gotten here since I started bicycle commuting 11 years ago.

Assuming that you consider studded snow tires to be "mental."

Last winter (injury recovery) was the only one since 2000 I didn't ride through 90%. (Some days are 'bus-necessary'...)

This is either the 4th or 5th winter I've had the studded tires; they make a LOT of difference.

We've seen some sub-zero mornings/evenings this month -- almost ALWAYS with a significant wind chill, as well. Still rode, still endured some difficulties (breath fogging glasses then freezing on them, persistent cold making me all but vomit on the way in ).

My PR is -5F/-35FWC; came close this year, -2/-22. Coldest December in years.

At my age, the only direction I can see me going is 'wimpier'...hopefully, not for a few more years yet.

Doesn't get cold enough where I live to stop me. I don't ride in the rain, and it only snows like once or twice a year. Last year it snowed twice, and I biked to the train station those days. This year, as long as it isn't slushy and the snow isn't too deep I'm thinking of riding on one of my bikes in the snow. Just not sure if I want to fall.