Saving On Gear
 

I ran into an old friend the other day. "Bill" is a retired man living on a fixed income. I asked him why I haven seen him very much on the road, lately. He went on to explain that most of his cool weather gear (Tights etc.) is worn out. He didn't have the money to replace them. The only thing that I could think of was this, 2 Used German Military Wool Riding Pants, Gray - 182277, Pants at Sportsman's Guide
Does anyone else have any idea that I can pass along to "Bill"?

Those look good and you can buy used clothes on eBay. Sierra Trading Post has good deals from time to time. Sometimes you can hit a sale and also apply a coupon. I would think that summer would be a good time to pick up some winter clothes on clearance. In the meantime, a loose pair of jeans would work.

Most of my winter riding stuff comes from Mark's Work Wearhouse - outdoor worker type stuff. As a bonus, my outer layer is dayglow orange, yellow, with reflective striping.

I'm on a very tight budget as well and much of our income goes to health care expenses. Just the usual over-50 stuff. Your friend might be able to find some remaining bargains on winter wear from Walgreen's.

I wanted to ride more this winter and not be bogged down with the makeshift stuff I wore the year before: bulky sweatpants under khaki trousers that are oversized now that I've lost 40 lbs since buying those pants. Felt like half of my energy was being expended on restrictive knee movement with those layers.

And my old but still good Columbia Gore-Tex/Thinsulate parka is too much for most mild Texas winter days. It was fine for winter motorcycle rides but I was sweating and risking chills wearing it for bicycling.

Fortunately there's a Pearl Izumi outlet store nearby so I prowled around for some bargains, including arm warmers for $10 and a PI Select Barrier Jacket for $30. No bargains on PI knee or leg warmers, though, so I got Nashbar brand lightweight knee warmers for about $12.

This winter Walgreen's carried a bunch of good winter wear cheap. Best bargain was women's poly blend fleece tights for only $5. I bought two pair and wore them often under baggy shorts this winter. I also wore the tights under jeans for a couple of really cold off-road rides. It was comfortable down into the low 20s.

Walgreen's also had some excellent microfiber socks for only $4 a pair, or three for $10. I got three pair and they've been the best winter socks I've ever worn. Thick enough that I didn't need to layer socks with a thinner pair (although I did wear thin anklets under the winter socks a few times). They breathed so well my feet never got soggy and chilled.

They also had some good deals on knit microfiber gloves for about $3-$5. Not wind resistant but they were very comfortable under my wind resistant Bontrager Thermal glove shells. And I got a pair of heavy insulated ski gloves for something like $8-$10. Those were good for almost an hour on rides in the 20s before my fingers began stinging. The glove shell wasn't quite windproof so a windproof thin shell would help.

There are church rummage sales. You may not find cycling tights there, but sweaters are reasonable alternatives to jerseys.

And there are occasional bike swaps where you can find used clothing.

And thrift shops such as Good Will and Salvation Army.

Come out of retirement.

REI tends to have good bargain bins.

Long underwear is generally a cheap and good under layer. If you're willing to look a bit weird, you can simply wear shorts or pants on top. Wool tends to be warmer against skin even when wet.

Don't wear bike-specific clothes, just wear whatever is comfortable.

Sales at big box hunting/outdoors stores, or perhaps Military Surplus stores in the U.S. for poly under layers and such. Sierra Trading Post, already mentioned, is a good source, as is Campmor.

The Pro's Closet on eBay has second hand gear in great condition at great prices. I got a Sugoi Zap jacket from them, looks like new to me.

Great idea [MENTION=421398]kuroba[/MENTION]! I've bought parts from TPC but never thought of vintage/used clothing.

I would try to find:

- Quality thin marino wool sweaters from Goodwill or Salvation Army. I recall a post about this and they looked really good.
- Cycling short is cheaper than a bib. Search for sales at Performance, REI, Ebay, craigslist, or other online retailers. Try to stay with a few brands that you know that work for you. Just add a suspender if you like the bib "feel".
- Cheap polypro or wool socks. Recall a post about Target selling Champion polypro white socks in a large bundle. Or get some wool socks at Goodwill or Salvation Army
- Full finger gloves from Home Depot or other hardware store. I liked the black Firm Grip gloves that my wife bought for yard work. I ended up using them on the bike until the finger tip stitching gave way.
- Safety glasses from a hardware store or online to use for riding. I last got a pair of Uvex Genesis for ~$10. They also have replaceable lenses for a few bucks each.
- Cycling shoe sales or specials online. Recently bought a pair of Louis Garmeau Milan shoes with laces from Performance for $50. Some folks liked the dhb shoes for $40 from wiggle.com.
- 3rd party shoe cleats (if available). For example, wiggle.com sells LifeLine Look Keo compatible cleats for ~$8. They don't have the rubber grips but you can use a cleat cover for walking.
- Brake cables in bulk. The cable kits are conveinent but can get expensive.
- Helmet sales or specials online. Recently bought a Giro Revel for a little over $40.
- Cheaper tires. Panaracer Tserv, LifeLine tires on wiggle.com, Michelin Lithion 2, Vittoria Zaffiro Pro, etc.
- Cheaper chain. KMC X10 is my favorite. No need for the SL version.
- Plastic bag for seat cover in the rain. May look a bit ghetto, but there's a reason why all the cycle delivery guys use one on their saddles here in the big bad city. It works.

Tons more options if you search for them. Being here on BF is a great start and gave me most of these ideas I listed above. Many thanks to all the posters here! I salute you!

It's not a requirement to wear cycling specific gear in order to ride a bike. I honestly don't understand the dilemma.

Sure, you don't have to. I just find a decent short with a chamois goes a long way to feeling more comfortable especially for longer rides. I don't care how a cyclist looks or what they ride. Its one less car on the road so the more the merrier for me.

Thrift stores have activewear of all types, sometimes even new, that will work as good or better than cycling specific clothes. Its also not unusual to find cycling clothes.

This!

And this!

"Bill" isn't riding because he chose not to. Finding him options to get him to ride is going to make you both uncomfortable. Let it go.

If he wanted to ride, he could. My winter tights (that I can slip on under a pair of bike shorts) cost me about $10 at Academy. Other than that, you can find active wear at thrift stores for 10-20% of what it costs new.
No need to spend hundreds of dollars on gear. He just doesn't want to ride.

I found some decent cold weather gear at Army Surplus.

I tried that. It was great, at first, with the having something to do, the people (girls) as work and money to buy bike components and camping gear.

Then, I realized that I didn't have time to ride much, build the new bike or camp at all due to working. So I quit.

All's well with the world again.