Especially in winter, how many layers (upper body) are you wearing? Only three?

If I need more than 3 layers, I am not riding! Luckily, I live in the south

Today: baselayer, another thinner/tight/slightly thicker long sleeve, thin fleece, and then outer jacket. It was -10*C this morning. I probably could have gone with just baselayer, thicker fleece, and jacket.

I think it is 3 for me, I can commute (<40min) in the teens in a lightweight smartwool T, a midweight longsleeve smartwool shirt (same in 20s except lightweight longsleeve shirt), and my coat. Head and protection gains thickness not layers

3 or less. it pays to use the right stuff

3 is fairly common. 4 gets kinda bulky and awkward.
I prefer to switch to thicker layers instead of adding more.

Right now 3-4 on top and some older insulated pants I used for cross country skiing years ago back in Europe. Back a few weeks ago when temps dropped in the single digits I added long sleeve/pants pyjamas as substitute for long johns. Since this rarely happens here in Texas there is no need to spend too much money on winter clothes.

Over which part of the body? I'm never wearing the same number of layers throughout.

Usually no more than three unless it is bitterly cold- 0F to 10F. Thin wool or poly fiber next to skin, thin wool sweater over that and a cycling jacket. That keeps me very toasty. The secret is wool. On my lower half, if pretty cold tights and then a pair of fairly thin hiking pants. Wool socks.

2 or 3 layers generally.

Fleece is my primary winter layer.
T-Shirt optional.
Rain Slicker optional (also keeps the wind off, so quite warm).

Two or three for me as well. Some of the layers at say 15 F are lighter than some of the layers are -15 F.

Four thin layers in the teens. Short sleeve wicking tee. Long sleeve crew or turtleneck. Second long sleeve layer over that, either thin medium or heavy depending on moisture and wind. Hi VIs windbreaker overall. At 10 f i have a thin nylon balaclava and my ears are covered by my halo headband. I'm also wearing my long cycling pants, and depending on wind and moisture I may have nylon jogging pants over that. Definitely wool socks with cotton socks over them. And also my winter gloves or mittens with or without inexpensive cotton work gloves under. And really that's all I need at 10 f for a 40, or 90-minute commute depending on the amount of snow and wind. I used to dress heavier but would end up sweating and being colder. I'm usually a little chilly for the first 10 to 15 minutes and then delightfully warm for the rest of the ride. This is what I do, as usual your mileage may vary.

I’ll be the outlier at the far end of the Bell curve - as many as 4 or 5 layers below the waist, 6 or 7 above the waist.

Not quite this extreme, but ...



One of the joys of having anemia - always cold. I’ve been known to wear two shirts and a fleece hoodie when working out in 90 degree weather - and I’d still get chills whenever I stopped moving.

I'll go with 3 up top and 2 or sometimes 3 on the bottom. Many days going into the office in the morning it's straight up -5° (my cutoff temp is -10°) with windchill dipping to more than -20°F. Anymore layers than 3 and I'm a sweaty mess by time I get there.

For me, 4 has been sufficient. For most of the winter I ride with my regular work clothes (undershirt and shirt) and a medium weight ski jacket. When it gets colder, i.e., 0 F or below, I add a fleece under the jacket. This combination has worked for down to about -10 F, and it hasn't gotten colder than that around here for a few years.

I don't happen to sweat a lot. When it's hovering around freezing, I wear a fleece with a light waterproof shell over it.

This Winter I'm doing it completely different from previous ones - in the past I'd layer skin out with my cycling clothes, complete change at work and probably shower. Probably four layers at what we call extreme cold here. It's been mostly mild this year, barely below freezing in the mornings, and I'm wearing street/office clothes. Shirt/windbreaker, third layer is a cycling rain jacket or I've used a jersey once or twice as a sweater over my my shirt.

So, 2 or 3 layers.

I prefer thin layers, and have gone up to seven.

First winter with dedicated cycle clothing here. At -13C & wind, I have been toasty with three layers: merino baselayer, long-sleeve soft-shell, and wind-breaker. This should keep working at lower temperatures, too.
Otherwise: two layers on the legs, wool socks, overshoes, neck warmer, hat, and double gloves.

Only two this year. Usually a merino wool base layer and jacket. When it's around 2C or colder I wear a warmer jacket (Castelli Alpha) which effectively has an extra layer in it. If it got down to -5 or below I might add an extra short sleeve base layer but it's unusual to get that cold.

Three -- shirt and tie, sport jacket or suit jacket, and hooded Gor-tex overcoat.

I think I've done four in the past, but with a long sleeve base layer and thicker wool jersey, 3 has been sufficient.

Below 20 deg. F: T-shirt, long-sleeved shell, wool sweater, 2 nylon cycling jackets. I peel the outer jacket once warmed up.

usually 3 layers here too. the hard thing is extremities. my face fingers and toes are what i really worry about.

Wool first layer, medium weight
Wool jacket
Stretchy vest—windproof facing, backed with fleece
Breathable shell

All cycling-specific for a nice, close fit. Very comfy into the low single digits with a fresh breeze. It’s the hands that are the real problem for the first 25 min, and the feet after that.

So far 4 layers. And that's in AZ. Would probably still be 4 in colder climes; but the layers would be different. The coldest morning temp I faced so far this winter was 39°F. That was 1 morning.