I have found that my windproof pants actually stick to my legwarmers. What this means is when I pull my knees up, I'm actually having to use my muscles more to force my knees past the resistance of my pants against my legwarmers, not just to pull my pedals up. I knew something was up with my pants and it took me a while to figure it out but I finally found out this was it. Its weird but true and causes so much more work. So what I do, is try and not wear them except on the coldest days because it makes me work so much harder. I might shop for some different pants that'll work better but don't like spending money. What I have done to counteract this is just wear my shorts and legwarmers and stay in a lower gear than normal making my cadence between 5 and 10 rpm higher than normal. I spin easier than with the pants off and the higher cadence keeps me warmer. Haha. Works good on the not quite so cold days.

Here's one that first-timers may not expect: ice, slush and snow can pack up in your cassette and produce MAJOR chain skipping.

It may be a good idea to ride with your saddle significantly lower than normal, too, if your knees don't freak out at the change.

And watch the surface of the road like a hawk. One little rut, or one little 1cm-high hump of ice stuck to the roadway, can guide your front wheel right out from under you and down you go.

In college I was a winter commuter, but that was never more than 4 miles so I always wore:

Long Johns (polypropeline), Old Pants, Wool Socks, Hiking boots, Wicking t-shirt, Fleece sweatshirt, Outermost layer of a columbia winter jacket, Polypropeline base gloves, Choppers (leather mittens - very warm), Hat, neck gator, and Ski goggles as needed.



Now that I go 8 miles and make some money, Goodwill and bikenashbar have supplied me with better gear. I have had about 3 weeks of riding below freezing now, but today was my first day in the snow.

Biking tights under 45 degrees
Leg warmers under 35
Goretex pants under 20 (great in the snow)

I still wear a wiking shirt, it just happens to sometimes be a bike jersey.
Add a vest around 40 degrees and arm warmers if the shirt is not long sleeve.
At 32-35 add a wind/water resistant hi-vis jacket.
Below 15 degrees I adda fleece shirt between the vest and jacket ( and I was still too warm today).

My neck gator and has been replaced by a polyester balaclava (I switch to the hat above 20 degrees).

The gloves are essentially the same.

I now wear 2 layers of socks, 1 wool, 1 a wicking material. I'll add more wool if it gets too cold.



While I am no guru, this has worked well for me, however I have one brother who wears sandals all winter and a wife who wears 5 layers of clothing to go walking at 30 degrees - modify as necessary.

Snow was a ton of fun today and I saw tracks of 2 other cyclists which is encouraging. However I ride a sidewalk for my first half mile to get to sidestreets and the sidewalk was twice as slippery as any road or trail; I fell 3 times on the sidewalk but not at all the rest of the way. Does anyone have any tips on making turns with more confidence?

One last tip. It was getting colder in October and I was having issues because I sweat so much. I switched from a backpack to panniers, and viola! no more problems.

Good luck everyone.

Today was my coldest commute starting @ 16F at 7:00am. Yesterday was a balmy 35F and I was overdressed. Today I was a bit underdressed. But it ended up ok. I stopped halfway through to warm up my fingers. (By sticking them under the balaclava, down my neck.) I rode considerable slower to avoid wind chill. No water needed to be drunk, and very little sweat: maybe I should ridden harder! :)
The ride home should be above freezing: woot!

I remember reading [in an actual book] that the ideal temperature for heavy physical exertion is 6C. It didn't differentiate between aerobic vs. anaerobic, but the idea was that it was cool enough so that you didn't get too hot. Also, the test subjects just wore t-shirts and shorts, no jackets. I would imagine that the greater the exertion, the colder it can be [to a point].

I take it that the subjects were not riding a bike? I'd want more than a t-shirt and shorts at that temperature. Now for running or other slower moving sports, I'd agree on that temperature as being pretty close to ideal, as long as you don't have to stop and sit for a while. I've gone for a run at something around 8 degrees F in some long johns (top and bottom), hat, thin gloves, shorts, and a t-shirt and was almost too warm by the time I stopped.

But the wind chill!!

LaLa,

Be careful with the thinking on water. Winter riding and winter activities are very drying. You can end up with dehydration problems that rival those of summer riding. Colorado's winters are much dryer then we think so take water and try to drink it along the way. A Camelbak with an insulated tube will freeze less than a normal water bottle.

Yesterday, I was making my 15mile trip to the bus with the 35F temps and 20 mph winds gusting to 50mph. I drank so much water I actually ran out.
I tend to sweat more with the heavy clothing, then cool down, then sweat some more, etc.
I find that I am frequently as or more thirsty than summer.

I need to pick up a Camelbak. Especially since my bottle froze on Tuesday in about 10 minutes.

It's what works for you.

The speed you ride, and the operating time you need, change the price.

How long does the light need to run? What are the conditions like? How fast do you want to ride?

Here's what works for me. It's probably not for you. You might be fine for under $100.

http://www.gretnabikes.com/product.a...d=69&cat_ind=7

There are a few kinds of stainless, vacumm insulated water bottles (like a thermos). They will keep your water from freezing all day. They are not expensive.

Here is a tip that people may find useful if they use booties over their shoes but need more windproofing or waterproofing: buy a box of cheap sandwich baggies and put one over each shoe's toe before you put your bootie on, like in this pic.

The cleat bites right through the baggie, no problem with that.

The absolute best winter riding tip!

The absolute stupidest sounding thing in the world to explain to a newbie! :(

I think that's going to be one of my biggest problems in the winter - riding in ice and snow. Here it doesn't get cold at all during the day. VERY rarely under 25F, so clothing isn't a problem. But sliding, skidding, losing control, using inadequate tires - those are. I don't really have any experience but I came upon a website that was exactly for winter cycling. http://www.allweathersports.com/winter/winter.html I think there are some helpful tips but I have as yet to try them out.

Be safe

Why do you think that?

peregrine: i ride on lighted urban streets so my lights are just the to-be-seen kind available at mec without too much complication - they wouldn't give me any see-by power at all, i don't think. i have a 4-way light up front with led/incandescent bulbs and a white mec 'turtle' led on the helmet. i keep them both on 'blink' mode, and never use the incandescent. a 4-bulb red blinkie on the seatpost and another on the back of the helmet. then inch-wide reflective tape on me, my bike, and the bag i carry. there's a store near me that sells it by the metre, and just about every piece of bike-specific clothing i have is plastered with it. i have long strips of it going the full length of my rain pants alongside the zippers, a strip across the knuckles of each glove, more on the helmet. . . you probably get the picture. i really like having it on my gloves; it really seems to help with getting your hand signals seen as well as with frontal visibility.

i've been coming home in full dark for a couple of months now, and really had all the space i could want from cars. so far, anyway.

i noticed that same effect on monday, coming home with two pairs of tights inside my rain pants. one pair, no problem. two - they just seemed to fight each other all the way home.

With the kind of distance that Data Junkie is doing, stopping to open a vacuum bottle would be a pain. Also here on the high plains, you would not believe the amount of water you can go through in the winter! On a cold morning, I can easily go through as much water on my hour ride to work as I would on a hot summer day. Sometimes more.

Thanks tokolosh, that was really helpful. I never thought of reflective tape on gloves but I think it's a great idea. I should try it out :D


I also wear a blinkie on the back of my helmet but when I ride I'm bent forward considerably so it might not actually be visible. I guess I should put it elsewhere.

peregrine, you should get yourself some studded tires :) (sorry for stating the obvious)

Here's the crafty stuck-on ice lurking under cover of some grey slush, waiting to glide your front wheel right out from under you... this stuff can be awfully treacherous, I have to watch for it non-stop in the days that follow snowfall. I would much rather ride on a solid layer of this stuff than have intermittent pieces of it randomly stuck to the road, it's the edges of it that'll take me down.

Thanks for the tip, mechBgon, I'll remember that :)



it's not really obvious because there hasn't been an occasion yet around here that would require studded tires. Nothing like your commute from what I've seen from the pictures you posted. You're deffinitely experiencing more severe conditions than I am. Still, it seems that this winter will be colder than average so I really should get a couple.

When I explain it to a newbie they think it's stupid. Probably because it's so low tech. A lot of them don't believe me. If I say to use more expensive toe covers made for bike shoes, it just sounds better.

I mean vacuum insulated bottles with drink tops just like a bike bottle. No need to stop. I have 5 or 6 different kinds. I have a push button flip top that is good for hot coffee that can be used with one hand on the go too. I carry the same amount of water in the winter as I do in the summer. Plus a hot drink.

A hot drink in the middle of a long cold ride is very luxurious. :)

Yeah, that's too bad :( Not all newbies are like that though. And I'm not talking just about cycling or commuting.

this is for anyone interested in more lights info

for my rear lights I used to have a couple of these:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...&estore_ID=509
http://www.performancebike.com/produ...50/40_1731.jpg
IMO not strong enough when there're lots of cars around

yesterday I got a new one
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...&estore_ID=509
http://www.performancebike.com/produ...50/40_2175.jpg

it's possible this light's been posted somewhere else before but it's a great deal for the amount of $$ it costs ($13 on sale). it's REALLY strong. it's almost blinding if you look at it from too close :D

Yah, I agree. I think tho in this case I was taking it so easy, and breathing through the balaclava that I didn't need it. Usually, I drink whether I think I need it or not. (Also in this case, I was have techical difficulties clippiing in: new shoes, tough to find the cleat, so I didn't want to stop.) I did invest in a camelback, and will one day remember to clean it and use it.

Thanks!

Ooooo, and it has a CPSC reflector too! I might have to get me one, sounds like it's a lot stronger than my Cateye LD500 would be :) Thanks for the word, peregrine :)

ohhhhhh, WORD. it's way early yet and really just a tiny amount of snow around here, but i've had three rides while it was snowing this week, and man. that gets my vote for the most fun thing a person could do with snow AND the most fun i've ever had on a bike. we had windchill of -4C here this morning and snow falling through most of my commute in, and i've never had a ride i was more sorry to see the end of.

and i could swear -4 feels more like +6 if you're properly dressed and warmed up.

Man! I wanted to carry my big old thermos in my back pack. Or strap it to my bike's frame. :p
he he

Anyhow, where do you find these bottles? Any online sources? I'd like to check them out. Lately the only free time I have to visit a bike shop is when I ride past the Denver REI flagship store. Don't have a clue if they carry these bottles. Guess I could stop in.

[QUOTE=DataJunkie]Man! I wanted to carry my big old thermos in my back pack. Or strap it to my bike's frame. :p he he

Anyhow, where do you find these bottles? Any online sources? I'd like to check them out. Lately the only free time I have to visit a bike shop is when I ride past the Denver REI flagship store. Don't have a clue if they carry these bottles. Guess I could stop in. [QUOTE]


Don't even bother looking for Vacuum insulated bottles in a bike shop or even a bike shop on line.
Not gonna happen. Your best bet is on line from Thermos or another on line result from google.

I did fit a big old thermos into a stretched plastic Profile water bottle holder. The one with the "O" ring around it. :) Don't bother, then your normal bottles won't fit correctly.

For cold drinks the best vacuum bottle is the one from Thermos. It is a tiny bit smaller diameter than the typical bike bottle. They do work even as a loose fit, you can squeeze the cage in, but it's more convenient to put a thin foam "cozy" or something around the bottle and not bother adjusting the cages. If your doing a lot of off roading this is nice and secure.

DON'T PUT HOT COFFEE IN SPORTS BOTTLES FOR COLD DRINKS. The ones that have a drink spout on top. (read the instructions :D ) The flip top bottle with the orange button is for hot drinks. That opens two holes at once. The spout and a vent.

The heat from the liquid expands the air and gives you a nice pressurized blast of scalding coffee when you open the bottle. The drink foams up and leaves a little coffee even above the air. The bottles that have a straw going to the bottom of the bottle work just like a spray bottle, you get a huge blast of coffee out of it until the pressure is gone. Trust me on this one, I have been experimenting for years. The Thermos brand drink top bottles have a plastic that makes the hot drink taste so bad you won't do this.

One photo shows two Thermos bottles with some cheap foam bottle wraps around them.
If you look close, one photo shows the orange button on the flip top bottle.

http://thedailymug.com/thnibabojm.html

http://www.gourmet.org/brands/nt/sports/FBE700/?id=biz