Easy Peasy

Temperature, rain, wind aren't problems for me. I don't have studs yet, so ice will dissuade me at this point, and I don't think deep snow would be much fun to ride in, so that'll stop me.

wolfchild

I haven't reached my limits yet. It doesn't get cold enough in Toronto to stop riding. The coldest so far in Toronto area has been around -25 celsius.

Catgrrl70

The coldest I've been able to ride to work in is the high 20s. Below about 28 degrees my hands and feet get too cold. I live on one of the highest hills (2 blocks from High Point) in the City and the downhill windchill at 6:30 a.m. is too much sometimes, even suited up in head to toe wool. If my hands freeze up after the first two miles, I'll pull over and finish the ride on the bus. I've never had to do this on the way home since it usually always warms up and I'm able to get some warm up riding in prior to hitting any downhills.

gecho

The thing about chemical warmers is that they need oxygen to work. So depending on how much empty space is in your boot and how sealed the foot area is, the warmers can quickly consume all the oxygen and cease operating.

A few times I tried them last year, they went completely cold half way through my ride. Then after taking my boots off, they would start warming up again. So they were hot at the start of my ride when I didn't need the heat and cold when I really needed it.

I wonder if you could use some plastic hose and make a snorkel for them.

Scheherezade 

Whatever it happens to be outside. I haven't found a bottom yet.

LesterOfPuppets

I've done a couple of 0° F commutes and they weren't bad. I have an extra front wheel with studded tire if that's needed. I've had to do some hiking home in deep snow before - traffic was too crazy to ride the tire tracks.

The worst is 33°F and raining. Yuck. Well slush is pretty nasty too.

rubic

I regularly commute on the coldest days that they can throw at me. Yes, this Southern California kid commutes all the way down to the, um, mid 30s...on a couple of days.

Okay, I'm out of here.

phillybill

mid 30's .... I'm a wimp anymore

wphamilton

It hasn't been below about 15F here in the three years I've been at it. I feel like that's approaching my limit though - I'll do it but I won't enjoy it.

Sixty Fiver

The coldest temperature I have ever seen while riding was -46C / -51 F before any wind chill was factored in.

Had no idea it was that cold until my otherwise reliable bike started to act up a little but still made it home... the pawls in the freehub had started to stick.

Pedaleur

No idea. I commute year 'round, but -10C is pretty rare here. And I only have about 3 miles.

boatrider

0f is my limit, I'll get in the car. I do like the clear, cold mornings in the dark- lots of stars.

commo_soulja

Below 50F which has been the case here in Germay lately. I'm not a cold weather person. Yeah I suck.

Rob3

The coldest temperature in the last 2 winters was only somewhere near -5C/23F.
On a 45 minutes commute I had no problems at all. But riding in the snow was sometimes hard work, even on snow studs.

billyymc

Some of you guys are hardcore. Coldest I regularly ride in is leaving the house in the mid to low 20s, and I only do that for a few weeks before I hang up the bike in December. My first mile is downhill - steep enough to hit 42 without pedaling. Coasting down that can feel a lot colder than the actual temp.

mgw189

First year commuting so far the coldest it has been is the 40s and it wasnt an issue and was actually sweating quite a bit. The wind and rain sucks. I commuted in to work in Sept. in the remnants of a tropical storm which ended up causing record flooding in our area.

scroca

That's why I went to fixed gear. No worries.

scroca

I've never thought about this. I guess there's 3 possible approaches:

1. find some riding before the hill (go the wrong way?) to warm up
2. wear something that could be unzipped/removed for after the downhill
3. realize that a mile at 42mph is less than a minute and a half, so maybe just HTFU?

steve-in-kville 

Last winter I rode in the lower 20's for a few days, no wind. This year I plan to push that a little into the teens. Teens overnight is average cold for us in the dead of winter. I am already putting a gear list together.

PaulH

My coldest temperature was -20, when I was growing up in New England. Most of the cars in the neighborhood failed to start that morning. One of the virtues of bicycles is that they can be far more reliable in cold weather. I've spent a day having fun downhill skiing in -30. With proper clothing, it was fun. If we had those temperatures here, I'd definitely take the bike to work, rather than take the car and worry about getting stuck.

Paul

david58

I'm in a similar spot, so I take a different route down the hill that I can hold to slower speeds. This is my first winter of commuting - we'll see how it goes. Rain is normally the issue of the day - 30's to low 40's and rainy. Rarely ice or snow that sticks - that'll keep me home.

This coming week will be interesting - frost is predicted for several mornings, so foggy and frosty will be the challenge to my bravado. And yes, I too like to answer the question "You didn't ride TODAY did you??"

sudoshift

No need for me to be cycling in rain under 45 degrees. Some people have higher tolerances than others.

xtrajack

I will ride regardless of the temps. I have good cold & wet weather gear (and only a six mile commute).

david58

Some of us live in places where such a limitation would cut our riding too much. In a few weeks, we'll be riding in that weather and remarking how nice a day it is....

ItsJustMe

Funny story, one day when it was -25*F out, I rode past some kids waiting for the bus and circled back to tell them that school was closed. Our school district closes school if the temps are below 0*F because they're worried that kids waiting for the bus will get frostbite.

I thought it was kind of funny for a guy on a bike to tell people that it was too cold to be outside.