My coldest was -2F just a couple of weeks ago. Compared to my previous coldest ride of 0F, back when I had substandard gear, this more recent ride was quite comfortable. In fact, I have yet to get to work during the coldest days this season without my outer jacket unzipped to ward of sweating. I think I can go much colder without adjustment to anything except another layer for the feet -- bootie type covers.

By the way, I wear sandals year round because they are by far the most versitile footwear I've found.

You really have to ask, "What was your coldest commute and how long was it?" You might ride for five miles at -10F, but would you want to go 25 at that temp? My commute is 12 miles and the coldest ride I've done was 7F. I won't do that again. I have two long hills to come down and thought my eyeballs would freeze me blind, ha! I rode at 11F last week just because I had been off the bike for too long due to injury. Generally I'm comfortable down to 20 for that ride.

My coldest is -20 celcius (-4f) on a 29 kms ride that took me 1h45 min.

How long was the ride? ( just to know how crazy you are )

7 miles.

The ride in was cold as it was pushing -40 and the ride home was even colder.

Have spent weeks during cold snaps riding to and from work in -40 and colder weather and have felt colder during some of these spells than I did at -52F.

Coldest ever was -21 F. It's rare that it gets much colder than that around here.

The last few winters have been much milder as has this one so far.

Ski Goggles.

It's a valid question though. What works as far as clothing goes for 5 miles may not work for 25. Of course I wouldn't even drive a 25 mile commute any time of year. It's one of the main reasons I moved.

A 25 mile cycling commute, especially in the winter, would take waaay too long for me to justify, - comfort aside. Even my 6 mile commute can take 45 minutes or more if I have a lot of snow to deal with.

I've gone on 15 mile group rides in well below 0 temps. The biggest challenge is keeping my feet warm. Otherwise, the distance isn't too much of a factor because I don't have trouble keeping the other body parts comfortable. A guy at a bike shop gave me a tip about feet and longer rides. He said it helps to get off the bike every now and then and stomp or jog with the bike for a short distance to get the circulation going through them again.

7F for 6mi.

surprised how not bad it was and i actually managed not to overdress (wool baselayer and softshell w/ breathable panels, winter windproof front tights).

My personal coldest 6 mile commute was -20F, so far this year, my coldest has been -7F.
The getting off the bike for a bit does seem to help with cold feet.

Thanks to global warming -36C/-33F, 5hrs trip, up to 70km/h wind burst

Coldest I ever did was -20/-21F - don't rightly remember - was more than 8 years ago. This was in Duluth, Minnesota - and the distance was about 2 miles. I don't think I wore anything cycling specific at all - just the regular clothes I wore if I was out walking in that weather. Had no car, so the only options I had were walking, taking the bus or cycling. Bus wasn't frequent, and entirely missing on weekends so I frequently walked/biked.

Now, I find 37F to be really, really cold - that is the lowest I cycled in last December. I don't think I would survive -20F now!

And, w.r.t the comment about Minnesotans saying there is no such thing as bad weather - only bad clothing. All I have to say is, Minnesotans are crazy

Mine is 7F for 6 miles, too. Just a week and a half ago. It wasn't too bad for me, either. As long as wind is not a major issue, I can go colder.

This year 17 degrees F.

Have some really hardy commuters in this group. These are some crazy low temps. It was chilly this morning here in No. California. Saw 26 F on my computer on my way in. That's about as cool as it gets around here. When I got to the office, my coworkers thought I was nuts for braving the "cold".

Used to walk a lot of places in Maine in winter, with my daughter who was about 4 or 5 at the time, a cold snap wouldn't let my car start, so we had to jog to the main road to meet a ride, for about a mile of frozen dirt road. Any bared skin just burned from the wind, (a small space around the eyes by the sunglasses got exposed) we found out later it was -25, with a wind chill of -50 to -70F. No wonder it hurt! Can't imagine riding a bike in that, I guess you get used to it, if it happens enough. I moved here for a reason! To get away from the extreme temps. Well, that's not the main reason, but it's a side benefit... especially when you are over 50.

I'm not sure how cold my coldest commute has been, but pretty damn cold. The worst is when it gets so cold that the pawls in the freewheel don't engage. You just spin your crank and nothing happens. The first time this happened to me I just about went all Basil Fawlty on the bike "START START YOU VICIOUS BASTARD!"

It was 9F here today and I felt pretty good. There was no wind, which probably helped. I wore my work clothes as an extra layer since I figured I wouldn't sweat much.

And I was right. Arrived at work and did a real quick-change.

IMO length of commute is indeed a key factor. I can keep everything warm by regulating how much effort I put out, except for my feet. They just will continue to get colder as I progress though my 15 miles of riding each way. I really need to try switching over to some insulated hunting type boots.

Well today in Henderson NV it was 19* which is for me insanely cold. Im getting tired of wearing 3 layers of cloths.

That is precisely what led me to fixed gear.

Goggles.

Edit: now I see tjspiel made that suggestion already. So I second it.

Hey, me too (my first winter commuting). The cold doesn't actually bother me all that much, it's the wind now that I'm running studded tires.

my coldest commute was 15f last year on my first day of bike commuting. Growing up in MA I am used to the cold and for the most part do not mind it if I am dressed appropriately. My commute is ten miles.

A time or two lol . . .Probably minus ten degrees F when I lived in Idaho Springs CO. I've always worn a wonderful wool sweater with a windproof/waterproof shell and a wool cap like that guy from the Monkees.

Another night of low 30s, and by Wednesday the temps should return to a more normal range. Mid 40s at night, mid to upper 60s by day. Finally!