What is your favorite discovery for commuting in colder weather?

It'll be in the 40s tomorrow am, and I know it's going to get colder than that.

I've got a good windbreaker and cool weather cycling gloves. An ear warmer wrap that I've used before. Thought I would go with running tights.

One thing I've noticed before in colder weather cycling is that my core stays plenty warm; it's the extremities that get chilly.
Other than thicker socks, I don't have any great ideas for the feet.

As of now my plan for the winter is to say I will do cold, potentially very cold. I will do rain, but only above 40 degrees. Not going to mess with cold rain, snow, or ice.

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An issue for my locale is that we go through long seasons where it's pretty cold in the morning and warmer in the afternoon, with the possibility of rain being involved as well. I've found that I have to leave the house with some kind of layers. My jacket is a waterproof shell with a fleece liner that can be worn separately. And I can throw all of my cast-off garments into my big basket. Other discoveries for the "in between" months:

1. A thin but windproof beanie that I can wear under my helmet to protect my ears.

2. Brown cotton work gloves that are sold by the dozen at Home Depot or wherever. They are just thick enough to keep the wind off, without being too bulky or hot. I also keep a pair in my sag bag in case I have to fix a flat. For women, one trip through the wash will shrink them to a size that's just right for smaller hands.

3. Pulling the hood of my jacket or raincoat up over my helmet.

I still need to find some nice goggles with clear lenses that can fit over my glasses.

And I haven't really gotten through an entire winter yet. Two years ago I hit black ice and broke a rib. I have a mountain bike with studded tires, but I'm so darn slow on it that it doubles my commuting time. So I'm not 100% sold on commuting year-round.

I almost said the bike was slow, but "a poor workman blames his tools."

Tomorrow will be the first commute of the season in the 40s. and it will be 41!!!

First time wearing long pants since spring.
First time breaking out my cycling windbreaker.
full finger gloves.

In a few weeks I'll be missing my shorts/t-shirt/no gloves commuting!!

One of the things I found I really liked were neoprene shoe covers. I didn't realize how much my feet got cold. In the 40 degree range I might wear thin socks, but down in the 20's and 30's I put on merino wool socks.

We've been under 30f a couple of mornings lately. Layers on everything.

Merino wool socks.

+1 for the merino socks and shoe covers. I also love the fact that my Bern helmet has different inserts for the changing seasons. The winter one has built in ear covers.

I haven't needed them yet but I made some DIY shoe covers out of old thick wool socks by cutting off the front-half of the foot, cutting a slit underneath for my cleats and putting it over the front half of my shoes. It is surprisingly effective for near freezing temps.

My system is that I should feel chilly when I leave the house in the morning. I warm up nicely after the first 2 miles.

Fingers and toes are tough. I tend to start driving in once it gets below 15F. My boots/socks/gloves just can't deal with temperatures that cold.

Cold rain is bad. I rode in a light rain when it was in the upper 30s one day and I thought I was going to have to amputate my fingers. They were numb after the first 10 minutes. Nothing some waterproof gloves wouldn't fix.

My seirus thick n thin headliner...



So good i now have two.......

Seirus Men's Thick N Thin Headliner - Dick's Sporting Goods

- Andy

a faring on the front of the bike to redirect the air around me. not thru the front of my clothing.

Skull cap with fleece lining does an amazing job at keeping the heat in. Dress in layers. I have arm/leg warmers for cool weather and light and heavy base layers. Check out Marshalls/TJMaxx/Ross for great deals ($15) on undershirts. I got an Under Armor Cold, Nike Dri-Fit really cheap. I also got some wool socks at a reasonable price. It was a total fail trying to find suitable cycling pants. I wear cycling shorts with padding and then a $50 pair of warmer cycling pants over those. If that isn't enough, you can get some cheap, thin tights for base layer or wear leg warmers under pants. I have Novara Headwinds pants, which I love and are good in the Californa winters (haha, 35º) but seem to be discontinued.

A polar Buff is great; easy to pull over your head if it start to get really cold, otherwise I use it as a scarf. Its very versatile.

mine will focus on the head, OK?

cheap clear motel style shower cap over the helmet, when you warm up just reach up, crumple it and stow it in a pocket
a headsweat type thing, either natural or synthetic, when it gets colder a thicker skull cap or thin knit watch cap
and also I was really glad to get a cycling specific thin headband for the top of my ears!

Wow, it's a lot warmer here than it is there. And by the way, where is there? Can I talk you folks into putting your locations in your profiles?

I'm pleased that I can wear shorts and sandals even when I need a sweater. I love the free feeling I get from wearing shorts on a bike.

There was a guy in my office building a few years ago who used to use some sort of Shrek thing stretched over his helmet. I first saw it while I was driving home, and I saw these two weird ear-like things sticking out and I didn't get what it was. Weeks later I was leaving work one evening, and saw the fellow in the lobby and asked him about it and found out what the thing was. I have auxiliary headlights attached to my helmet, so this sort of thing wont work for me (have skullcap waiting and ready).

There is a little learning curve to riding in colder weather. A few years back I got hypothermia (it probably wasn't all *that* cold, but it took me the whole day to warm up - even after a long hot shower), so now I am really paranoid about being too cold. That was back when I was riding 19 miles each way, and now I am at about 10-1/2 miles each way, so I am not as concerned as I was before.

I found out late last year that my SPD road shoes had openings so that the 2 unused bolt holes in the nut plate were two openings directly from outside air to the ball of my foot.

This year I'm hoping the aluminum HVAC tape liner that I cut to fit closes the windows and things warm up a bit.