Tom,

These are all "ride times" from the cyclometer. Stop signs and stoplights lengthen the overall times, sometimes considerably.

My most direct route is 20 minutes in good weather, 25-30 in poor conditions.

I don't really like the direct route and use others instead when I can. I feel better and my life works better with 45 minutes to an hour of cycling time in each direction daily. Twenty to 30 minutes isn't quite enough. Although in the worst conditions, that's about all the time I want to be outside and in traffic, even if I'd like more exercise.

My hills/parks/cemetery route runs 40 minutes in good weather and I shorten it by three miles to keep the same time in winter.

My long loop is about an hour to 1:05. My winter version of the long loop is about six miles shorter, and runs about 50 minutes.

In winter I have a route I call "Mainly Main" that I'll sometimes use coming home. It depends on traffic and conditions. As the name implies, it uses most of Main Street, a four to six lane with granite curbs, no bike lanes or shoulders. But, it's well-plowed. It slots in somewhere between the direct and hills routes.

Dare2b is good and occasionally goes on sale.. I got my jacket and pants for less than the jacket currently goes for at the low price right now.

In my opinion, bike-specific gear isn't worth it. I used to buy it, and over time I switched to regular outerwear. I didn't notice a real difference. Recently I've gotten almost all my outerwear used on eBay, which obviously saves a ton of money compared to buying it at bike shops.

Where do you live? I'm surprised you use what sound like such heavy jackets. I live Minneapolis, which gets as cold as almost anywhere, but I never wear a full winter jacket. I find I'm most comfortable in the cold with a fleece layer covered by a wind-proof layer. I think you might find if you stay warm enough in your hands, head, feet, and crotch, you're most comfortable with lighter jackets.

There's another reason to wear cycling specific outerwear. The bright colors. Yes, I know, there are plenty of dark blue, etc, cycling jackets out there, but a bright one, esp with reflective tape is very visible. And for those of us who live in the north with many short days of grey skies, bright means fewer expensive "taxi rides" to the ER. And on my health plans, the deductibles I haven't dipped into have covered the cost of expensive jackets rather easily. I am reminded every time I drive of just how not visible proper attire like brown jackets and slacks are. Blue, black, red and patterns often are no better.

Also, details like 2-way zippers, velcro cuffs on sleeves, long arms that can be pushed up and armpit and back vents make commuting in hills a lot more pleasant. The folks around me after also appreciate it.

Ben

you all made great points--especially tsl. I do consider myself a cyclist. I don't own a car. Everywhere I go, I bring my bike. My bike is like my wallet and I feel naked without it so it goes without saying that I get some descent gear. I'm convinced. Everything I have is bulky and needs to go. I'll see what I can afford now but i'll defintely be looking for deals post holidays. Thanks everyone.

Purchased my first cycling specific jacket and pants this year from Showers Pass and they are worth every penny. My commute is over an hour long. Some days its 2 hours because I'm really slow and like to extend my route. The venting, drop tail, and longer sleeves are much appreciated. If my commute was shorter I wouldn't worry too much about what I wear.

Yeah, it depends. The flaw in a lot of bike specific stuff, - even it's reasonably priced and of good quality, is that most of it isn't designed for REALLY cold weather.

I've used bike specific booties and haven't been that happy with them. I do have a pair of PI Amfib bib-tights and those things are pretty awesome when it's really cold. But I've never owned a cycling jacket. I have a wind-proof jacket from "Running Room" that I got at a thrift store for $10. It has a long back or tail like a cycling jacket would. Under that I'll wear a fleece pullover on top of some decent thermal underwear. A true cycling jacket would be a little less flappy but I'm not breaking any speed records in January anyway.

I will second acid's recommendation of Craft brand products. I have some XC tights from them that I wear quite a bit.

So my take on it is that cycling specific outerwear will be much better than what most people wear outside during the winter, but not necessarily better than other outerwear designed for being active outdoors.

I wrapped my shoes with duct tape last winter.

I also live in Minneapolis, and my experience couldn't be more the opposite. For summer riding bike-specific clothing wasn't such a big deal, but for winter riding it made a huge, huge difference for me. With regular clothes if I wore a windproof jacket (like a regular winter jacket that was not breathable) I'd get clammy and sweating inside the jacket. If I didn't wear a windproof jacket, it was just a matter of how long before the wind cut through the jacket and I was cold.

When I switched to a windproof-but-breathable expensive outer jacket, with wool underneath it, it was a huge improvement. No longer had to choose clammy and uncomfortable vs limited ride time where I slowly got cold - now I could ride fairly comfortably, and my ride time was mostly just limited to running out of energy.

Experiences differ I guess, but that was my experience.

I use to think that I needed bike specific commuter clothing and a bought the the stuff I needed and wore it for awhile. I found out it took me to long to change and that I could be comfortable wearing my work clothes with a few items made for biking. I put on liner shorts under my pants and the boxers go in a plastic bag in the backpack, quick to change. I leave my boots at work so slide the cycling shoes off boots on and I'm ready to go. Outterwear is a three season jacket this time of the year with whatever needed underneath for layering. Carharrt fleece hat under helmet,neck gator,Columbia fleece gloves and I'm good.

It seems a little awkward to wear bike specific clothing if you ride in upright position?

I'm an SF Bay Area resident, so take my thoughts on winter gear with that in mind... ;)
But for sub 5 mile commutes, for much winter weather, I really don't think you need to plop the coin on ridiculous winter gear. Once you start really cranking the miles out while dealing with freezing rain and snow, that things get complicated.

But seriously, people have done active things outside for a long ass time, it's not some mystical voodoo that only athletic companies have solved. Under five miles is quite short, I've done my share of 4 or 5 mile commutes in sub 30 degree temperatures wearing a cheapo windbreaker and whatever couple layers of under shirt + work shirt, in my work dickies and leather adidas to no ill effect. The main thing for me is toes and fingers. When I wore my ventilated sneakers, my toes hurt. But even my thin leather adidas were fine with plain cotton socks for that small amount of time on the bike. And some cheapo snow gloves, not super heavy duty, were more than enough on those mornings.

Anything above that and I might've had a mixture of swampy palms because the gloves don't breath, numb face, cold feet, sweaty torso, etc...

Bike specific outerwear can be really freaking awesome. But like most bike stuff, it's really conditional, and you quickly face diminishing returns on that investment. Hell, I get bike shop bro prices on all my stuff and I still don't buy much, because even at less than wholesale this stuff can seem expensive. Once you get on a winter exercise ride or long commute, that's when it really pays off. But really, on shorter commutes I'd go out on a limb and say it's not worth it.

Edit to add: I also don't sweat much, so this factors in heavily. I have a coworker who sweats like crazy as soon as he gets his heart pumping, so he would pick different clothing most likely. I probably erred on the side of "too warm" most winter mornings, my wind breaker being quite thick, but because I don't sweat much I could easily zip it down a bit, maybe pull the sleeves up, and this slight increase in ventilation would keep me from overheating. My current cycling specific stuff is leaps and bounds better... but I could easily get by without.

I also have a Showers Pass jacket, and agree except for that stupid drop tail with an upright riding position. It was constantly coming unsnapped and hanging up on my seat when dismounting, so I cut the darn thing off.

Problem solved.

'cyclist' is such a regional word

I have ridden 7 winters here in Great Lakes Region, 17-20 miles roundtrip each day, some winters can be very harsh. I don't use any cycling specific clothing... I use athletic-sports clothing, my favourite brands are North Face, UnderArmour, Adidas and few other brands which make merino wool clothing.
You don't need cycling clothing to ride your bike. My athletic-sports clothing is made from the same fabrics as cycling specific clothing, the only difference is that it's relaxed fit instead of skin tight and looks normal when in public places. I can't stand the look of cycling specific stuff, especially the shiny bright stuff. No need to walk around looking like a superhero. If I want to be visible then I just put my ANSI hi-visibility traffic shirt over my regular dark clothing.

I am just a car-free guy who rides his bike for transportation. I am not a "real serious cyclist" because I don't use bike specific stuff.

Plasti-dip on mine, to add some water-proofing as well.

Ooh, clever! How did you apply it? With a paint brush?

Spray can, you get them at Home Depot.

Whether you wear bike-specific clothing or not is a personal decision and you'll find just as many opinions here as there are users. Read "Just Ride" by Grant Petersen and see if that helps you make up your mind; it did me. While I choose not to ride in bike-specific clothing, I have very specific criteria for what I ride in. Our Conn winters are similar to your Jersey winters.

I ride an upright Dutch-style bike to work. It's an 8-mile commute one-way. I'm not training for anything, so I take my time. I do work up a little bit of sweat on my ride, but I'm not dripping from exertion when I get to work.

I bought a Columbia jacket last year at a popular discount clothing store for about $60. The jacket liner has that silvery "omni-heat" and separates from the shell. Both have pit-zips. I thinks pit-zips are essential for regulating temperature when riding. So, IMO, there's two good points about jackets: 1) separate shell and liner; 2) pit-zips.

Below 25 degrees, I wear water-proof winter boots on the bike and throw my regular shoes in my bag to switch at work. They're not special bike boots, though; I wear them for snow-clearing and general winter use, as well. They're not bike-specific, they're cold-specific.

I use a thermal base layer under my pants on really cold days. Again, nothing special, nothing bike-specific.

My sole concession to bike-specific is gloves. I've tried regular gloves and they all suck when it comes to wind-resistance. In the dead of winter I use Giro 100 Proof gloves AND wind shields on my handlebars.

Others have described their trial-and-error methods. I know I've been down that route, also. I didn't think Carhartt was suitable as it didn't meet any of my requirements for regulating heat mid-ride. Ultimately it comes down to experimentation to find what's best for you and you're riding requirements.

I'm..... thrifty and I try to be economical. I've bought plenty of base layers at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, but have failed to find good pants. I broke down and purchased REI Headwind pants for $60 (on sale) and feel like it is a good investment. Zippers on the bottom, room for tights or leg warmer layer, long enough to cover my ankles. The front does a good job of keeping the wind out and is somewhat water repellent and the back of the legs breathe. I consider these money well spent. I also spent about $60 on a neon yellow cycling jacket, also worth the money.

I don't ride in extreme cold, but keeping warm in more extreme conditions is probably easier to do with good outer layers made of appropriate technical materials.

You can often find good sales at end of season. Buy winter clothes in April and summer clothes in October.

To me: no.

- Andy

Not bike-specific, but my Stowaway hooded coat and overpants from LL Bean are Gortex and therefore qualify as technical. I only wear them for riding, so I treat them as bike-specific. Basically, when I put them over normal business dress, I'm good down to 0 F, and it takes maybe thirty seconds to put them on. Zipping and unzipping serves to control temperature. They are about $300 combined, but the comfort and convenience make them worth it.

score!

Snug cycling specific clothing may make you feel fast, even if not actually fast. That's definitely not a bad thing.:D