When I lived in Michigan, I would ride to down to 15 degrees. In those days before clipless pedals, I could not wear booties (large feet). Below 15 degrees the wind chill was too much for me to get any work out on a bike so I would switch to cross country skiing. However, in Lansing, temperatures that cold did not persist too long.

I did go out once cross country skiing at 20 below for about 5 hours. I came back in with ice frozen to my cheekbones but no frost bite. If you are active in cold temperatures, it is amazing how the metabolic heat keeps you comfortable.

I ride until there's ice on the roads or my Reynaud's starts acting up. Whichever comes first.

Today's commute was a dry 25f. Not bad except for my feet. I need some winter cycling shoes or possibly some toe warmers to go under my neoprene booties.

No such thing as too cold for this carless freak

I ride down to about 25 degrees but it only ever gets that cold around here for the most part. I rode yesterday in the pouring rain. It was 45-50 degrees. It was also pitch black. Get the right gear and you can ride toasty warm in just about any temp.

I wear wool socks, warm, but your feet don't sweat, even warm when fully soaked(like last night)
thermal base layers
Thermal cycling jacket
Neoprene shoe covers
bib shorts plus triflex windproof fleece tights
balaclava or head band
Lobster gloves

If it is really cold I also put some instant heat packs in my gloves and/or shoes. I am never actually cold while riding if I have the right gear.

I have no cut off point for temperature.

I won't ride if the wind gusts are greater than 25 mph for safety reasons. I won't ride if there is lightening. I won't ride if there is ice. They are my only show stoppers.

I refuse to be uncomfortable any more. I just don an extra layer for those first few miles then take it off when I warmed up. That may be all the motivation the OP needs. Being in a warm and toasty bed and knowing that the first 15 or so minutes of your ride you will be an icicle is going to suck the motivation out of anyone.

There is no law that says you have to wear the same outfit the entire ride. I ride at night and the afternoons a lot and I may be comfortable the first hour of a fall ride but get progressively colder as the ride goes on. I could start a ride at 2pm at 60 degrees in shorts, then end up riding at 5pm in triflex tights and a jacket in 45 degrees. That is why I bring my jacket and tights with me on my fall rides.

I refuse to be uncomfortable any more. I just don an extra layer for those first few miles then take it off when I warmed up. That may be all the motivation the OP needs. Being in a warm and toasty bed and knowing that the first 15 or so minutes of your ride you will be an icicle is going to suck the motivation out of anyone.

There is no law that says you have to wear the same outfit the entire ride. I ride at night and the afternoons a lot and I may be comfortable the first hour of a fall ride but get progressively colder as the ride goes on. I could start a ride at 2pm at 60 degrees in shorts, then end up riding at 5pm in triflex tights and a jacket in 45 degrees. That is why I bring my jacket and tights with me on my fall rides.

Fortunately yesterday morning, I got a nice 34mi in before the rain started. It was a balmy 50ish degrees so it was quite nice. This brings me to another question I felt stupid asking, but you guys probably have an answer...I have a great wind jacket with removeable sleeves, but sometimes I want to shed the entire jacket but don't b/c I don't know where the best place would be to put it. Do you tie it to the top of your frame, wrap it around your waist? i tried the whole tie it around your waist deal, but it would become lose and the sleeves would drag around the chain...not a good thought going 25mph downhill and potentially have your jacket catch in your chain...any good ideas on how to shed layers??

Pat, my wife and I used to live in Michigan as well and couldn't agree with you more. However, now that we've lived in Houston for the past three years, every time we go back for Thanksgiving, we always wonder how the heck we survived the winters!

The coldest I've ever ridden in was 34 below zero Fahrenheit. It was cold comfort (HA!) knowing that wind chill probably added (subtracted?) another ten or fifteen degrees from that. I didn't have far to go, and I was damn glad when I got there. But it was worth it just to have done it. I've GOT to say that at those temps, goggles or other eye protection really isn't optional; the pain-water coming out of my eyes was freezing to my eyelashes, and glued one eye shut, in about two miles.

I have one of these. Love it. QR so you can take it off anytime. Large enough to store an entire change of clothes and shoes plus misc. bike tools and tubes. 20lb weight limit.

I thought this was frostbite at first! So glad I looked up "Raynaud's".

It only gets to -10F here, but I hear it's all pretty much the same down to -40F (-40C), then you have to switch to something more exotic than my windbreaker + fleece + wool (not to mention start worrying about the viscosity of your freewheel grease).

No ... the drivetrain starts becoming an issue somewhere around about -25C. And when it dropped to about -30C I found that I had about 10 minutes to pick a gear before they'd be so frozen I couldn't shift anymore.

Read my century story in my post on Page 1 (Post #17).

Thus far this year, I have ridden in as cold as 15 degrees, while at the same time snowing and splashing slush. Very miserable, but glad I did it.

My driest cold temperature has been about 18, and that actually felt colder than the 15 and snowy, since it was pretty dry.

I actually had this happen due to snow freezing on the gears. I was stuck in one gear after about 15 minutes.

I've looked at studded snow tires before; only once did I see a price I could afford to pay, and that was about the time I broke my collarbone, so they had to wait. When I went back to look them up again, couldn't find 'em -- don't even remember now what brand they were!

Last winter was the only real issue I've had with the surface conditions, and I started commuting in 2000. (Boy, do I remember that winter -- on a friggin' rigid Huffy, rolling up and over frozen banks of plowed snow... it was like I was 15 again!)

if dressed properly the cold is manageable you will always hate the first mile or so until you have warmed up after that it is just a matter of staying warm, with the right clothe a breathable windproof jacket and wool, you can do quite well, the problem is if you get too warm and start to sweat then you start to freeze again, wool keeps you warm even when wet and is a good natural fibre for underlayers. a trick for keeping your face warm is 60+ SPF sunblock it can keep you face warmer and cut the wind chill on your face though it is still best to have a gaiter over your face as well. a heavy toque is advisable a lot of heat is lost through your head.

Snow and ice are a different story, as a former driver examiner I have seen first hand how bad some drivers are out there and I may trust my riding abilities but I don't trust the other guys so I put my bike away at that point.

It's not the cold here normally, but after a cold rain, those splashings really chill me up bigtime. Too cold for me is below freezing, the cables freeze up making it harder to shift gears and breaking.

I have yet to find a cutoff point where I would not ride.

Dec 14th 2009, Edmonton Alberta - temperature was -46.1C / -51F and I was riding... this is the coldest weather I have ever ridden in and was pretty comfortable as my gear was right and my tyres were studded.

Have commuted 30 km a day in -40C temps although temps of -20C / -4C is more typical.

The outside temperature is rarely an issue if you are dressed correctly.

You do need to come and visit sometime so you can really get your freak on.



It is only -11F here right now as it's warmed up a bit.

we got a couple inches of snow last night and it is -5 C here and I just did a grocery run and was quite comfortable, the first block had a cool bite but I warmed up quickly. I have wool sweaters that I wear when riding as well as sock and glove liners. staying dry and not sweating is the biggest challenge for me rather than being could. Arm pits, feet and hands sweat a lot and you want to make sure these areas are kept dry... oh it is -2 here now, when I went out it was colder. But it was pretty easy riding.

I think Machka wins this thread.

I rode today (commute) in -27C/-17F which is the coldest ever for me. The wind (just a slight breeze) was behind me, so wind chill wasn't a factor. But after the ride in, I would say that -27C is too cold for me. I would need to invest in better foot and hand wear to be comfortable. The other factor for me is that cycling to work takes a lot longer in the winter (15 km in 55 minutes today vs. 35 in the summer) and the bus is faster. And warmer.

On my ride to work 2 days ago it was -5°c. Then on the way back home it was -11°c. I have rode my bike in temps as cold as -20°c. Cold is not the determining factor for me, snow is. Once the roads are covered in a thick enough layer for my tires to dig in I generally take the bus.

Now interestingly enough my experience is different from groovestew, I tend to be faster in the winter, given snow free roads. Must just be my determination to get home and thaw my hands and feet lol.

-15 C. Then I move it indoors on the trainer or rollers. I travel with my bike a lot so save the winter road rides for the warm climates.

Think about skiing- as skiers we go out in any weather, for me down to -5--10 degrees and enjoy it. So in cycling I try to imagine just that, that I am skiing. While cycling I need fewer clothes since I am generating more heat. It's really an individual thing, what one can or will endure to avoid riding on rollers. For me the magic number is +20 degrees F. Lower than that and I find I am not enjoying it.