Tights w/ pad or w/out? - getting ready for cooler weather
 

I hope I am getting way ahead of myself here, but want to ensure I am ready for a cooler day sure to come in the next few months. I don’t ride in the dead of winter…ideally 50 degrees is roughly my cutoff. I am debating between bib tights with a pad or a version without. I assume those would go on top of my bib shorts? Would straps from two bibs get annoying or uncomfortable? What do people here do?

Bib tights with a chamois. I have a couple pair from Castelli that fit great, keep me warm.

If you just want to wear your bib shorts get some leg warmers on the cooler days if the temps in your area allow.

I have non-padded tights and padded bib tights. I don't feel like straps are necessary for non-padded tights.

Personally 50°F isn't cold enough for me to even wear tights, I'd just use leg or knee warmers for the lower body. Everyone's a bit different in the temp ranges they're comfortable with, but usually it's cold at the beginning of a ride and both your body and ambient temp will heat up later, so warmers are the more flexible option.

Tights with a chamois are meant to be work without shorts, and since I like the bib shorts I have, I buy tights without. I also don't wear bib tights because they mostly seem to come with chamois (how do you pluralize "chamois"?).

Leg warmers with normal bibs should be fine if you are not riding in the worst winter conditions. I would try that first, it works for me.

I ride year around except ice and snow days, or really higher winds. I put on some running pants I wear over a set of cycling shorts with a Gore Wind Stopper Jacket. That is good to 30 degrees and if I wear some base layer long underwear under the running pants I can ride to 25 degrees. The only issue is wind and wind chill at some point.

I have non-bib tights with a chamois made by PI. They work well for me, and stay up. They do have a drawstring at the waist.

Since I already have a ton of bib shorts, I just wear generic running tights over bibs.

I don’t even have all bib shorts, but otherwise, this; tights over padded shorts.

alternatively, knee warmers and long socks (eg, football/rugby socks) that come up to meet the knee. No exposed skin, but the versatility to remove clothing as temps change.

if I were to wear padded tights, I’d need to be going on a ride where I know it won’t get warm enough to take off the tights/knee warmers. Even when I lived in Ireland and rode through the winter, I could ride in shorts some days. I also have the option of running in said tights; you can do that if they’re padded, but it won’t be fun.

I have a lightweight cheap pair of Adidas gym tights with a drawstring that I wear over standard cycling shorts or bibs, works great for me (and lets me continue wearing some padded shorts that are a bit too worn in the rear for use uncovered). I also own two pairs of tights with chamois that are warmer and fleecier for colder or wetter weather, but the gym tights work well for me for what passes for cold in San Francisco.

I do long pant bibbs with a chamois. Get some for cold temps and some for really cold temps. Knee warmers or leg warmers with normal bike shorts are an option too.

Of course if you are only going to ride once a winter, then just put something over your bike shorts. Though you'll have to take whatever grief you get whether that's physical or just the chiding from your friends.

Might consider bib-knickers as well. I find those to be just about perfect when the temps are in the 50s/low 60s.

My old wool tights do not have a chamois. My newer lycra ones do. One advantage to the no-chamois tights is that I can wear old bike shorts with chamois that have become to translucent for public display under the tights. This gets some extra mileage out of the old shorts, and instead of having to wash the tights after every ride, I can just wash the shorts.

Another vote for 3/4 aka knicker bibs for temps in the 40s and 50s.

That works fine. When I was doing that, I would add knee warmers (under the tights) on the coldest days.

I do have a couple pair of bibtights now, with chamois, and prefer them -- but tights work fine.

And this. My ankles don't feel cool until down in the mid-40s.

Oddly enough I've never gotten grief about this. I have gotten questions - not sarcastic, as far as I could tell - about where I got padded cycling tights, and I explained that they're just gym tights over cycling shorts.

fwiw, I wear thin lined trishorts year round. what changes, is what I wear over them

Man, the 50Fs are the most challenging temp for me in terms of cycling gear, because it’s just chilly rather than straight up cold, and the mix of weather and clothing uppers can really push the comfort zone one way or the other.

Usually I wear my summer kit with thermal arm warmers and thermal knee warmers in the upper 50s. Moving into the lower 50s, I swap the knee warmers for thermal leg warmers. If lower 50s are the high temps— i.e. if it’s in the 40s at the start of the ride— I use thermal bib shorts. On top, it’s either the aforementioned thermal arm warmers with summer jersey or a long sleeved base layer under summer jersey with thermal bib shorts.

I really like thermal bib shorts and tights, because that extra warmth across the lower belly and waist really does a lot to keep me warm and comfortable.

Hence, thermal bib knickers.

I don’t have any of those, and I think thermal knee warmers provides more versatility in my climate, as I noted earlier, giving extra range to summer bib shorts in addition to pairing well with thermal bib shorts. If I could have it all, though, yeah, why not thermal knickers in the closet for those few days when they’d be perfect? I think knickers look cool, too!

I use winter tights WITH the chamois. I have several (but pricey that way) that I can rotate. When I double up (and I do have one without the pad) it feels too tight and often too hot since we climb a lot here.

I use both, when I run out of bin tights with a chamois, I wear running tights over bib shorts.

The bib tights are good to about 10 degrees.

as the temperature drops, I go from padded bib shorts to padded heavy bib knicks to unpadded tights over padded bib shorts those three options accommodate summer heat down to ~40F, at which point I stay off the bike

I have most variations:
with pad- bib tights, bib knickers, tights, knickers.
without pad- tights.

I use them all but knickers are the most versatile in my mild climate, with wool ski socks in colder temps. Leg warmers tend to droop on my skinny legs.