I call out ALL winter riders!!
 

I ask, because i live in the mountains and fall riding is quickly approaching. There will be days below zero come september/october. And i'll be damned to sit on the trainer when snow has yet to fill the streets. I am on a quest to find a toasty pair of bib tights. No chamois please, easier to layer and jogging with a pad looks like a diaper.

Has anyone been riding on days below zero? do you need a tight with wind block? What have you worn that feels goooooood.

BTW i did use the search. Unless i wanted Giordana's or a bib tight from 2005, i was SOL.;)

Any good advice on winter riding in general is always welcome... like how cold is too cold for CF(this could be another thread).

>Any good advice on winter riding in general is always welcome<

Yes - move to S. California. :)

You should check out the Winter sub-forum. Many of the bike weenies here don't ride outside in winter conditions.

check the winter cycling section.

I use an old pair of Giordana winter bibs that I have had for a while. I am going to look into the windproof briefs for this winter.

Layer up and then make sure it is not to icy out for your road bike. You might try a fixed gear as they are good for winter conditions.

its not the cold that stops me in the winter its the wind. We regularly get winds over 50 mph here from november through april. Once the Nordic areas open up here in Colorado I get out and skate ski 3-5 days a week. Great cross training. In fact, I have a much harder time controlling heart rate skating than I do biking.

2008 fix-Country road bob(Van Dessel)-pogies-bar mitts-moose mitts-Lake winter boots-sleveless vest with pockets sewn inside to hold hand warmers(keep core warm) 700x32c tires,studs if needed,go for it!enjoy the winter,we have 7 to 10 riders that ride all winter and we love it,there is no(one season for riding)its all the time, or go car!

Look at xc-ski equipment. There are bib tights available w/o chamois.

Yeah fixie. Better ice control. You will ride slower though which is not bad. +1 on th XC classical or skate. Cheaper than alpine less jock attitude and you can enter some races as well.

Unfortunately for us here in the Abq area we do not have great XC at all and I have to drive to it. I still have wax from 1998 and some expensive fluorite types. I also have carbon poles and I am sure the technology has change so much by now. The clothing I used for XC works for winter better than anything you can buy at the LBS.

SKYLAB did you not live in Northern NM at one point?

I commute throughout the winter. luckily my round trip is only 7 miles. I've only had trouble with my hands in the sub zero temps. everything else stays warm. pain in the neck with the bulky gloves and such, but better than driving, keeps me sane during the cold winters.

I'd recommend specific clothes but I'm not sure if you're going for style points or basic protection from the cold. I usually look like a fool during the winter rides, but my wife just bought me a Descente thermal zero jacket (mine is red), so things are looking up.

http://www.velosportonline.com/smsim..._sleeve-70.jpg

cheers

It doesn't get anywhere as cold here in CA, but this is my collection of winter clothing for when it gets in the 30s (F).

Craft baselayer shirts
Assos Intermediate Evo Long Sleeve jersey
Assos 851 Airjack jacket
Tights without chamois (I wear these over my bibs)

I've tried and 20 degrees F is my cutoff. I just found that I have to wear too many clothes and winter boots and probably ski goggles to be anywhere near comfortable for 8.5 miles. It's just not worth it to me and much of my winter is spent indoors at the gym. Luckily most days aren't below 20 so I don't have to wait long to get on the bike again.

As a bike commuter, I often go home around 4pm when the temperature has soared to 50 or more. That means carrying half of what I wear home in panniers. My solution as stated above is ride above 20 which generally only requires that I wear a set of long underwear under my long sleeve jersey, jacket, windproof pants (plus wool socks, ski gloves and balaclava). Then I only have to carry home the long underwear and maybe the jacket.

Erm...30 degrees Fahrenheit equals "below zero."

Still, it's true, summer in Alberta is short, especially in the Rockies. I think it's the last week of July.

Yes, I realize that 32'F = 0'C. My point was that my winter clothing won't see anything below the 30s (it rarely gets below 35'F here) but it sounds like the OP needs clothing for colder temps.

MTB. Knobbies. Layers. Ipod.

That is all.

Fixed.

"SKYLAB did you not live in Northern NM at one point? "
Sure did. Mrs Skylab and I had a place in the valley between Angel Fire and Eagle Nest. from 94 to 97. I made candles out of the house and Pam helped with that and worked at the ski area. We skiied Red River for XC or would backcountry a little bit up onto the back side of the reservation.
We still tell the story about the woman from Texas who wanted her money back from Angel Fire because it was snowing! "How do you expect us to ski in this sort of weather?"
Classic.
Occasionally we'd make it over to Taos where it was steep and deep.
I remember the one year (96??) it snowed every day in February. Red River was run by a couple who were Boulder natives, we really enjoyed that area.

huh....No one, absolutely no one rides up here when the wind is howling with gusts over 100 mph. Which can go on for 5 out of 7 days. My least favorite weather. How do you dress for wind?
I do have some lobster gloves, but need appropriate shoes and covers for those cold clear and calm days we get. All 5 of them.

I do lots of winter riding. I've found I do well layering with tights, Patagonia Capilenes and some homemade fleece knickers. Then put two to three light fleece or long underwear layers under a semi-breathable and reflective shell. A windstopper hat for the sub-0degF or a regular knit had for postive days...PI lobster claw gloves, wool socks and maybe liners, and neoprene booties. The booties are key, and I really like the Performance ones, even better than the PI AmFibs or anything else.

MEC sells some Exustar winter shoes for cheap that look choice, and I might pick 'em up. I'm married to my SPDs for winter riding even. I refuse to go platform. Those Lake's look nice, but they're spendy. I don't go out more than an hour and a half at a time, but I do it twice a day (17 mile one way commute).

Yeah, it gets windy, especially in the plains where I live, but you learn to live with it. Just keep on going! It helped that I didn't even have a car to use last winter. This winter I do, and I reckon I'll chicken out much more ;)

single speed is way easier to maintain and clean, but of course limits your terrain. Fenders are nice in slush, and unless you're riding packed pow or ice, I think 28s are just fine. 25s work for most the time, but when there's slush or dust on the ground the 28s just give a millisecond more time before you bust your a*&.

Wind block briefs are available from MEC and are AMAZING. I find my nutz are the first place to get cold, my toes the second, and my fingers never with the Lobster Claws. My face does get it some...oh yeah, a quality balaclava is priceless, and it's mandatory to at least have glasses. That cold air will freeze your eyeballs, I swear.

You gotta want it.

Correct, even if badly undermined by the mrbubbles username.

When it's below zero, plan ahead for mechanical problems. If you're wearing the right amount of clothing to be comfortable while riding you won't have enough clothing if you have to stop moving. I like to carry a couple of spare hand warmers and sometimes another layer just in case I have to sit by the side of some road fixing a chain or a flat in below freezing weather.

also, once they start putting that sand on the roads, it seems to stay around till spring time. That stuff can eat up lightweight drivetrain components fast. In the winter I use a fixed gear for most days, and a single speed mountain bike for snow days.

Assos glove system FTW, although the lowest I go is around 10 degrees... luckily Philly doesn't get too many days like that.

PI amfib tights. PI amfib jacket. Chemical toe warmers & booties (although I only wear toe covers when using the chemical warmers).

Layers are the way to go though.

CF is just fine in the cold . . . . it's in the sun and heat that you have to take precautions.










This is what they tell me. :)

I call out ALL winter riders!!

You rang?

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