Temperature and Clothes
 

I find that I am fine with a sleeveless jersey, and bike shorts, down to about 55 F. Below that, I have to start adding more clothes. As long as I'm pedalling, I generate enough heat to keep warm.

I also don't sweat much, if at all, when the temp is below 60 F.

What temps do you usually start adding more stuff to keep warm?

Fredelicious.

Below 60: knickers and full fingered gloves
Below 50: Tights and a long sleeve jersey
Below 40: Heavier gloves, balaclava, heavy booties

And I'll ride in sub-0's. I just keep piling on the layers. Yes, it makes it fell like I'm wearing an incredibly tight wetsuit and I have limited mobility, but at least I'm warm.

This will be my first winter of cycling.. and ive taken the poor mans route and just bought a trainer to sit inside on.. I just cant get motivated with the cold

Below 70: add a thin base layer
Below 60: Add knee warmers and maybe a l/s jersey
Below 50: Gloves, light jacket, fleece knee and arm warmers, skullcap
Below 40: Add heated insoles to the shoes and heat packs to the gloves, fleece tights and L/S base layer
Below 30: Add Windproof jacket
Below 20: Windproof tights, jacket, full shoe covers, heated gloves (as in battery heated), heated insoles... at this point, I just have to make it the 10 miles to work. It'll be in the 30's by afternoon

Where I am it is not uncommon to see a 30-degree differential between night and day, especially in late fall or early spring. It might be 20 at night and 50 during the day. It makes packing for work a pain in the butt.

This time of year I can have a 20 degree difference at the base altitude vs the high point of the ride. There is also the chill of long descents when sweaty, so I am carrying a softshell on all my rides now.

^^ I was out there for some rides a couple of Septembers ago... 70 in Boulder... 30 at the top of lefthand canyon... yeesh!

Have a look at the clothing list Slvoid posted a few years ago. It covers all of the clothing sets he would use for 120+ F to -45 F in 10 degree increments. He recommended wussing out at 130+ and below -45. Then compare what he uses at one temp with your usage. I hope you never need a re-breather mask and chemical heat pads to go riding.

I'm usually cold when I ride ... it's got to be hot before I start shedding layers.

Take today, for example ... it was +18C (64.5F) this afternoon ... and I was wearing the following:

- sleeveless jersey
- short-sleeved wool jersey
- long-sleeved fleece jersey
- rain jacket
- cycling shorts
- heavy cycling tights
- polypro socks
- wool socks
- neoprene ankle bands
- cycling shoes
- short-fingered cycling gloves
- helmet

When it reached 18C degrees, I removed my headband and full-fingered gloves.

Wow Machka, that's a lotta clothing to wear for relatively warm weather! That is the amount of clothing I wear when it gets down in the minuses (C), though you being a long distance rider might ride a bit slower (less intensity) than me. I rode 130km today in 10 deg showers wearing only S/S jersey, arm warmers, short knicks and short-fingered cycling gloves. I pulled the arm warmers down for the uphills and unzipped the front of the jersey but zipped up and rolled up for the descents!

She did start at 2 deg C.

Hey Machka... You have to be pulling our legs... That's just absolutely insane! I'd wear less than that if it was 35 degrees Farenheit!

Yeah Machka. A wool jersey on top of a regular jersey, plus a jacket, at 64 degrees? If it's above 60, I go with standard summer outfits:
Short sleeved jersey
Shorts
Below 60, I add a thin wind breaker
Around 50 I may go to tights over the shorts
Never rode below 50 so far! Will try it this season by adding a long sleeved Nashbar coolmax shirt over my short sleeved jersey and tights. I'm probably going to buy cold weather gloves, and a skull cap for the November temps. After that, back to the gym trainer I guess.

Well, like Rowan says, I did start the ride at +2C, so it was fairly chilly at first ... there was frost everywhere for the first little while.

But I am cold when I ride. On days when the temperature goes up over 30C, and people here are complaining about the heat ... I go for a ride to cool off. The only time I really warm up on a ride is if I'm doing a lot of climbing.

Walking, on the other hand, is a different story ... I roast when I walk.

I guess everyone has their own temp tolerances! I saw your website, and you are a serious rider! You can wear 8 jerseys if you have to!