rydaddy

You'd think... but that's incorrect.

My new riding low temp is 25 F. I doubt it will ever get colder than that here in Northern California so I'm safe for a while.

merlinextraligh

In Casper Wyoming righht now, -7 degrees with -25 windchill when I got off the plane. I don't see many people riding.

Daytrip

Maybe it takes a guy from Florida to show 'em how it's done.

Pinyon

For me, it mostly depends on other factors like wind, ice, etc.

If it is not too windy and there is no ice, my cut-off is somewhere around 5 F. I could handle riding in colder weather, but it seems like I have more mechanical issues when it gets really cold. Ever try to switch out an inner tube after a flat tire at 2 F? Not worth it.

If the wind gusts are over 20 mph (live at the edge of the mountains, and it gets WINDY sometimes), my cut-off is about 15-20 F.

I don't ride on ice at all. It can be 50 F, but if there is lots of ice on the road, I'm not riding on it. I know that this is wimpy, but I also know from experience that I tend to go down more often than other riders on ice. I guess that I don't have as good a sense of balance as some, and don't like slamming into the pavement.

BananaTugger

As long as the ground is clear, I can ride.

mike868y

Supposed to be a high of 29F tomorrow. But I have a half day from school and I would love to get in 2.5-3 hours on the road...

socalrider

I have ridden as low as mid 30's, but here in socal that may only be a handful of days a year.. Most night rides for me are 40-50 degrees during the fall/winter months..

Velo Vol 

This thread is depressing.

ColorChange

Pinyon ... ice is the ride killer. No doubt.

Herbie53

ok...

around 18F the sweat freezes my balaclava to my head... that's my limit.

Eclectus

I agree with Machka on being warm. For winter, you can always ride with a seatpost-mounted trunk bag, start out warm, and if you feel you are starting to overheat, take off and stash a layer. If your riding a few hours and feel a chill, put the layer back on. Maybe carry an extra layer too.

If you like the bracing feeling of being cold for the first 5-10 minutes, there's nothing wrong with that either.

It's personal preference, and you can find what you like best.

Eclectus

I don't go out when it's icy. I thought about being a stud and getting studded tires, but, no. Fresh snow I love. It always seems so quiet and serene. Anybody else notice this, or is it just me? It just seems like the air muffles sound.

madone-_-tuna

Same here, But i would say about 35*F

banerjek

There are these handy gizmos called "lights" that are incredibly handy in the dark. If you can handle 20°F, you easily can handle another 10 degrees cooler.

tadawdy

Only thing stopping me from riding for fun is ice, which we have plenty of in Jan and Feb. Sure, I could ride on it, but it's unpleasant. I move my workouts indoors (running and lifting). I commute by bike year-round, though. I'm still delivering food by bike, as well.

My coldest so far is the single digit temps we had here last Jan. Just got back from an hour-long ride at 14 F. It was quite nice. I should be getting some Swix lobster claws for Christmas, which will help a lot.

RacerOne

Coldest I've been out is 31F, not much fun below that with my current gear.

estasnyc

My temperature cutoff point is in the low forties (Farenheit).

The two things holding me back from are eyewear & gloves. All my other cold-weather stuff works out well.

I find even the slightest gust of cold air into my eyes to be painful. My cycling goggles do keep most of the oncoming air from going straight into to my eyes but some still comes in from any spaces or gaps on the sides.

I need something comparable to a ski goggle that will completely enclose my eyes from the cold air. I remember trying one on at a Sports Authority store but finding that it wouldn't go with my bike helmet - I couldn't wear both at the same time.

As for gloves, an LBS sold me something that did a good job of insulating the palm of my hands as well the opposite side. The catch was that, to allow for finger-bending flexibility, there wasn't much more than lycra that wrapped around the sides of my fingers between the two halves of the glove. This allow enough coldness to create pain for my fingers but only while I was actually cycling. Wind-chill factor did become an issue here.

Homebrew01

-25F for 100 miles just seems physically impossible without frostbite. How do you keep your fingers & toes warm enough ?

I rode 2 hours today at 20f. It was fine, and I could have dressed a bit warmer if need be. I didn't need my heaviest jacket or gloves or newspaper. I should tape up the vent holes in my helmet too.

I've tried the chemical warmers inside my booties, but I think they need airflow because they start out warm, but don't stay warm as they do in a pocket.

I wonder if you could seal one up in a water tight bag, then put it in a water bottle to stop it from freezing ?
I've made drinks a few times that are sweeter & saltier than I normally like to drop the freezing point.

MrCrassic 

About 20F or so, and even that's pushing it, especially when my school has these really nice spin bikes I can ride on for an hour and that I live practically right next to the gym.

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Machka 

Did you read the story I linked to? https://www.machka.net/brevet/Coldest_Century.htm I talked about the clothing I wore in the story.

Feet - here's an article I wrote about keeping your feet warm on cold rides: https://www.machka.net/whatworks/coldfeet.htm ... but on that century, I wore thin socks with heavy wool socks over them in Sorel Snowlion boots rated to -40C/F. Then I tucked handwarmers down inside the boots. I had purchased a set of handwarmers and every other I came in for a short break, or so, I took the previous ones out and put the new ones in. I prefer using handwarmers rather than footwarmers because the handwarmers are smaller ... so they don't take up space, and space inside your footwear is very important ... and they seem to last longer.

Hands - I wore minigloves inside large, heavy ski gloves or mitts. And, as I say in the story, every so often I had to change them because they'd become soaked with sweat. A couple tips for keeping your hands (I should write an article about this too). 1) Wear wristbands like the tennis players wear. If you have something covering your pulse points, your hands will be warmer. I picked up that tip from an outdoor survival program, and used it when I worked two winters in Winnipeg for Canada Post. I couldn't wear big gloves or mitts because I needed the manual dexterity to make the deliveries, so I simply wore minigloves and wristbands and was fine down to about -25C ... when it got colder than that I struggled. But the idea works on the bicycle too. 2) When you get started in those temps, your hands will feel horribly painfully cold no matter what sort of gloves, mitts, etc. you have one. When that happens, move one arm round and round like a windmill, and then the other arm. You only have to do that a few rotations and your hands will feel fine again. Anytime up the road when your hands start feeling cold, do the windmill thing again ... it gets the blood flowing to the fingertips.

One of the things I struggled with on that ride was that things kept getting soaked with sweat, and as we all know, that can cause hypothermia. So I changed the scarves and things I wore around my head and face several times, and I changed some of my clothing too. As you discovered, you rode for 2 hours at 20F and you were warm enough. Once you get moving on a bicycle, you can actually be quite warm out there ... warm to the point of sweating.

Now, I also don't wear traditional cycling gear when I ride in temps that cold. I'm not one to go out and purchase the latest and greatest tights, jackets, etc. I wear cheap polypro picked up from Sierra Trading Post, various wools picked up from thrift shops, and either an old bomber jacket or a winter jacket I got for $40 from Nashbar many years ago. On my legs I'll wear a pair of cycling shorts, a pair of tights (cheap ones from Nashbar) and then a series of sweat pants, leggings, etc. picked up from thrift shops, Walmart or wherever, with $10 splash pants overtop. My headbands, neck gaiters, etc. are all from the local Dollar stores, acquired for $1 each. And even my heavy gloves and mitts were all acquired at Walmart for about $5 each.

You'll freeze if you try to look cool. But if you go out looking like a Fred, you'll be fine.


Oh and as for the waterbottle, at those temps it was pointless to carry one. Your gatorade won't freeze as quickly as plain water, and if you put your bottle in a sock it won't freeze as quickly as an unsocked bottle, but at those temps, no matter what you do, it will freeze. So I planned my route to return home every 1 to 2 hours, and just drank a lot when I was home.

Fissile

I went out yesterday -- North Jersey -- temp was about 22 Fahrenheit, I did about 20 miles. I wore mid-weight synthetic socks without any type of cover on my shoes. Padded shorts underneath mid-weight tights. Silk long sleeve base layer and mid-weight wool base layer, topped off with wind-blocker fleece pullover -- the wind block is on the front only. I used a behind the head type fleece earmuffs -- no cap of any type, and no cover on my helmet either. On my hands, I wore fleece lined leather gloves.

I was cold for about the first mile or so, and then I was comfortable with the exception of my feet, which were a bit on the cold side, and only really became a problem as I was nearing the end of my ride. By the time I returned home, my back was ever so slightly damp, but not wet by any means. My biggest complaint about cold weather riding is the snot control problem.

I enjoy cold weather riding because I can actually get the bike path in the local park almost all to myself. Yesterday I only saw 4 other riders, and they were all dressed like goose down mummies, in addition to a few hardy joggers. I also enjoy the looks I get from cagers when I'm riding in the cold.

BananaTugger

I've been riding to work in +5 to -15 degree weather.

Feels good, man.