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What kind of temperatures do you guys encounter?

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What kind of temperatures do you guys encounter?

Old 12-23-08, 01:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Dangerous Dave
My front light didn't work two weeks ago in 28 degrees. Thankfully, there were no police and the area was well lit, so I could see. The red light still worked, so I could thankfully be seen. I looked at the light next morning and it was working again in the 37 degree weather. The light has worked perfectly in 31 degrees, so it seems there is a cutoff around 30. Maybe something or other freezes, and at 31 it hadn't quite had enough time to freeze. I also forgot my hat that 28 degree evening, which meant my ears hurt a lot by the time I got home.
I have been follwing Northern USA/ Canada weather and it has looked unseasonably cold.
Do you leave your bike outside? If so, take your lights off and bring them inside with you. If not, sounds like it's just time to replace your batteries.

My lights have regular ole alkalines in them and work fine for my five mile commute in even below zero temeratures.
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Old 12-23-08, 03:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Dangerous Dave
My front light didn't work two weeks ago in 28 degrees. Thankfully, there were no police and the area was well lit, so I could see. The red light still worked, so I could thankfully be seen. I looked at the light next morning and it was working again in the 37 degree weather. The light has worked perfectly in 31 degrees, so it seems there is a cutoff around 30. Maybe something or other freezes, and at 31 it hadn't quite had enough time to freeze. I also forgot my hat that 28 degree evening, which meant my ears hurt a lot by the time I got home.
I have been follwing Northern USA/ Canada weather and it has looked unseasonably cold.
Although my phone died in the cold, my AAA powered PB SFs continued to work, as did my LI-ION powered DiNotte lights. I'm not sure why the difference.

I've reconsidered not riding in single digits. I will do it, but I want actual boots and better headgear first.
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Old 12-23-08, 08:44 PM
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I'm surprised at how comfortable I am in temperatures well below 0 F. With a couple good layers on the legs, three layers on the torso, 2 balaclavas, some nice warm mittens, a couple pairs of warm socks, and boots, I'm actually very comfortable riding down the road at -30 F.
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Old 12-23-08, 10:04 PM
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I have cycled in -15C temperature with the windchill, yet, I still managed to stay really warm. The 4 layers and the ski mask help a lot.
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Old 12-23-08, 10:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Scheherezade
I'm surprised at how comfortable I am in temperatures well below 0 F. With a couple good layers on the legs, three layers on the torso, 2 balaclavas, some nice warm mittens, a couple pairs of warm socks, and boots, I'm actually very comfortable riding down the road at -30 F.

Shhhhh.....Let them continue to think we are superhuman or something. LOL
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Old 12-23-08, 11:58 PM
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My coldest ride so far this year has been -36 degrees Celsius not counting windchill. Just for reference, you Americans, -40C=-40F. Riding in temperatures like this certainly has its challanges, ski goggles, an insulated snowboard helmet plus mask (or two) make things much more tolerable.
I've also switched to a fixed gear drive train this year. There is nothing worse than solidified grease in a non-engaging freehub. Low temp or liquid grease in the hubs also makes things roll a little smoother in the cold.

I've actually had some really enjoyable sub-30 commutes. The snow is dense and fast rolling as smooth pavement and there's little traffic because nobody's cars will start!
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Old 12-24-08, 12:08 AM
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It was so cold here last night I had to wear socks to get out to the Hot Tub.
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Old 12-24-08, 12:44 AM
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It gets pretty cold where I live, often -30C/-22F and occasionally -40. Its not real humid so adding a layer or two allows me to stay warm. As others have pointed out, the trick is blocking the wind. If you can manage to cover up every little crack and crevice and still breath and see, then you're golden.
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Old 12-24-08, 01:03 AM
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My coldest ride ever was done at - 46C.

For the non metric folks that's -51F

So after riding 10 miles in this (my commute) I went to work and spent a good part of the day outside and then rode home 10 miles in pretty much the same and perhaps even colder temps... some reports said it got as low as -54C in some places.

-54C is -65F
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Old 12-24-08, 01:06 AM
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Our typical winter weather is not nearly that severe and I usually set up my gear so I can handle anything down to -40C which is where the C and F scales meet.

We have been seeing a lot of -30 C weather of late and the high wind chills have been bringing the temps pretty close to -40C.
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Old 12-24-08, 04:40 AM
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I still think some of you guys are superhuman, with 3 layers on the torso at -30 degrees. As for riding on top of snow how do you do that? The minute I hit black ice, I'm off. People panic if we get significant snow where I live. We probably get 2-3 snows per year. Some years, it hasn't snowed at all.
By unseasonably cold: What temps have you had? How does that compare with the norm for your town? People complain about the cold if it i)gets below 30F at night, ii) doesn't get above 40 during the day. That said, summers here are prone to crapiness. The average August high was in the 60's this year, and there was rain or showers over half of days. Half the dry days were overcast. The normal July/ August high is 72. I seem to get very little variation. People panic when it gets over 80.
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Old 12-24-08, 08:35 AM
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You guys out west have been getting the frozens alot this year, here in Toronto, we're digging out .... again. 1C this morning and rain forcast it's gonna be sloppy.
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Old 12-24-08, 12:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Dangerous Dave
By unseasonably cold: What temps have you had? How does that compare with the norm for your town? People complain about the cold if it i)gets below 30F at night, ii) doesn't get above 40 during the day. That said, summers here are prone to crapiness. The average August high was in the 60's this year, and there was rain or showers over half of days. Half the dry days were overcast. The normal July/ August high is 72. I seem to get very little variation. People panic when it gets over 80.
Normals here at this time of year are:
Max: -5°C
Min: -16°C


Since December 13th, these are the maxes and mins (in Celcius, of course)
-13.1 ... -29.9
-26.1 ... -34.3
-15.7 ... -30.4
-9.0 .... -17.7
-9.8 .... -23.6
-19.9 ... -27.5
-23.5 ... -31.1
-25.1 ... -35.0
-21.3 ... -35.2
-20.2 ... -23.2
-18.2 ... -27.3

And it's been windy too, so the windchill factor has been down in the -35 to -45 range.
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Old 12-24-08, 01:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Dangerous Dave
As for riding on top of snow how do you do that? The minute I hit black ice, I'm off. People panic if we get significant snow where I live. We probably get 2-3 snows per year. Some years, it hasn't snowed at all.
Snow (and even ice) gets less slippery when it gets colder. It's really worst, by far, when it's just above freezing. Also, if you live somewhere where there's snow cover on the ground for several months every year, people are pretty much used to it.
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Old 12-24-08, 04:32 PM
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Just back from a couple of hour ride.

It was hovering just around freezing ... and I felt like I'd been teleported to Maui

We're up at a mile high, so ... whether or not the sun is out makes alllll the difference in the world.

A couple hours at 0F or below is pretty darned pleasant, when it's sunny and calm.

OTOH, 35-40F can get downright miserable when it's totally overcast and the wind is whipping off the Front Range of the Rockies.

Never a dull moment....
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Old 12-24-08, 06:02 PM
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Just to rub it in, I'll do the comparison given above. Normals for the time of year: High-48, Low-38
13th: High44, Low32, heavy rain
14th: High41, Low36, sunny intervals
15th: High43, Low34, overcast
16th: High-6, Low41, overcast
17th: High44, Low43, sunny
18th: High50, Low41, sunny intervals
19th: High50, Low50, sunny
20th: High52, Low50, sunny intervals
21st: High52, Low48, overcast
22nd: High50, Low48, overcast
23rd: High48, Low43, overcast
24th: High46, Low39, overcast
today: High43, Low37, sunny intervals
It has often been overcast at night and sunny during the day, hence the fairly small variation in temps. The sun does little to warm the air at this time of year this far North, and the cloud stops the temps dropping at night. To rub it in further, I have been able to ride on some days in shorts and a t shirt, and still have sweat patches.

Last edited by Dangerous Dave; 12-25-08 at 07:22 AM.
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Old 12-24-08, 06:22 PM
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So I take it those aren't minuses in front of your temperatures. The "-" in front of mine indicates below freezing.
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Old 12-25-08, 05:34 AM
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The coldest, that I have seen it around here is 0, with some dipping due to wind chill. On Monday, I rode in 1 degree temperatures. It was cold and I need to upgrade my gloves, because the current ones do not keep my hands warm at that temperature.
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Old 12-26-08, 11:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Machka
I have commuted in -40C/F, but this ride was in -32C/-25F ... I talk about my coping mechanisms, what I wear, etc.

https://www.machka.net/brevet/Coldest_Century.htm

I've heard that plastic parts can become that brittle, but I've never had any bits of my bicycle fall off.
When I was out in -40C last year the plastic clamp for my planet bike blinky light cracked. Not the part that wraps around the handle bars but the platform that the light slides onto. I ended up just taping it on with electricians tape to get home that night.
I've got to say, to me, -25C is fine, but -40C sucks...
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Old 12-27-08, 01:11 AM
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Wow, extremes.

Last Monday I rode to work in 6F temperatures. Today, I took a midnight ride and it was 60F. I was only wearing one layer. It was a beautiful night.
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Old 12-27-08, 05:09 AM
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60F is impressive for a midnight ride in the Winter. Where, I live the average low is 56 in summer, so it's probably around that at midnight in summer. You do seem to have some extreme temperature fluctuations. It's down on temperature slightly from last time. We're settling into a rhythm of highs of around 40 and lows of about 30 for the next few days. That said, we have clear blue skies. November and December were have both been rather gloomy. We need some frost to kill off the viruses, as some horrible stuff has been spreading like wild fire because of the mild, humid conditions, making a nightmare for the NHS.
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Old 12-29-08, 10:31 AM
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rode in -47 yesterday here in inland ALASKA... and its going to get colder im from FL and im not use to this thin air and cold so im getting my butt kicked!
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Old 12-29-08, 03:45 PM
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I'm surprised the dreaded freehub freeze hasn't been mentioned yet. The cutoff for that on my Jake is -25c. I have to switch to my old rocky mountain after that since for whatever reason, it never freezes.

I also second that there's a huge difference between "just below freezing" and "well below freezing". Just below freezing, all I need is a toque, well below freezing means no exposed skin anywhere.
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Old 12-29-08, 03:56 PM
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Originally Posted by GGDub
I also second that there's a huge difference between "just below freezing" and "well below freezing". Just below freezing, all I need is a toque, well below freezing means no exposed skin anywhere.
For me this is where the Fahrenheit scale becomes moderately useful. Below zero is when I know I need goggles.
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Old 12-29-08, 04:02 PM
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The coldest I've ridden in is about -20 *F. There's nothing really magical about that temp, it's just that it hasn't gotten colder than that on the days I've ridden.

My biggest problem with really cold temps is my goggles icing up.
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