I just picked up a winter bike and now I need to start thinking about clothing. I was looking through the winter clothing guide but don't have money for anything expensive. I would like to stick to xmarts and thrift stores. I have a fleece lined hoodie from target and a wool sweater from the thrift store, I'm going to pick up wool gloves and socks tomorrow and some sort of head band from target or walmart of something, and I have regular xmart long johns. All I have for shoes is vans slip ons. What else should I look for? I plan on riding all through the chicago winter.

A face mask or balaclava should be on your list since it can be windy as well as cold there in Chicago. If you already have eyewear (sunglasses for daytime and clear safety glasses) you'll want to use them, too. If you don't already have a balaclava or face mask, you may be able to pick up a 6-in-1 polar fleece which can be configured as a balaclava on sale, cheap. I found them on sale at the local Ace hardware in the nearby town for $9.99. Make sure your bike has lights, too. You have so much less daylight during winter. You can use a good LED flashlight. Sounds like you've got a pretty comprehensive list and have things thought out. You don't have to spend a fortune to buy bike specific clothing. Like many other sports, when you start buying gear that's specially marketed to a group that is perceived as having a lot of disposable income, prices can go through the roof. Is your bike all set up or are you in the process of getting it ready? Good luck; stay warm and safe.

I have some old safety glasses that I use sometimes, but I'll probably get some new ones because the ones I have are bifocal. Do they get foggy? I have some anti-fog rain-x stuff that I thought about using on them. I was wondering about a facemask, I'll look into the one you have. I have a pretty bright led light that I got from home depot for $30 and made a bracket to bold it to my stem. I'll pick up ones of those blinky red lights too, I forgot about visibilty, I was too focused on staying warm. I saw that some people were wearing nylon and wool together. Should I pick up some nylon stuff? My mine concern was weather or not a pair of long johns or two with jeans over them will be warm enough. Right now I'm maining just getting cold on my ears, hands and feet with what I have.

I wear a nylon wind breaker as my outer layer. It's not biking-specific, just an inexpensive nylon shell that I picked up several years ago. I generally wear boots and my feet don't get too cold. Wool socks definitely help. If I'm not wearing the balaclava, I do wear a wool headband over my ears. It's windy in the valley that I live in and it adds to the bite of cold. We had a very early cold snap in early October and I found what bothered me most was my hands. I ended up buying some ATV pogies (handlebar mitts) made by KwickTech on sale from Amazon for $17.99, with free shipping. It was the best winter buy I made. I love my pogies since they enable me to keep my hands warm while only wearing one pair of gloves. I hadn't heard of pogies until reading this forum. I'm glad people recommended them. If you find you can't keep your hands warm, you might consider getting a pair of pogies. You glasses may fog. I haven't had fogging issues yet, but some people do. I don't know if rain-x will help or not, maybe some others will give advice on preventing glasses from fogging. I think you'll do well with your gear. You've got the basics covered, keeping your core, hands, feet and ears warm. Good luck. Post again once you begin riding your winter bike and let everyone know how your winter commuting is going.

I'm on my first winter as a cyclist too, I have done winters using public transportation on foot before. Sometimes you would stand there 45 mins or more in the cold windy snow waiting for the bus. I always layered, 2 sets of long johns (k-mart) Top and bottoms, thick jeans, weather proof shoes, muti layers of socks, skull caps, one thin and tight around the head, one bigger, a hood (Sweat shirt and coat as two layers), and I would layer gloves too. A ski mask on a bike is a good idea, maybe two since your in the windy city. These things have helped me stay warm in very cold weather.

Sounds like your on the right track with your clothing. Remember - LAYERS. They can be added or removed as needed. As for your glasses fogging; if you find that it's a problem try some cheap ski goggles like these from REI. They should fit right over your glasses (assuming you wear prescriptions based on your previous comment about bifocals.) And nwmtnbkr is right - get some lights. You can have too few, but you can never have too many.

Yeah make sure your bike looks like this guys house!!!!

^^^+1

Must agree that layers are paramount to staying warm. Also be sure you have gloves or some sort of hand-warming solution. Nothing kills my winter ride more than frozen digits.

Mainly you need better shoes or boots, and you should go with the best pair that you can afford. Two ideas are light hiking boots and all-terrain running shoes. My sister bought winter hiking boots at Land's End for about $50 that she claims are better than $300 boots she has owned in the past.

You might also want a rain jacket. I have one from K-mart (about $20) that is waterproof but not breathable. I would never wear it in warm weather, but it works well on those winter days between 32 and 40 degrees when it is snowing, sleeting and raining on the same ride. I wear the rain jacket with only a wicking Tshirt ($7) and a light poly fleece ($12) or a cashmere or merino wool sweater ($4 at resale shop).

Instead of a head band, get a blaze orange stocking cap from a hunting store. Poly with thinsulate fibers is very nice. I would not get wool gloves as my only pair. Try either ski gloves or the big wool mittens with some additional insulation (like thinsulate) and windproofing. (Yes, you can ride a bike with mittens on.)

Happy riding!
Other than that, it sounds like you're in pretty good shape for winter clothing. If you get cold, just ride harder. But stay dry, and keep the hands, feet and head warm.

Awesome, thanks for your help everyone. My bike is almost ready too, I bought it already converted to fixed gear because that's what I want to ride for the winter and I have parts laying around to convert it back to geared for the summer if I do a tour. I think all I'll need is some full fenders and I'm getting some studded tires tomorrow.

You will need MUCH less clothing when riding a bike than you ever needed while waiting on a bus. Besides ice fishing, no human activity is as chilling as waiting for public transit. I wear about half as much clothing as you do, or less.

Hmm, I'm over layers. I've been wearing layers for 40 years and I'm tired of it. With all the advances in technology, I will never again wear more than 2-3 layers, no matter how cold it is.

True I was thinking the same thing while I typed the post! Like the analogy (Ice Fishing lol)!

If you can't afford it , then you can't have it.. But, sometimes if you don't buy effective gear, in the end it will cost you more.. it will cost you more because it does not work..
Possibly buying effective base layers will ultimately save you cash, because heavy winter cycling jackets is far more expensive than effective layering..
A windstoper jacket and effective base layers and layering methods might ultimately save you cash.. ?

Do you have any ideas for the broke people????

Yeah, the cheap stuff that you buy today is better than the expensive clothing that rich oil riggers wore on the North Slope in the 1970s. And that was better than what polar explorers and mountaineers wore in the 1950s. I have a winter coat that I bought at Kmart for about $40. It's an outer shell of windproof microfiber with a lining of some kind of Polar fleece--very high tech 4 or 5 years ago and very cheap now. That thing keeps me warm when I'm walking down to 20 deg, and down to about 10 deg when I'm riding--with nothing but a T-shirt underneath. It's also comfy unzipped at 45 deg. Amazing!

Thanks, Is there a name on the coat so I might be able to go to K-Mart and check for something like it? Thanks again!

My favorite cheap jackets are Helly Tech shells. I got mine for $50 a few years ago. Here's one for $60

Tshirt underneath good down to around 45 degrees F. Longsleeve tee to 35. Tee + 9oz hoody good to 25.

The reason I use layers is so I can peel off selected layers of clothing when the conditions change. Often times I'll leave at 15F and by the time I'm 10 minutes into my ride, I'll need to lose a layer or two, and I can always add layers back for the reverse commute.

If I didn't use layers, I'd have to have at least 3 different jackets of varying liner thicknesses. That would be lame.

Cheap? Yeah, just pick up some long sleeved shirts at target or something for about $8 (usually cotton or cotton/poly blend..mine are "jerzees" or something) and you're proably good to go!

I rode in 35F this monring with 2 LS t-shirts (both cotton), a thin polartec vest (any cheap vest will work...thin, not the puffy kind), a pair of wrangler twill carpenter pants (love these and they're cheap), tennis shoes and pant strap, and a thin skull cap under my helmet. I also use cheap safety glasses found in the hardware store $5 to keep crap out of my eyes.

I didn't break a sweat (the key) and still unzipped the top of the vest after the first 10 miles.

The absolute best thing about wearing regular clothes is that you don't have to jump into a telephone booth to peel off your spiderman costume. Plus, I have been asked many times about how I can wear regular clothes by coworkers...which seems to intrigue them. One guy started riding because if it.

Cheers!

The best, cheapest thing I found for my feet last winter were a pair of low-top snow sneakers from Lands End. I got them on sale for $20. I bought them a couple of sizes too big so that I could fit more than one pair of socks and also to let my toes have room to wiggle around.

Don't spend money twice Yes, bicycle specific clothing can be expensive but it lasts forever. I have equipment that is going on 15 seasons and is still going strong. The stuff you buy at HellMart isn't going to last that long. Buy a few articles of bicycle specific clothing at a time...jackets and tights are the best places to start...and you'll have a hell of a wardrobe in no time. Buy on sale when you can Performance house brand stuff is a very good value and lasts just as well as the much more expensive stuff.

In terms of use, think of clothing as solving several specific problems that may be at cross purposes. You want clothing that is warm when you start but not too warm when you've been riding for a while. You want clothing that moves moisture but you don't want the wind evaportating it too quickly. You want clothing that can be adjusted to dump heat but keep heat in when you need it.

For starting your ride, you want to a little cold for the first few minutes. Start too warm and you'll be sweating in no time. For the most part this means avoid thick fleece jackets. They provide way too much insulation. Two lighter (noncotton) layers will do the same job and allow you to remove one if you need. Try to find shirts with zippers at the neck so that you can vent them (that's why bicycle specific clothing works well).

Wind is probably your biggest foe. It evaporates moisture which takes heat with it. Often I find that a wind blocking layer, does as much as an insulating layer.

Most of this applies to the chest. I find that I need little in the way of covering on my legs since they are generating lots of heat.

Turf King Warmgrip Thermal Gripping Gloves $4.99. Only good for about a half hour in steady rain, but good to go other than that.