Well this'll be my first year riding to work in the winter. In Reno we don't get enough snow to make me all that worried about it. I am not afraid of the cold, either. I do however not want to get totally frozen! I figure on a pair of bike shorts, covered by 1-2 layers of sweat pants, and just my normal shoes, double socks. For shirts, just a normal shirt and a sweatshirt over that, and of course a beanie under my helmet if not a full face mask because of the cold. Some sort of skiing goggles for the eyes, I imagine? I plan on riding all the way down to around 20 degrees, and in mild snow. If it snows I'll probably take the car.

As far as the bike goes, I figure just fenders on it, and lights of course for the early mornings. I'll take off the slicks and put the knobby tires on it. Will those be enough? I don't mind riding them aired down for more traction.

Thanks all, take care.

Stay away from those cotton sweat pants and anything cotton. Cotton drys slow and is very cold when wet. Go with some good full length winter bib pants or tights and some good wicking shirts that gets the sweat away from your body and drys fast. Get yourself some rain gear.
As for knobby tires I think you will survive riding in light snow.

Hope this helps.

Anybody got some more help for rykoala?

Yeah I'll take whatever I can get. Specifically stuff that one might be able to buy at walmart

If it doesn't have alot of cotton in it. (less then 90%) It should be good to go! Do a search here on Bf for warm winter gear. Hope this helps

Walmart may not have it, but Under Armour Cold Gear is great for winter commuting. Also, look at long bike pants.

Dicks sporting goods has it. Just don't buy one of their bikes!

A link for Dicks sporting goods https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/home/index.jsp

Thanks for the help on this. I'll do some searches too

Rykoala, the best pants I've come across for winter commuting were lined semi waterproof track pants on sale for $10 from Target. They were comfortable and kept me warm until about -15 C, just wore them over my bike shorts. A bike jersey under a long sleeve polester sweat shirt and a windproof/waterproof jacket was enough for the rest. I've tried the neoprene gloves from walmart, they're good to about 30 F, below that temp I wear some lobster claw bike mitts. Under my helmet I wear a polyester beanie or bellaclava from Louis Garneau, depending on temperature. (bellaclava below about 20 F) They are nice and thin so you don't have to make a big adjustment to your helmet, wick the sweat away very well and keep me warm too!
I just wear aerodynamic looking safety glasses (haven't felt the need for goggles), and have ridden slicks in the snow, they're not all that bad depending on depth of snow (a couple of inches or so of light snow)
Fenders are the cheapest best addition to your bike!

"the best pants I've come across for winter commuting were lined semi waterproof track pants on sale for $10 from Target."

Track pants... that's a good idea.

My impression of what you plan to wear riding seems like a lot of clothing. What is the length of the commute? I rode 24 miles one way last winter in a lot less than you are discribing. As you adapt to winter you may find that you are over dressed. The rule of thumb is that you should be cold for the first 15-30 minutes of your ride. But if you are off the bike in 30 min, that's out. I ride with a light wool sweater and a wind shirt with sleeves that zip off. Another rule of thumb is if your feet are cold put on a hat, and the opposite is true too, if you're over heating, take it off. It takes a couple days of riding in the frigid temps before you get it all figured out, but once you do winter riding is some of the best to be had on the planet.

I have never found cold to be a problem on my commute here in Munich and the temperature can drop down low sometimes as far as -20 oC. The MOST I wear is a t-shirt, rugby type shirt, fleece and waterproof jacket/trousers. I also have a ski mask which I don't always need, ski gloves and neoprene overshoes for the rain. On all but the very coldest days the rugby shirt or fleece can be left in the rucksack.

I find that when I set off I am still warm from being in the house and by the time the warm air has dissipated I have started to generate some internal heat. So no problem

I feel much colder waiting on the station platform for the train.

Well, the commute is about 6 miles, really not very far. It was 45 degrees this morning and I froze for the first 10 minutes of my ride, but I made sure to exert myself more than usual this morning, generated some body heat and was OK. I was wearing track shorts and a t-shirt and regular shoes and socks. I think I'll be OK with track pants, long sleeve shirt, and full length (not cut off) gloves. Thanks for all the cool suggestions, I think I'll be able to get what I need now

I understand that you are trying to get by on a budget. I guess we all are to different degrees. HOwever, if you plan to ride in anything below freezing, you MUST stay away from cotton against the skin. That doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune there are affordable items that wick moisture away. That is what you want.

My local Walmart is carrying a whole line of wicking undergarments from LS shirts to sleeveless. They even have underwear. I don't remember the brand but they are a "knock off" of underarmour. I paid i think $9 for the undershorts. I purchased gloves and socks at walmart last year too. Look for the work "wicking." Or just look for things like lycra, spandex, polyester etc. Just read and make sure there is no cotton. (very little if any)

Any temperatures above freezing require very little additional planning in my book. You can wear just about any fabric as long as you don't overdress. Most people overdress for any temp. That is the common error. I rode nearly every day last winter in temps down to the single digits and i don't recall once where i didnt wear enough clothing. There were a couple of occasions where i overdressed.

Another thing to remember is that it takes awhile to warm up. You will start off your ride feeling chilly if you dress right. There will be a point in the ride where you will notice that you are suddenly comfortable. For me, it was almost exclusively 1.6 miles into my ride. It was wierd. I would think to myself, wow i am warm now, and i would look at my computer. Just about every time it would say 1.6. I guess that is my thermostat distance.

I knew that if i wasn't warm by 1.6 miles than i would likely not be as warm as i would prefer. Like i said earlier, however, i never remember being "cold" after that. Since your ride is only 6 miles, you have a lot of room to error on the side of underdressing. If you happen to miss it one day and end up cold, you don't have far to go to your destination.

Lastly, you will learn that the thermometer is your friend. I have a digital indoor/outdoor in the room that i dress in. I can quickly glance at it and say........42 degrees....ok, shorts, legwarmers, LS cycling jersey and windproof vest. Than i glance outside and see that there it is very dark and cloudy and the wind is high. Scrap the vest and grab a wind shell jacket instead.

Or i glance outside when it is 30 degrees F and very sunny. This is a temp where i am stuck between wearing my goretex jacket or just the nylon shell. Well it is sunny so i will error on the cooler side and just go with the shell. If it were cloudy i would have likely gone with the Gore Tex jacket. The sun makes more of a difference than is often mentioned when referring to dress. You hardly see it ever mentioned. But it can make several degrees difference in the way it feels outside.

Go to icebike and study up.

It's not rocket science. Your commute will take about a half hour. The temperatures are 20 F or warmer. Therefore, what you wear is not very critical. -- just cover exposed skin and keep dry. Ironically, overdressing is the best way to get chilled -- you sweat, lose insulation, and there you are. If you are comfortable at the start, you are overdressed.

I wear a suit and tie with a thin, hooded Gor-Tex overcoat and Gor- Tex rainpants. If I overheat, I unzip. Totes over my shoes. There are ski gloves in the pocket, and I put them on if my hands get cold. I'm dressed in layers, so I can always adjust. Ski goggles are for when it gets really cold -- like -10 or so (which we don't get to here in DC). I use mine only for skiing up north.

Dressing for a walk outdoors is much harder than dressing for a bike ride. You can generate a lot of heat if you want to. Don't make it too difficult -- unless you are totally housebound in winter, you already own clothing that is far warmer than you need.

One tip, though -- after you arrive, do not just cram your gloves back in your pocket. Leave them out to dry.

Paul

True that! Nothing worse than a tough day, only to get through to the dress up for the ride home and everything is damp because you didn't hang it up to dry, or couldn't get it to dry. One reason I carry extra sox, gloves and hat on my commutes.

Dry cold is much easier to accomodate than wet cold.
I only wear gortex when it is raining. It is simply not breathable enough compared to a windproof shell. A windproof will keep the cold air from chilling you, but will allow all the moisture through. You wont need to use underarm vents which let the cold air right to your skin.
I have a "huff test" for cycling windproofs. Hold the material against your mouth and give a strong huff. If the wind goes straight through, its not windproof. If you can't get any air through (like with gortex) its not breathable. If the air travels through slowly at high pressure, then it will do.
I have used a dense weave polyester cotton smock, pertex, and polyester microfibre, all with good results, and all about 1/3 the price of a gortex.
For inner layesr, you dont need cycling-specific jerseys, that rear pocket is worse than useless under a windshell. I find that a cheap wickable hiking jersey is good. For mid-layer insulation, thin woolen sweaters work as well as any fleece.
Some cycling leggings have a built-in padded liner. Dont get these, you have to wash them after every use. Use unpadded tights over shorts.
You may need a larger size shoes, to take 2 pairs of woolen socks. Mesh shoes let in all the cold air. For a 6 mile ride, its probably to much hassle using neoprene overbooties, just get some sensible lightweight hiking boots/shoes.

I like to go with a lot of layers. I usually wear a fleece jacket under a leather jacket in winter. Some days it gets cold enough that I put a liner in the leather jacket as well. I don't wear tights, opting for regular long johns instead. Usually I wear 2 pairs of socks, a light, smooth pair underneath thick wool ones. When it gets really cold, I become ninja biker, wearing a facemask that only shows my eyes (1/2" thick wool). I usually have 3 different pairs of gloves, for the varying temp - a thin pair if it's warmer, a set of thick gloves that can be worn on their own, and a pair that's one size too big that can be worn over the top of the thin set for when it's really cold.

But it's probably a lot colder here than in NV...

Layering I guess is the most help I can offer - it's easier to take something off if you are too hot than to freeze and have nothing to help warm you.

Thanks everybody for the awesome advice here. I ended up with a pair of track pants, 92% polyester and 8% spandex from wally world. They are too long so I tuck them into my shoes and those work pretty good over 40 degrees. Should work down to 30 degrees, they keep me pretty warm. I'll remember about layering. Looks like I need to buy some wool stuff.

Again, Thanks!!!

I always look for a good sale at Walmart or one of the other low priced stores. I always use the off-brands of Polar-Tech or the sweatpants that are not cotton(the ones that are two layers). A good pair of gloves like from performance or nashbar or a cheap pair of ski gloves is one of the best things you can have. For my head and face I always use a face mask. I just leave my mountain bike tires on my single speed or my full suspension and put up my commuting bike for the winter.
Thanks

Remember that if you have a breakdown you can't bike to generate heat. It's often very difficult to do bike repairs because your hands get cold quickly. This is why I always carry my half finger bike gloves as well, for doing repairs, and carry some bit of extra clothing, like a fleece vest. I've had to run with my bike on my shoulder before to stay warm, for almost an hour. Not pleasant. My method is to wear kway nylon shell pants and a gortex cycling jacket as air pockets that I warm from biking. Of course I'm wearing pants and sweater and whatnot, but once I stop producing that heat the system breaks down. When it's really cold I switch to my german army surplus winter coat and thick snow pants and have no worries of being cold with a breakdown. This is also what I wear when I bike to the trails to do snowshoeing.