Cold Weather Cycling Gear Description:

Socks- regular socks nothing special

Boot- Winter boot with rubber lower half

Pants- 2 pairs of black leggings

Shell Pants- Shell 100% Nylon, Lining 100% Poyester

Compression T-shirt- 100% Polyester

Fleece Midweight Jacket- 100 % Polyester

Shell Jacket- Shell 100% Nylon, Lining 100% Polyester

Safety Level 2 Vest-

Winter Half Face Mask- 100% Polyester

Winter Skull Cap- 94% Polyester, 6% Spandex

Glove liners- cheap yarn gloves

Winter Gloves- Shell, 100% Polyester, Lining 100% Polyester Fleece

Skaters Type Mohawk Helmet.

I wore this gear in -7 degree weather on a 11 mile ride and stayed warm. I live in Iowa. Just thought I would put this out there as an example of some cold weather gear.

Thanks for this. I'm getting ever-closer to my first Oregon winter after a lifetime in southern Arizona and right now I'm spending autumn in full preparatory trial-and-error mode. The gloves issue got addressed post-haste. (Opted for ski gloves, if someone's curious -- North Face Apex -- and they seem good so far.) Definitely need to sort out something for my legs next.

Anyway, yeah. As someone new to seasonal shifts and cycling, I appreciate the post.

You could use that helmet to brush snow off the bike before setting off

Nice list! Everything a guy needs to ride a bike in the winter can be had at Walmart but if someone wants to appear as a "Winter Cyclist" instead of a drunk, mentally disabled or garbage digger.. "Winter Bike Specific" stuff will present a more pro-image. Bar Mitts/Pogies for instance. You really don't need em if you layer gloves thick enough but with a set of those on your bike you will need less "glove" when you ride.

My gear works just fine. What your talking about is nothing more than a "status symbol". I run into this mentality ALOT, TOO MUCH in fact. Talking about how your not a cyclist cause you don't have "bike specific" gear. SCREW THAT!!!!! I am out there 7 days a week 365 days a year putting in over 6000 miles a year all OUTSIDE MILES and yes with my WAL-MART gear. Cycling is about PUTTING RUBBER TO PAVEMENT not about having the "bike specific" gear or the latest crap.

I have to agree with ryenmatt's statements for the most part. I have dabbled in winter cycling all my life, riding on the nicer days with my cycling "kit" made for cold weather. This year I am planning to commute through the winter so I have been trying different things and what I have learned so far is that cycling clothes are not going to cut it. I actually learned that a long time ago, that's why I only rode on the nicer days. I have found that my regular outdoor winter gear in layers is the best. My only issue is my feet, need to sort that out yet. Thanks for your list ryenmatt, it is always great to read what works for others and in what conditions they ride.

I agree mostly. Cycling kit doesn't seem to be made for really cold days. But I wore my showers pass jacket last night, and I really appreciated the fit. I can bundle a whole lot of sweaters under it.

In the winter, (western Maine) I use my Rainmates rain chaps as a windbreaker for my legs. Under that, Carhartt work pants, and Minus 33 merino wool base layer

I would try Pogies, except for the fact, that they don't work with trekking bars. So I got some huge leather shell mittens (with a snot patch,even.) I have at least three pairs of liners that I can wear in various combinations under them.

On milder days, (~30's F) I use windproof, waterproof, ski gloves. I have two sets of thin liners that I can wear under them.

Feet get wool socks, with Keen steel toe waterproof work shoes.

dumpster diving is an honorable pastime....far more so then trolling forums

My winter gear is 95% close to the OP's list.
I do need a safety vest though...
Thanks for posting as it is a great guide for those who want to start winter commuting.
I get all the stuff at wall mart too.

I don't like the pogies, ugly me thinks.
I use wool mittens with deerskin outer mittens, works great.

I also solved the cold feet issue by using wool socks and my UGG wool lined engineer boots.

I wish wool socks solved my problems.................. anything lower than 20F and my feet are cold. Till that point I wear wool socks and non-insulated hiking boots. Lower than that it is wool and light weight, 200 - 400 gram thinsulate hunting boots and I hope I get to work before the feet freeze. My feet sweat in sandals at 40F and they still get cold. I guess I am just cursed with weird feet. I think I will be trying a pair of moisture barrier socks this winter when it gets down to the single digits.

Vapor barrier socks that would be my choice too.
https://www.rbhdesigns.com/category/170/footwear.htm
https://www.cabelas.ca/product/34291/...neoprene-socks

Thinsulate tend to hold moisture for days and generate cold feet. I could felt moisture in my thinsulate backcountry ski boots for 2 weeks after use. If you can, put your hiking boots on a heater during the night to let your boots dry. Since you live in minnesota you have a shop that make some good mukuluks: steger. If your feet are not too big (10.5 and less) you should give it a try. Being able to remove the liners make it easier to remove moisture from inside the boots
https://www.mukluks.com/
There is also northern outfitters that make arctic expedition boots
https://www.northernoutfitters.com/our-new-arctic-boot/

so, the idea is to contain moisture in the garment closest to the skin...what happens though if you stop generating heat and you can't breath away the moisture? seems like in that case you would have to take off the barrier socks, dry your feet and then put on a fresh pair or your feet would freeze

just wonderin'

I do have a boot dryer, works great. I have been looking at different options for boots, thanks for the links. Thinsulate is not my first choice of insulation it is just what I have at the moment.

To answer the vapor barrier question..... To the best of my understanding it is almost like a wet suit concept. You keep your insulating layer dry so it can keep you warm and then the wet layer inside the vapor barrier stays warm. I have not tried them yet but they were recommended by a friend that does long distance winter races on fat bikes. We will have to see.

Yep, to keep your insulation layer dry but not only it also prevent heat loss via insensible (and sensible) perspiration and more effects that don't really apply to feet

(insensible perspiration: perspiration that evaporates before the body can detect it as moisture)

Vapor Barrier Liners: Theory & Application
https://andrewskurka.com/2011/vapor-b...y-application/


To prevent too much sensible perspiration from happening my rule of thumb is to use VB socks from 20F and below but it can varies with metabolism, where the VBL is used etc...

Mukluks. That is all I wear (with wool socks) in below zero weather and provided you bike with flat pedals they will work fine. I also like that they are not heavy. Good ones are pricey but I have had my moosehide and canvas ones for many years. https://www.mukluks.com/

Excellent write up, thanks for the link. I had not heard / read it explained so well in the past.









Erig007 - I have been thinking about a pair of Steger's for a long time. I have always just muddled through .......... maybe I just need to pull the trigger and spend the money. I ride with flat pedals so they should work. Do you wear a size up? Only problem is that I like to try boots on first and I am not going to Ely any time soon.

If you like the style try the bunny boots or USAF N-1B mukluks first, those are way cheaper than the Steger

Regarding the Steger mukluks, the smaller your feet the more layers you can add the warmer your mukluks will be. It is only half true with the vast majority of the other boots on the market because they don't offer wide versions so that you will reach the width way faster than you will reach the length of the boot. This will limit the number of layers that you can add unless your foot is less wide than average.
Seeing how cold your feet seems to be you will probably need 3 wool felt inside to reach a true -35F on a bicycle.
If your feet (not your shoe size) are 9 or 9.5 and not too wide, mukluks size 15 double wide should be ok.
If your feet are bigger than that just move on unless you plan to use them for warmer temps like -10F temps then 2 wool felt layers should be enough.

Their biggest size is size 15 so that's what i wear in double wide.
With 2 wool felt and 2 insoles (wool insole + reflective aluminum insole) one side 17" height weight 1170g/2.58lbs (4 layers under the foot) and it is very comfy. I can still add a VB sock and 1 thin sock layer

At first it wasn't comfy because my feet were limit too big for those mukluks (with 2 liners inside) and because of that i could feel the seam on the top of the foot and the tips of my toes were touching the front of the liner inside the mukluks (i believe the big seams is specific to the hunting mukluks that use rubber over the canvas). I was wondering if i would keep them and was ready to send them back but it disappeared when the insoles settled as they told me. (of course i didn't believe them when they told me that ). When the temperature goes up in spring then i remove one wool felt layer and i have too much room for my feet but it is still manageable.

I also have tried the warmest (ENORMOUS) baffin and warmest sorel but they are not as wide which don't offer much room for layering (for my relatively big feet). Not that you need much layering in this kind of boots anyway.

Here are some of the warmest boots available on the market:

https://www.winterfootwear.com/c122-w...ter_boots.html
https://www.armysurplus.com/store/bo...s-type/dp/2813
https://www.billynorman.com/boots.htm (bunny boots)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mukluks-N-1B...item3371328401 (USAF mukluks N-1B)
https://www.baffin.com/polarseries-s/4.htm
https://www.sorel.com/mens-intrepid-e...ot-NM1463.html
https://www.sorel.com/mens-glacier-boot-NM1042.html
https://www.kamik.com/b2c_ca_en/m-boots?temperature=79
https://www.northernoutfitters.com/our-new-arctic-boot/
https://shop.mukluks.com/Arctic/products/27/
https://shop.mukluks.com/Mukluks/products/28/
https://shop.mukluks.com/Mukluks/products/32/
https://bilodeauinc.com/en/products/b...wmobile-boots1
https://www.actoncanada.ca/en/products/winter
https://www.backcountry.com/mens-mountaineering-boots

Thanks for all the info and links, I will dig through them and do some reading. The USAF N-1B mukluks look interesting and they would match my mittens. I have also been looking at the Kamiks, they are available locally and are more in my price range than the Stegers. Thanks again, SORRY TO THE OP for the thread hijack, I hope the info was helpful to others.

Like a vacuum bottle that keep liquids hot for a while it's the same inside your boots. Assuming that your vapor barrier isn't perfectly sealed and that there is some heat loss that occurs it is better to keep it on if you stop for a short period of time. But if you stop for too long it's probably better to remove liquids from inside. It will take time to get the heat back on so it is better to change your wet socks that are directly on your feet to get your feet warm again faster and to prevent your cold wet socks to retrieve the little heat that you still have when you have your naked feet directly out in the cold (when your feet is out it is better to be far away from cold wind though or you could get frostbite pretty fast). It takes less time to heat a dry foot that having to heat liquids with it. Liquid act as a 2-way buffer. Takes time to lose heat and time to get it back on. Water retrieve heat faster than air but as long as water stays inside your boots at the same temps than your feet and insulated from outside via the vapor barrier and that you generate enough heat to balance what is lost through insulation it will keep your feet warm. That's why the bunny boots based on this principle are used in arctic.
To get your heat back on faster after having put your naked feet outside in cold air the trick is to push harder for a while to generate more heat to compensate for what has been lost and to wiggle your feet to bring more warm blood.

here is a quote from Skurka's article

"In order to avoid over-sweating while using VBL’s, I must be attentive to body heat generation and be willing to regulate it. This is fairly easy during steady, low aerobic activities like hiking, snowshoeing, mountaineering, ski touring, snowmobiling, ice fishing, etc. The task becomes more difficult for activities like alpine skiing and climbing, when periods of intense exercise are followed by periods of sedation, e.g. leading a pitch and then belaying a climbing partner up to the anchor. For high aerobic activities like running, skate skiing, or alpine touring (AT) racing, I find it almost impossible to avoid sweating and therefore VBL’s are probably inappropriate in this context."

I'm a heavy sweater, my bike riding is more on the 'high aerobic' side and only for a couple of hours....so I guess I'll pass for now on VBL

Yeah. I'm aware of that. This doesn't apply much to hands and feet but more to the other parts of the body. That's why pitzips and other openings exists on VBL jackets and pants, to let the steam out:
https://www.rbhdesigns.com/category/172/apparel.htm

What is more bothersome is how often variations in intensity occurs rather than how intense the effort is. Before a long intense exercise you just open some pitzips or simply remove your VB layer depending on how intense your effort is. Nothing there. If you wait for too long before opening your pitzips you simply overheat. You stop your effort remove your VBL, cool down, put it back on and keep going. It's a matter of getting used to open things before the effort occurs. Anyway, an easy solution to this problem is to simply keep one part of your body away from VBL to let the excess heat goes away.

nice bed man