Cooler weather clothing

[mary ann]

Could anyone tell me what you wear on your legs for cooler weather riding? Are there long legged bike pants, etc...? Thanks!

[ny biker]

Depends on how cool (cold) it is, with some variation depending on how well you tolerate the cold. For example I tend to have problems with cold feet so I wear warmer tights than many other people do under the same conditions.

That being said, you can find cycling capris with a chamois (padding). They're good for spring and fall temperatures. You can also buy knee warmers or leg warmers that you wear with regular bike shorts.

For colder weather, you can get tights with or without a chamois. The ones without a chamois are typically worn over regular bike shorts. The benefit to them is that you can wear them more than once between washings and can also wear them for other activities. I wear my winter bike tights (without a chamois) for walking to the gym, shoveling snow and on really cold days, just hanging around the house.

For colder weather you will typically also want something to cover your shoes -- toe covers (to cover the front half of your foot) or booties that cover the whole shoe. Tights and booties come in different thicknesses/levels of fleeciness/wind protection so some are better for very cold temps and others are comfortable on days that are just chilly. Again, it's a somewhat personal thing -- I will wear booties when most other people are fine with just toe covers.

If you click the "Shop" link at the top of the forum page, you can see that Team Estrogen sells a variety of capris, tights, toe covers and booties, so you can see some of the different brands and varieties. They also have jackets, base layers, caps, gloves, everything you could possibly need.

[mary ann]

Thanks, that's very helpful. I have some winter tights from running that I wondered about pulling up and over my biking shorts in cold weather. I was at an REI yesterday and had some leg warmers in my hands, but wasn't sure how practical these would be. Many thanks.

[Crankin]

Leg/knee warmers, arm warmers, and a cycling vest can extend your season quite a bit, without spending a ton of $. Even more, if you invest in a base layer for under your jersey. For anything under 50 degrees F, I go to my tights (both light and heavy duty thermal ones) that do not have chamois. On some cold days, I wear my Ibex (wool) tights that are my x country ski tights.
A lightweight fleece beanie for under your helmet, different long fingered gloves of varying thermal intensities, and wool socks/shoe covers make a huge difference. If your hands and feet are cold, nothing feels good.

[OakLeaf]

Leg/knee warmers, like arm warmers, are great for changing conditions. Those fall days when you can start out with frost on the ground and have it be 70°F by the time you pull in. When it's full cold and you'll expect to want to have your legs covered for the whole ride, tights are best.

I prefer tights with no chamois, for three reasons: (1) full legs can pull on the chamois so it moves around on my body and chafes, the way shorts don't; (2) tights worn over shorts with chamois mean that I can get away with wearing tights a few times between washings, so I only need one or two pairs of warm tights; and (3) I can wear the same tights for cycling or running.

+1 on the shoe covers. I've never been able to wear toe covers, they cut off my circulation and I wind up with colder feet than if I'd worn nothing over my shoes, but some people like them.

Just blocking the wind on top can make a huge difference, and you can wear your running base layer(s) under your jersey. I'm a huge fan of merino wool. I also like a wind-blocking jacket with zip-off sleeves - useful not only for changing conditions, but it's like two garments in one, for rides where you might want either a vest or a long-sleeved jacket for the whole ride.

Make sure that your gloves have grippers on the palms, and enough flexibility in the fingers that you can hold onto your bars and water bottles, shift and brake without interference.

+1 on shopping TE!

[mary ann]

Thanks, I had a lot of fun shopping today. I did get a jacket that has the zip off arm sleeves, and a nice bright yellow color. $48 seem like a good price, but they didn't have them for women so I had to get a men's. Fits well though! Thank you again for all the feedback, it is very very helpful when you're starting out with something new. Seems as though, between running and long-distance backpacking, I do have some clothing or that can serve the same purpose when biking.