How cold do you ride in shorts during spring?

Our spring days starts off in morning, around 5 degrees C or even zero and climbs rapidly to 22 degrees C. Clear skies and bright sunshine all the way.

It gets kind of annoying...figuring out what to wear without carrying a lot, especially on the bottom side. So I wear short walking shorts (meaning 9 inches above my knees + short sleeved jersey, very thin, moisture repellant vest and light cycling jacket with back vent). Every spring I go through this: To "harden" my legs to initial cold. Then in about 1 hr., the weather is fine for my legs.

Meanwhile, I see joggers in their sleevless tank tops.

Frankly, I'd rather stick to my short shorts/temporarily cold legs, rather than sport a tank top in those near freezing temperatures in morning.

I would wear separate knee or leg warmers for temperature swings like that, and pull them off once it starts getting warm. But if your knees don't complain about the temporary cold there's no need to.

I have the same kind of thing here, figuring out what to wear in to work in the morning that won't give me a full backpack going back on a sunny afternoon. I usually need to pack short gloves and a thin headband for the ride home, legs and arms do well with leg warmers and arm warmers or thin jacket.

Running is different again, lower speed, less wind and higher intensity means I generate more heat and can wear less.

I need my knees covered below 65 F if it's dark or cloudy and below 60 if it's sunny. I can do knee warmers and shorts down to 50 or so, but sometimes my butt gets cold and I'll wear light tights. It was often 40-50 in the AM when I used to commute and 70-80 on the way home. I just stuffed my tights in my backpack.
Today was beautiful and 64 degrees and my legs were freezing for the first half of my ride. I was in shorts, because I knew I would feel a bit overheated eventually with knee warmers.

lph, I start with light, full fingered cycling gloves, then I change over to short-half fingered gloves when it gets warmer. My fingers unlike my knees/legs are extra sensitive to cold temp., because I have Reynauld's Syndrome.

No my knees don't feel it when it's cold/damp. But no, if it's below freezing as the norm, then of course I will wear long tights.

I know myself: I don't even wear sleeveless tops in hot weather when I cycle. Not for all the years I've been cycling. Not even when I was vacationing in Hawaii.

People /locals in our area consider 18 degrees C, hot. I think it's just perfect temp. I consider 25-35 degrees C hot, depending on the humidity.

18 degrees C = ~65 degrees F. That's HOT to people? Wow. They shouldn't move to the south of the US! In the summer, our low temperatures will be more than 25 degrees C and our highs will exceed 35 C.

I don't ride below 65 without something over my knees. I have enough cranky knee problems - I don't need to make them worse. But - if it works for you and you suffer no ill effects, great! I have ridden in knickers and a sleeveless jersey, so go figure.

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

18 degrees C = ~65 degrees F. That's HOT to people? Wow. They shouldn't move to the south of the US! In the summer, our low temperatures will be more than 25 degrees C and our highs will exceed 35 C.

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Heheh, she's so right! I won't ride in shorts if the temp is below 65F (18C).

For me, it depends on the ride. On a road or easy-paced mountain ride, I'll cover my knees below 65 degrees. For more intense rides like this morning's mountain bike race, I'll wear shorts when it's 50 degrees +/-, especially if I know it's going to quickly warm up.

I'm about where ShootingStar is at. I can wear shorts in the low forties if it warms up within an hour to 50 plus. I do layer on the top layers and will wear a wool beanie under my helmet if it is in the 40s.

I can bundle all up until the temp is well into the 80s (F).

For me, it depends on more than just air temperature. If it's 50F sunny, and not really windy, I will go out with short sleeves and shorts. Add a 15mph wind, and I'll still wear shorts, but add arm warmers. Take away sun and add leg warmers. However, intensity also affects my riding kit. More intense means underdressing and being cold for the first 5 miles. Still that 50*F mark seems to be a key temperature for me, so that's short answer to your question - 50*F/10*C.