Essential winter commuting clothing/gear

[DebW]

Agree on the helmet cover over, liner under. Keeps head nice and warm.

For core, I usually wear a long sleeve wool jersey, a thin fleece vest, and a windproof jacket down to about freezing. The vest keeps your core warm, but lets you dump excess heat to the extremities when you start to overheat.

[Nanci]

I have a pair of windproof in the front tights from Performance that I LOVE. They are super warm, and good in light rain, even. My PI Calientoes are good down into the 50's, but lower than that I'd want more serious foot warmth. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out what that is, yet. A Bolero would be good for days when it is cool in the morning then warm in the afternoon. I also have a jacket from Early Winters that is fleece, but windproof in the front/breatheable in the back- that's nice to layer. I have a couple wind vests- but I don't know how much good they do. I wouldn't buy one of those unless you have money to spare. But I have a nice Shebeast wind jacket that is super light that layers nicely.

[crazycanuck]

sorry to hijack the thread for a moment...

Hey beta,

Wow! I didn't expect anyone to look up the weather for Perth..

Right, first of all it's not cold here. People look at me & think when i wear shorts and it's 5c. (Also, there is a huge difference though betwn houses here(nz included) & in North america...you have central heating...we don't.)

I'm from Edmonton, Alberta and my idea of winter is when temps get below -20c...plus the windchill. I miss Canadian winters....snowdrifts, windchills, black ice, chinooks, toques, parkas, plugging the car in (people are amazed when we tell them about this..)

Oh yeah, layering is good...

c

[Geonz]

Coldest I've ridden in was four (Fahrenheit), but I only have a 7 mile commute. Any further and I might hvae to resort to those lobster gloves; so far reasonably thick full-fingered gloves have done the trick. Unfortunately, they ended up near the toaster and melting, so I have to invest (there's another, good pair **somewhere** - maybe near my big light - so I hate to replace with other good ones just yet).
I have also managed to get by on unsophisticated layers, though I've picked up one or two "fancy wicking fabric" base layer tights that I use on those colder days. It'll be snug tights, looser tights, and sweats on the bottom; up to four layers on the top.
I got a Gore-tex rain suit given to m e this summer that will be a sweet outer layer those times, too.
Something to cover ears and face is necessary... my little ears are very sensitive.

[Lise]

I hate that we're talking about this.

I'm going to remember this thread is here, though, so I can refer to it when I'm ready to deal with reality.

I don't plan to commute when there's snow and ice, but I sure do hope to ride much longer in the cold this year, and earlier next year.

[mimitabby]

it must be odd for those who are in 100 deg weather, sweating, etc, writing about insulated gloves inner liners and helmet covrs

[Triskeliongirl]

Aaah, but those of us riding in 100 degree weather NOW, have just our arm and leg warmers and wind vests to look forward to for the bulk of winter! But yes, wherever you live, layer, layer, layer. Over the years some of my favorite pieces I've collected include: arm warmers, leg warmers, ear warmers, glove liners (all drilyte type fabric), light wind vest, heavier weight wind vest, gore tex jacket with pit zips. I've used these pieces in various combinations touring all over the world. Breathable fabrics and ventilation is a MUST, as I find overheating can be just as big an issue as being cold. In the mountains of chiapis we would go from arm and leg warmers in the morning, to shorts and a short sleaved jersey by afternoon, to a goretex jacket by evening, over the course of single day! It can be expensive to put all this stuff together, but I did pick up a few nice pieces on ebay.

[Evie]

Do you wear anything over your face?
...I'm clinging to summer like all get-out.

[DebW]

Some people wear ski goggles to protect the eyes and face when it's very cold. I've never resorted to that personally. Balaclava covers the neck and part of the face.

[Bron]

A buff is quite good if you find a balaklava too heavy. I use mine to hide "hat hair" when I get off the bike too.

Now a question. How cold does it have to get before you stop commuting? I'm worrying about how I'll cope if there is ice on the road. The main worry is safety rather than getting cold.

Bron

[DebW]

Now a question. How cold does it have to get before you stop commuting? I'm worrying about how I'll cope if there is ice on the road. The main worry is safety rather than getting cold.

Bron

I do not ride my road bike if there is snow or ice on the road. Apparently some mountain bikers love that stuff, but being on skinny tires on ice or snow and sharing the road with cars just seems too hazardous to me. What I do is monitor the overnight temperature, and if it was below freezing and the roads are likely to have been wet, I will not ride. If it has been dry for several days then I will ride with the temperature below freezing. The conditions I tend to worry about most are spring days with daytime temps above freezing and nighttime temps below freezing and snowpiles on the sides of the roads - daytime melting means ice on roadways every morning.

[mimitabby]

I don't even drive my car to work if there's snow on the road! When we get snow it's a big holiday! why waste it going to work?!??!
okay, but if it sticks around for a couple days, i end up going in... sometimes coworkers have to come get me. I am afraid of all the other crazy drivers
who have never driven in snow before..
so no i would NEVER EVER ride a bike in snow or ice unless it was in the wilderness and i had no choice.

[short cut sally]

I don't commute, but i do ride in the winter on occasion of dry roads. I have a pair of the tights mentioned by nanci that are the wind proof/almost water proof tight. they remind me of something like a rubber material, but they work like a charm., and the backs of these tights are regular material so they vent okay. i also have a jacket that i bought on clearance from a sports shop, that is made from the same material as the front of the perfomance tights but the inside reminds me of long john type material. they said it was more for x-country skiing activity but it works perfect. i usually get by with a tundra jersey from performance or a hooded winter jersey from a LBS and this jacket. granted i ride in high 30degree range maybe 40's with these and do fine. i defintaly use the ear band wrap-a-mabobby thing if i don't wear the hooded jersey. gloves are going to be my next investment, using x-country ones now but not enough padding in those, sad to say it's august and i'm looking at the winter catalogs already. but i've gotten some ideas already from this thread, so thought i would share mine..

[chickwhorips]

Light-what are you on about it being cold in brissie...It's not cold in aust...go to my hometown in Canada in the middle of winter & you'll understand cold. Or you could trade places with CWR...

hey it doesn't get cold here, it just never warms up!

like everyone else (all year round) i layer. cold times i have the PI tights with the waterproof/windproof front and breathable back. very comfy here. top i have an REI light weight jacket that i can layer up thats windproof and waterproof. everything her has to be wind/water proof. even some of that stuff doesn't hold up in our weather, but it helps.

[Nanci]

The inside of the Performance windproof tights is cuddly and fuzzy, though!

I am looking forward to wearing a couple new LS jerseys I bought on sale in the spring- especially the pink Terry Cashmina...