Newbie lessons learned about biking in the approaching cold weather

[crazycanuck]

Pardes, I don't know how much you want to spend & are willing to ship but Ground Effect stuff is pretty good. I don't know it it'll fit you but hey, check it out anyways.

In our fall/cooler months (not calling winter in Perth winter k..) it's 5c some mornings & i wear 3 layers to keep me toasty.

Anywho. http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/

THe Thermos, Ristroetto, Ice Queen & Frosty Boy are faves at our house.

I also have a MEC (www.mec.ca) Woosh Cycling jacket that goes well with armwarmers, a TE jersey & the Thermos. Snug as a bug on a rug

Happy shopping!

[jsdilks]

This last week had mornings a bit cooler than they've been, so I did the most logical thing and layered up. And up and up - I'm the original 0ne-who-gets-cold at the first sign. So I had on a pair of regular tights (like I wear all winter with all my clothes...), my bike tights, my bike shorts, a long sleeve wicking shirt of my DH's, my fleece Patagonia jacket, and the bright yellow Everyone-is-going-to-see-ME wind jacket. And the only gloves we could find were a pair of DH's golf gloves. I've GOT to do better than that. I felt like a little kid playing dress up with the fingers waggling about. BUT, the key piece here, is I was able to do the ride in to work ok. And we figured out where/how to stow the extra gear in the afternoon for the ride home when it's not quite so cool outside. So 50 degrees will be all right. Good to know. Oh, and I got to exchange the lenses on my sunglasses for the amber ones that worked better in the semi-darkness. It's very odd viewing the world as sort of orange-ish yellow. I can only imagine what I must have looked like. It took a long time to take it all off to take a shower at the office...

[pardes]

Pardes, I don't know how much you want to spend & are willing to ship but Ground Effect stuff is pretty good. I don't know it it'll fit you but hey, check it out anyways.

Thanks! Shipping charges are very reasonable!

I just may experiment with merino from this supplier. I appreciate the link.

[CommuterChick]

after reading this thread decided to go out for a ride in ystdy's icy drizzle, see how my layers held up. Report -- ls bike shirt, light ls fleece shirt, fleece vest, turtle fur neck gaiter under REI high viz jacket worked better than my Golite softshell under hi-viz jacket the night before. Tights over bike shorts were perfectly adequate. It was gray enuf ystdy that I decided the hi-viz was important. Only uncomfortable part was mile long downhill, with wind and drizzle hitting my cheeks. My triple glove rig worked great -- glove liners, then my fingerless bike gloves, then my windstopper gloves. I've used these in the past when I commuted when it was sooooo cold in the a.m. and the ride home was shorts and a T.

And my Polar Bottle did a GREAT job at keeping my tea warm, as I pedaled from open studio to open studio in the Boulder area's annual art event.

[pardes]

And my Polar Bottle did a GREAT job at keeping my tea warm, as I pedaled from open studio to open studio in the Boulder area's annual art event.

You are SO RIGHT about the polar bottles. I bought 2 with my new Trek from Bikeline back in July and it was astonishing how long they kept ice/water cold. It saved my life more than once.

My only complaint with them is that the pop-up top really restricts how much liquid is released at one time. Probably good for when you are riding and drinking at the same time; but very annoying when I want a BIG slug of coffee or tea or water.

[Becky]

My only complaint with them is that the pop-up top really restricts how much liquid is released at one time. Probably good for when you are riding and drinking at the same time; but very annoying when I want a BIG slug of coffee or tea or water.

The Camelbak Podium bottle lids will fit on Polar bottles and allow copious beverage flow

[pardes]

The Camelbak Podium bottle lids will fit on Polar bottles and allow copious beverage flow

This is very good to know....is there a local distributor?

It's astonishing the things you learn on TE.

[Becky]

This is very good to know....is there a local distributor?

I've seen them at Performance, EMS, and BikeLine.

FWIW, I adore the Podium bottles, and am slowly replacing my massive bottle collection with them.

[lovelylibrarian]

THE SOLUTION: you could take a chance on an Amazon review and go for two of these. They look like jet engines mounted on thye bike; they mount EXTREMELY easily and are VERY adjustable. Also that have a rather strong blue light that focuses in a nice fat circle so with good positioning of two of them you can be very confident while riding in the suburbs where there is some ambient light. They ARE however not for speed demons but who rides reallllllly fast at night anyway?

THE BONUS: They draw more comments from people than anything I've put on my bike. I've had the most fascinating conversations with strangers that started with a question about the lights. There is something about conversations at night with strangers about bikes that has a totally different focus and reward than daytime conversations about biking.

Pardes, those lights are COOL. I'd love to see a picture of your bike with the lights on it.

[fidlfreek]

So lights. I need some since even here in TX it gets dark at some point. I ride almost entirely because I LOVE to go fast so I know that influences my light choices. Any ideas?

I'd love to get a good deal on ebay etc. I would like to spend less than $100 but would spring for $200 if it was too fabulous to pass up.

[pardes]

I checked out lights at PerformanceBike from cheap to low range expensive (up to $300) and I was not impressed with any of them. Actually many of the more expensive models weren't as bright as the quandrant lights I bought.

If you want to go fast at night you'll need something better. Darn it, I can't remember the link but I did a search on "bicycle light pattern comparison" and found a group of mtb'ers who did a very nice real world study with photo examples. It was surprising how many were terrible even at expensive prices and the really good ones were REALLY expensive.

Here are a few links:

http://eddys.com/page.cfm?PageID=493

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/headlights.asp

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/category/lights-shootout/

[crazycanuck]

I still say the best lights i've ever owned are the Ay-ups!!!

http://www.ayup.com.au/

They are BRIGHT, small & light. Great as helmet lights!!

[SouthernBelle]

The other night I closed myself up in a dark garage to see how bright some of my lights looked. My blinkies looked good. My headlight was the pits. Oddly, a strap on my head light I got at Harbor Freight for cheap seemed really good. I haven't had to use in real conditions yet, but that should happen in the next week or so.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sometimes I go camping in big gatherings of music-connected friends.
This past summer, some people had taken to using LED lights that strap on their heads so they don't have to carry flashlights at night walking around- they just point their heads where they want the light, like on the path in front of them.
The trouble is, when they see someone else in the dark and want to try to see who it is, they naturally look at them, blinding that person in the process.
I can't tell you how many times I was temporarily blinded by someone looking at me and aiming these intense LED beams at my face- it's highly annoying! They are WAY more concentrated than traditional lights.
One woman had a head light on for the first evening of camping and so many people got mad from being blinded that she had to take it off for the rest of the weekend.
As cyclists, do we really want to be shining these intense LED lights into the eyes of approaching drivers? Remember, when you look at the car, you are basically aiming these lights right into the driver's eyes. These LED lights are very intense and bright.
For this reason I am against forward facing helmet LEDs. Red blinking lights are fine and do not have this problem. But red lights are recommended as rear facing lights only, since most car drivers assume a red light is rear-facing and moving away, not towards.
I suspect people get these strong narrow-beam LED lights because they are cheaper than a well designed headlight. But cars can see good bike headlights that light up the road in a wide swath in front of the biker. That's what headlights are supposed to do, not perform laser surgery on approaching drivers' eyes.
Thus, if you do use a steady white LED light as a forward facing light, please make sure it is pointing at the road in front of you- not up at approaching drivers' eyes.

[Crankin]

That's exactly what I did, Lisa. I pointed my headlamp on my helmet (really just a hiker's light like you are describing) all the way down at the road. It even unfolds so you can flip it down to do this. Then, I pointed my light on my bars as far down and out on the road as I could. I doubt I blinded anyone and it helped me to see.
Looks like it will be raining tomorrow, so i doubt I will be commuting to the train. One night of dark and rain was enough for me last time...