Cold Weather Riding Gear?
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Joined: Jun 2010
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Cold Weather Riding Gear?
What do you guys wear when you are riding in cooler weather?
I wanna upgrade my cool weather riding gear since I typically ride til end of October. It's only September and in Minnesota, the mornings are only 40 - 50 degrees... I just wear a hoody, bandana to cover my chin, and a thin cloth glove over my riding gloves... trying to find a better war to stay warm and not be so bulky.
I wanna upgrade my cool weather riding gear since I typically ride til end of October. It's only September and in Minnesota, the mornings are only 40 - 50 degrees... I just wear a hoody, bandana to cover my chin, and a thin cloth glove over my riding gloves... trying to find a better war to stay warm and not be so bulky.
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2009
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I've ridden as low as about 20 degrees (Fahrenheit). Be VERY careful with cold tires anywhere near this range.
Full face helmet is a must. On the colder days I wore a beanie to keep my ears warm.
Thermal underwear, usually just pants, but on really cold days, shirt too.
Two pairs of socks. Two pairs of khaki pants, two shirts, and a leather or windbreaker jacket.
Really good set of leather windproof gloves are a MUST.
edit: this IS bulky, but it worked for me. Less bulky solutions can be had, but for a decent amount of coin.
Full face helmet is a must. On the colder days I wore a beanie to keep my ears warm.
Thermal underwear, usually just pants, but on really cold days, shirt too.
Two pairs of socks. Two pairs of khaki pants, two shirts, and a leather or windbreaker jacket.
Really good set of leather windproof gloves are a MUST.
edit: this IS bulky, but it worked for me. Less bulky solutions can be had, but for a decent amount of coin.
Senior Member & Lord of The Man Cave
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,293
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From: St. Louis, MO
Many years ago a truck driver told me about the following. He said that since a scuba diving wetsuit keeps people warm when diving in ice water you'd think it would keep you warm in cold air. He was right.
For many years I wore a wetsuit under my regular clothing whenever the temps were below freezing and I went for a ride. Sometimes the temp would be in the single digits and all it looked like I had on was a lightweight jacket. People would stare. I was warm.
I now do bicycle rides in sub freezing weather and I've found that a pair of thermal long johns under everything else really makes a difference. Keep your core body temp warm and the extremities will follow. Layering also helps to wick away moisture, instead of one big, heavy article of clothing.
For many years I wore a wetsuit under my regular clothing whenever the temps were below freezing and I went for a ride. Sometimes the temp would be in the single digits and all it looked like I had on was a lightweight jacket. People would stare. I was warm.
I now do bicycle rides in sub freezing weather and I've found that a pair of thermal long johns under everything else really makes a difference. Keep your core body temp warm and the extremities will follow. Layering also helps to wick away moisture, instead of one big, heavy article of clothing.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2010
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+1. Layering is key. I wear thick wool socks with boots. Under the pants are a pair of long-john thermals. On top I have a thermal shirt, a sweat shirt, and then a Mountain Hardware wind proof jacket topped off with the leather. Buy a nice set of thermal gloves from motorcycle closeout and a "turtle" neck fleece.
