Winter commuting gear?



Shalem'sDad

New Member
Oct 17, 2016
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2
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40
Arkansas
My bike is a 2000 Diamondback Interval. Wish I had something better but it is what I could afford. I've put close to 200 miles on it with the longest distance being 15 miles a couple times. I'm trying to get the money together for the Continental 4 Season tires.
Well my real question is what are an affordable winter apparel outfit? I've looked thru a lot, nylon, polyester, wool, ect. I need something for the cold and also has to be waterproof.
I'm going to start trying to do a 15 mile commute to work and running errands. Any advice?
 
Sounds like you're on a tight budget.

Are you riding in cycling shoes or street shoes? Either way, shoe covers or over boots are going to be needed for wet weather riding.

Gloves, rain paints, coats, base layers, balaclavas or head cover can all be sourced from Walmart or any local el cheapo discount store.

I buy non-cycling specific base layers, gloves and balaclavas.

I buy long sleeve wool or poly jerseys on sale in the Spring and Summer. Nashbar has some good deals as do Performance in-store sales and close outs.

Cycling jackets can be very expensive. Castelli jackets are awesome and so are their price tags. Going cheap and for an hour ride of 15 miles you can get away with whatever weight jacket works for your speed, venting needs and climate from a sporting goods store like ****'s or such.

Nashbar also sells Winter tights as reasonably as anyone if you want to spring for tights.

Everyone has their sources...Maydog and I even buy some of our winter gear from hardware stores such as Menard's...noted for cheap ($2/pair) ski gloves, hats, face masks, etc.
 
Good Morning!

Having commuted year round for a bit longer then I care to admit, I have gone through a number of clothing systems and have come up with a pretty good routine.

First off, layering is your friend. As is a good trunk bag or panniers to peel off layers when you have misjudged the weather.

I usually start off with bike shorts and a synthetic t shirt.

On top of that I choose multiple layers of synthetic sweat pants and sweat shirts. No need for the expensive stuff, wall mart is a preferred supplier. Its going to get dirty and greasy anyways. I tend to gravitate to the blaze orange sweat shirts for visibility and safety.

Top layer is either a nylon wind shell/pants or a lightweight jacket/wind pants. When it is really cold, I will go for the heavier coat or parka.

For the feet, do not skimp. When you have cold feet you are uncomfortable and will have a lousy ride. I use lightweight wool socks supplemented with heavy wool socks when necessary. Have not tried synthetic socs because I have had so much good experiences with the wool. For cooler weather I use heavy padded athletic shoes. Get a size or two bigger for the heavy socks. In really cold weather, I use boots. Make sure your feet are not squeezed with tight shoes or your feet will get cold. Toe clips get adjusted for the size of the shoes I am using.

For the hands, I use heavy gloves from the discount stores. I also have extra thick grips on my bicycle handlebars, to insulate the hands from the cold aluminum handlebars.

For my head, I either use a lightweight skull cap under my helmet when cool. When it is freezing or below, I use a snowboard helmet, sometimes with the skull cap. I tape over the vents in the snow board helmet.

When it gets below 10 degrees, I usually drive to work in my truck although I have commuted in below zero weather but need to get mentally prepared for it. Parka's, shoe pack boots, and face wraps are required in those conditions as are tires with a healthy tread.

I usually carry extra skull cap, gloves, and socks for the return trip.

Good luck and let me know how you do!

Sincerely,
Cranky
 
Thanks for the reply guys. Last night before going to bed I looked through Sierra Trading Post eBay Walmart and a couple other sites. All I have to do is type in winter weather gear or something relative to that. There's a lot of different stuff out there yeah my budget is very low. Sounds like no matter what even if I go to the cheapest of cheap with all the different things that are needed it's still going to be a pretty hefty price for everything. One thing I've been wondering about is being able to get fenders for my bike. I looked around a little bit but I'm not sure if my bike is capable of having fenders. Anyway I'm going to keep searching and thank you guys for the replies he gave me a couple different options of looking at and what I was thinking of before