I'm Sooooo cold

[Xeys]

Well, I got a road bike and have been riding it since march. Great. I want to ride all year long outside. I went out yesterday and nearly froze to death. NOT GREAT. In particular my legs and arms... No, my whole body got cold as ****. I will have the money to get some stuff next month, I have a bike windbreaker thingy coming in with my new specialized rockhopper pro disc(Anyone have any experience with this bike? It'll be my first mountain bike), and I need suggestions as to what to buy to keep me going this winter. I bought a "fan" powered indoor trainer, and the dorm was going to lynch me because of the noise. So, I had to return it. I loved that trainer, but it was just to darn loud. I need to know what will keep me warm, so I can continue to ride. Thanks in advance for suggestions and help. Also side question. Will a steel bike give me a better ride? I have an aluminum ocr-3 giant upgraded to aerobars with bar end shifters ande a fast-forward seatpost(profile). I'm training for Duathlon/Triathlon. Many thanks.

Cecil

 

[dhk]

Sounds like you're training fairly hard, and sweating once you warm up. Best for cold would be some good tights for your legs, and a jersey with maybe a tight-fitting base layer underneath. You can order this stuff on-line, or buy from your local shop. Nashbar and Performance Bike have lots to choose if you have the money to spend.

Meanwhile on the cheap, just wear your light jacket, or try a sweatshirt or fleece top (polyester is better than cotton). You can wear your jersey underneath on the colder days. Another option is to get some thin long underwear as a base layer and wear your jersey/shorts over them....but the style police might get you here. For your legs, you can wear nylon warmup pants, or sweatpants from WalMart. Problem with the windproof nylon is of course it doesn't breathe; you may need to take it off once you warm up.

Steel: Unless it's a very expensive, light-gauge frame, it's not really going to ride any better. Your current bike sounds fine for what you need now.

Dan

 

[seriousturtle]

good topic there. some thin base layers help a ton, with some windbreaker covering them. my question is about keeping the most important "guy" part warm. i've tried different tactics, all that fail. anyone have any tips on that?

~the turtle

 

[xeu]

I'm planning on wearing the Terramar 2-Layer Polyester-Wool crew and pant as my first layer. The Polyester inner-layer is supposed to wick away the sweat while the wool outer-layer provides warmth (and maybe polyester is more comfortable to wear over long periods of time than polypro?). After that I'm just getting anything that blocks wind and can breath (I figure wind is really what makes a cyclist cold).

Also, can anyone comment on wool? I thought natural fibers were a no-no but Smartwool.com has a bunch of products meant for physical activity, including cycling, in cold weather.

 

[lokstah]

Originally posted by seriousturtle
good topic there. some thin base layers help a ton, with some windbreaker covering them. my question is about keeping the most important "guy" part warm. i've tried different tactics, all that fail. anyone have any tips on that?

I'm a purist when it comes to chilly weather cycling, but then again, in my neck of the woods (the California Bay Area), bad weather means 35 deg F with light rain. Not a picnic, but not a winter in North Dakota either. Some of you poor saps are riding in sleet and snow, I know.

Anyways, when it's cold, I'll throw on Pearl Izumi therma-fleece arm and knee warmers, and a windbreaking vest. I've also never used long-fingered gloves or shoe-covers when cycling cold, but, then again, I usually end up with sore, numb fingers and toes... so those are definitely a plus.

As far as a chilly crotch goes, how about something like Pearl Izumi's AMFib tights over a pair of shorts? Windproof, water-resistance, ON SALE NOW...

 

[holli]

Xeys-> In how cold conditions do you ride?

Well...I live in Finland and we have a real winter here with temperature dropping to as low as -35c in the winter so I have some experience about dressing up for outdoor activities.

Now when it's around +5c I use normal "thermo" pants and windstopper (windstopper only on front) jacket. Under this layer I have Craft baselayer shirt and normal cycling shorts. If it's raining I wear also normal short sleeved cycling shirt. I can ride with this "set-up" as long as temperature is above -5c.

When temperature drops below -5c I change to warmer jacket (all windstopper with some ventilation holes and high collar) and I also have either short sleeved or long sleeved cycling short between base layer and jacket. I have two pant options. I use either loose fit windstopper pants or thermo cycling pants with baselayer pants. I have two options also for baselayer pants. Other option is with windstopper front and other without.

If it's colder than -10c I don't ride my bike, I do cross country skiing instead.

I mix these clothes depending of the weather and in sub zero temperatures I use windstopper pants or baselayer pants almost always.

Baselayer clothes that I use are made by Craft (Sweden) or Rukka (Finland), Loosefit windstopper pants are made by Loeffler (Germany or Austria) and all windstopper jacket is made by Halti (Finland). Other clothes are my team clothes made by Model Sport (Spain) and surprisingly they work well in Finnish autumn/winter.

All manufacturers except Model Sport have web pages with catalog and there you can find out what options they have for chilly weather cycling clothing.

 

[xeu]

Does anyone use wool at all in their cold-weather cycling arsenal? I'd like to know how it performs.

BTW thanks to Holli and everyone else for the tips, very helpful : )

 

[dhk]

Holli: That's a real treatise....obviously you Finn's know something about dressing for the cold. I used to speedskate outdoors, and often used the nylon windpants and windbreaker with hood over tights and a baselayer. For the temps down to -15C, I'd add a sweatshirt or sweater under the windbreaker.

As you know, overdressing and then sweating is a real problem. It's hard for me to get it right on the bike.

Good you switch to cross-country skis in the cold. I used to enjoy that also, but mine haven't gotten much use here in Alabama.

Dan

 

[nomad]

I have an Italian Windstopper jacket that only has windstopper surface on the front of the body and arms and proper pockets for bottles etc. on the back. The fabric is mainly wool, very comfortable and warm even after I have been sweating hard. I prefer to wear a long sleeve synthetic baselayer under, gets the sweat away from the skin and stops the wool from itching. Wool is good, it warms you even when wet. Modern wool blends also don't get as heavy as pure wool can get when wet.

 

[xeu]

Originally posted by nomad
I have an Italian Windstopper jacket that only has windstopper surface on the front of the body and arms and proper pockets for bottles etc. on the back. The fabric is mainly wool, very comfortable and warm even after I have been sweating hard. I prefer to wear a long sleeve synthetic baselayer under, gets the sweat away from the skin and stops the wool from itching. Wool is good, it warms you even when wet. Modern wool blends also don't get as heavy as pure wool can get when wet.

Thanks, I might then give smartwool a try.