Winter clothing!

Hi, I live in CHicago which means "COLD" next couples of months.
I would appreaciate if anyone in similar condition can suggest what kind of winter jacket he/she wear;brand/cost/fit.
What kind of head gear do you use under halmet to keep head warm?
The positive side is there will be less people along the path!!

What would be proper training/exercise during winter season?
Packing my bike and go to Hawaii is not an option for now,,,
Thanks

 

Apart from layering your normal clothing, what I think is the best for cold weather is:

- Shoe covers with inuslation
- A good pair of gloves
- possibly a thin cap to wear under the helmet.
- And then finally, a vest that is also a windbreaker at the same time.

That would be a guide line for winter shopping. Legs and arms/body, I would just add another layer of your existing clothes, so you wear two pairs of tights/bibs an extra shirt/jersey and so on.
I think it's the exposed extremities that suffer during winter time. Especially ears, feet and hands.
But as long as you keep your body warm, you'd be surprised how cold you can still have bare hands or fingerless gloves and not get cold ears. Only I find the feet almost impossible to keep warm. Probably because you have to have the tight, thin click-shoes strapped around them, which blocks the flux of blood quite effectively.

Cheers,
Anders

 

I've been out with temps as low as 45. I had full fingered cycling gloves, A medium thichness skull cap (this one covers my ears and when I bought a helmet I purposly made sure I could wear a cap underneath). I also went to "sports Authority" and bought "Under Armor" Cold gear. I wish I had something for my ankles as well, And the shoe covers sugested by Strid is a good idea as well

 

Check out the Assos line - although very pricey, they are the cat's meow in terms of clothing and have a some great winter stuff - fugu jacket.
Also, sounds like your local to Chicagoland bikes (cbike.com), who carry the entire Assos line and provide great service (at least for on-line ordering).

www.assos.com

 

I live in WI and try to ride into Nov if possible. I use "Under Armour" cold weather underclothing under my bike shorts, leg warmers and Gore-tex jacket. Once the snow flies, I wear bike shorts and no shirt - on my trainer in total comfort in front of the TV.

By the way, "Under Armour" is exactly what the Packers and Bears wear under their uniforms.

 

If you want to keep the feet warm and dry and breathing, I suggest Seal Skinz socks, you can wear overshoes as well if you want the extra protection.
I've used these in all types of wet weather conditions and the feet are always dry and warm.

 

Merino wool socks - neoprene [wesuit] booties and a merino undershirt.

Also try a windstopper [thin] fleece vest / jacket insted of cycling vest.

 

Layering is the way to go. The European set may not have this option, but if you can get yourself to an "outlet Mall" in the burbs, you'll probably find a Nike outlet store. These have provided me with their "Dryfit" line of clothing. These are awsome to layer as well as breathability. The outlet store will carry these anywhere from 35% 65% off your regular sports or outfitting place. It's worth trip! Their tight fitting Dryfit wear is identical to Under Armour's heat gear, and I think, better. For your legs, tights and wind pants will offer you greater flexibility then leg warmers. You can always remove one of those layers as the day warms up. But the wind pants are indespensible for the Chicago wind. Oh yeah, and always carry a polar fleece pullover, these keep you warm when you sweat, and you will. I also wear a dryfit skull cap (Nike store again!). You can't beat 'em.

 

I'm from Massachusetts and my recod cold ride was -1 F. Bad idea and the ride only lasted 10 miles and immediately my glasses iced up from condensation. I do ride throughout the winter though and I frequently ride in the teens. I have some fleece lined tights that I wear over windstopper briefs (when it happen's you'll know why..), One pair of med wool socks and I don't don the booties until the mercury dips below 30. Blood flow is key for keeping toe's warm and I have a pair of shoes that are almost all leather, but full mesh shoes are a lot colder. On my torso I wear a long sleeve fleece crew under shirt, and a Pearl Izumi Kodiak jersey or Yukon Jacket (if I'm alone, I opt for warmth, but for faster group rides, I'll go a little lighter). Gloves, I wear glove liners under a pair of full finger gloves, on my head I wear a skull cap or headband under the helmet. Keep spinning and stick to the sunlight and you'll be fine. Winter riding can be fun as long as the roads are dry.

 

Yep, glasses or not you have to deal with the eyes. Pushing into a stiff headwind when it's in the teens will blind you with tears. I commute so I needed a solution quick....I got some ski/snowmobile goggles regardless of how out-of-place they look. You don't have to put them on until you need them, and I have something while hunting for a sleeker alternative.

I also tried one of those Psolar breath warming face masks in lieu of breathing through a scarf. You know, like the road crews wear. Works good, low resistance. Styrofoam helmets insulate if you control the air flow underneath: block some of the vents and wear a headband or woolly cap.

I've never tried lobster gloves but used ski mitts because my singlespeed needed little manual dexterity, and they're 100% better than any gloves I've ever used when it's cold and windy.

Last, always remember frostbite and keep enough spare clothes in your rack in case you have a breakdown and can't keep churning out the warmth.

 

Someone somewhere recommended this. I haven't tried it yet but I just might this winter.

 

Up here in Maine last winter I tempted all but <12f. That was the one day that had I had a face mask, it would of made for a nice ride.

Once my body warmed up with the usual riding I had no problems, suffice to say that I was wearing a tobogin, glasses, snowboarding gloves, a sweatshirt with a single layer wind breaker cover, tights, and of course snowboarding windbreaking pants. I was using mesh shoes at the time with goretex sock covers. I didnt have the shoe covers at the time, but wonder how much of a benifit those might have been, since I was only able to sustain a ride for about an hour and a half, with toe warmers of course, in 25-30f temps.

I'm opting for the trainer this year with a structured training routine, however I yearn for the sight of the courty side covered in snow in mid jan, suppose I can find something to keep my feet warm for 4+ hours.

 

Tom Kellogg (presumably *the* Tom Kellogg of Spectrum Cycles & formerly Merlin) offers a concise synopsis of cold weather layering techniques along with recommended apparell here:

http://www.cyclefixx.com/tom_kellogg.php
Much more thorough and focussed than so many of the other websites or recommended lists I've seen on line.

 

Looks pretty sharp but sometimes you want to breathe through a scarf to warm the air. When you exhale it will blow past your nose and frost your glasses. The clip-on glasses you show would appear to be subject to the same fault.

 

Thanks for all the nice suggestions.
Happy spinning everyone!!

 

This is what I have been wearing lately (about 30 degrees F)

-Short sleeve underarmour type shirt
-Short sleeve jersey
-My team jacket
-Shorts with leg warmers
-Shoe covers

I don't wear anything under my helmet. It just drives me crazy sometimes so the first 20 minutes of my rides are pretty rough on my ears. Otherwise, I stay pretty warm though. It seems like a pretty light attire but it's been working out good lately.