What do you wear

Thanxx for the info! While I plan to ride throughout the winter, I don't doubt my rides may be a bit shorter so sweating may not be that much of an issue. I just knew with my standard bicycle helmet, if I even add a rain cover now (temps 50-60F) I tend to sweat when climbing.

I've ridden dirt bikes for years, so I'll have to try one of my full-face helmets and see how that works out as the temps continue to drop.

 

With the temperature continuing to drop and me continuing to ride (i.e. today, while the snow was spitting ) here's what's worked…

For 40F degree weather, I wear Ragg Wool socks to keep my feet warm. Next a pair of compression shorts, under 100% Merino Wool Leggings, topped with a pair of Craft Sportswear Flex Thermal Tights*.(from Sierra Trading Post)

Lastly, I put a pair of windproof running pants on atop the tights. The only issue with them is the legs are a tad loose, so 1)they could get caught in your chainring when pedaling if the wind hits them just right, 2)airflow up through the leg openings isn't particularily desired at this temperature. So, to solve that I just take an office clip and fold the bottom of the pants leg over itself and clip it in place.

Up top, I wear an ultra-thin short sleeve wicking t-shirt along with a thicker long sleeve fleece-type shirt, a thin fleece (armless) vest, topped with an ultra-thin windbreaker with open netting in the armpits.

Next I add a pair of wind-proof/water-proof running gloves, to keep the fingers comfy.

And lastly I add both a black Scotchlite headband (to cover my ears) & helmet cover to keep some of the wind off my head.
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These clothes kept me warm on a 25mi ride today with about 1100' of climbing involved in overcast 37F weather. How warm? I was toasty. My hands, feet and head stayed plenty warm, while my core (i.e. abdomen/chest) sweated. No kiddin', when I finished I reached into the vest to turn off my iPod it was damp with sweat. :

Part of the problem (I think) was my vest was windproof, tomorrow I plan to try a similar non-windproof vest under my windbreaker and see how that works.

The particular loop I'm riding for now, offers me an opportunity to head back to the house at around 10mi or if I'm plenty warm, I can continue on in another direction and make it about a 25mi loop instead…which has worked out great for determining what clothes seem to work, in what weather.

*-Craft Sportswear Flex Thermal Tights. There's nothing special about these tights, they're an ultra-thin type fleece that are what I would describe as semi-windproof.(i.e. If you try and blow your breath through the material, it will pass on through, but with a little resistance.) The tag inside reads: L2 Insulation and they're made of 100% Polyester.

 

Today's ride was 33mi in 42F, sunny weather. Upon stepping outside, I decided to forget about trying a non-windproof fleece vest today and see how things worked out...

Turns out, I didn't miss having a vest under my windbreaker. Mind you all I had on was an ultra-thin wicking short sleeve t-shirt, then a thicker fleece long sleeve shirt and my ultra-thin windbreaker…and I still sweated. The top half of my short sleeve t-shirt was wet on both the front & back sides. Not dripping with sweat, but pretty damp with it. Most of the ride, I had the windbreaker unzipped halfway and only zipped it up on a couple of long downhill runs at 30mph+.

I guess my last option is to forgo the windbreaker completely and perhaps substitute a breathable vest or jacket in it's place? Oh well, I guess that's the plan/test for tomorrow!

Well the weather was a sunny 48F today (Friday, Nov 29th), so I mixed up my garb a bit…

For Sunny* 50F degree weather, I had on (calf-length) Smartwool socks. A pair of compression shorts, under 100% Merino Wool Leggings, topped with a pair of Craft Sportswear Flex Thermal Tights.(from Sierra Trading Post)

Up top, I wore an ultra-thin short sleeve wicking t-shirt along with an outer layer that consisted only of a thicker long sleeve fleece-type shirt.
No vest and no windbreaker today!

Lastly, I had on a light pair of fleece gloves and a black Scotchlite helmet cover, but no headband.

So how'd that work out? The first few miles were a bit cool on my arms, but once I was climbing some it was just about right. Good news is, I sweated a lot less without the vest or windbreaker. My hands, feet and legs were all fine, and while my upper torso did get a little 'damp' it remained pretty dry.

So I'm still a little surprised that I could ride without a wind-proof layer, but it worked very well today. ​

 

Richard!

I stopped by the LBS this week and inquired of the guru there what he wore in the winter months. His best advice was: "If you step outside to go ride and are comfortably warm, you're w-a-y too overdressed. It should feel pretty chilly when you step outside, because you're fixing to start generating a lot of heat."

He went on to say, as road bike riders, they tend to concentrate on covering their feet, hands and head…while only wearing a minimum of clothing to keep their core at a reasonable temperature.


As for myself, I'm still AMAZED at just how little clothing it takes to stay comfortable while cycling in cooler weather! :s3:

Yesterday I rode in the pouring rain at 50F, adding only a waterproof helmet cover and wind/water-resistant cycling vest. And while I had to ride w/o any glasses (I'm Farsighted anyway) due to so much rain, otherwise I was just fine. I stayed warm (with wool socks & thin gloves) over the course of 25mi and had a great ride.

 

I hadn't ever considered riding again with a chamois crotch insert since on a recumbent, but that's really not a bad idea…especially in cold weather, if it can help 'smooth the airflow' and keep things a bit warmer down there! :twitchy:

Thanxx for mentioning that Andrew!

While my bike shorts didn't have a nice chamois insert, they did have a cheaper fabric padded foam-type insert so I tried them out today. Turns out, yes they do absorb some sweat, but more importantly it kept me a fair amount warmer. ​