|   What do you wear in the winter? | Marcus
Sep 18, 2003 5:44 AM | | I started in May so I have no experience in winter riding.
I wear Baggies and a tee now.
I ride in Pisgah and I would think it gets in the high 30's to low 40's in the winter. |
| 30's &40's??..That's warm!.... | Ricko
Sep 18, 2003 6:11 AM | | Typicially in 15 to 20 degree weather I wear a balacava/helmet on the noggin. Underarmor turtleneck and a wicking long sleeve jersey under a Race Face Aquanot jacket. Fox 711 pants (no long johns). Lake MX300 winter MTB boots with wool ski socks and ski gloves on the paws.
Keep in mind that if you're not a little bit chilled at the trailhead...you're probably dressed too warm. |
| 15 to 20 try -15 to -20 where I live dude...that's cold | Thegarzacomplex
Sep 18, 2003 8:27 AM | | |
| Where do you live... Antarctica? | cw
Sep 18, 2003 9:28 AM | | Did you mean -15 to -20 Fahrenheit or Celcius? Cos if you meant Fahrenheit... dang, that's cold! |
| That doesn't take anything special | Mr. Bob
Sep 18, 2003 7:21 AM | | If it's near 40, I just add full fingered gloves, wind breaker and maybe sweat pants. I also carry an extra fleece pullover just in case. You want to be careful to not overheat unless you enjoy sweaty bone chilling misery. |
| Hmmm, shorts & a jersey, maybe a windbreaker. | Mikey
Sep 18, 2003 7:58 AM | | But I live in San Francisco ;-P
That's typical New-Year's Day ride attire for me. Sorry, no help. |
| Mark Twain... | cw
Sep 18, 2003 9:34 AM | | Quipped that the coldest winter he'd ever seen was a summer in San Francisco ;-} |
| 30's to 40's - not very cold, really | Birdman
Sep 18, 2003 7:59 AM | | If it's in the high 30's, I'll wear MEC long tights with nylon front panels (for wind protection), an MEC or Pearl Izumi Vagabond windbreaker. Under that, lycra riding shorts and either a long sleeve or short sleeve jersey.
If it gets colder than that, I might add a thin silk long-underwear layer, and a thin fleece under the windbreaker, plus a thin balaclava, MEC neoprene shoe covers, and Specialized neoprene gloves.
I always wear long-finger gloves, but in the winter, I'll just wear thicker ones.
Winter riding is a hoot, especially with frozen trails, a bit of snow cover, and studded tires!
JMJ |
| For Santa Cruz: knickers, windshell, beanie, toebooties, woolie | World B. Free
Sep 18, 2003 8:22 AM | | Not really that severe out here! |
| Icebike.com | Smytty
Sep 18, 2003 8:37 AM | | Check out http://users.rcn.com/icebike/ for lots of good winter riding tips. |
| I wear Subway Sandwich bags. Really. | Mackie
Sep 18, 2003 8:44 AM | | This was discussed a few days ago. look here:
http://forums13.consumerreview.com/crforum?viewall@@.efcabc4 |
| Which windbreaker? | Marcus
Sep 18, 2003 9:37 AM | | If money is not an issue.
Give me a good brand name.
Even though it's not specifically for biking how's Patagonia?
Thanks |
| Patagonia is good stuff | walter
Sep 18, 2003 2:08 PM | | it gets pretty chilly in the northeast during the winter, so i go with a base layer Patagonia turtleneck, then a mid weight fleece, and usually a breathable pullover jacket. If i get to warm, the fleece can be bunched up small enough to fit in my camelback. I work outside all year long and alot of my fellow workers have started wearing Patagonia gear. Check out the website, some of the stuff may be a bit pricey, but I'm sure you will be happy with it. |
| i ride in Pisgah year round... | litespeedchick
Sep 18, 2003 10:13 AM | | I suggest you get a selection of base layers from an Outfitter store. I have a mid-weight Patagonia undershirt that I wear under my jersey when it dips below 60 (BTW, I'm a huge weenie, so take degrees off for normal people). Next is a slightly heavier tight weave w/ some spandex undershirt for colder days, or days w/ some wind. Finally, I have a heavy duty fleece Patagonia undershirt that never fails to make me hot and wish I hadn't put it on. Still, its good to have in your bike bag, just in case you get a day where it doesn't get much over freezing. Oh, and of course you need some tights. Wear them over your Pearl Izumi shorts. (Baggies go in drawer til spring) You don't need Gore-tex wind/water proof super-duper tights. I know, I bought some, and they get used in Pisgah about once a year.
I have an old Troy Lee windbreaker that I often start the ride w/, especially if it starts downhill. You want a thin-ish windbreaker that you can put in your Camelback as the day warms up. Also, on windier days, a wind vest is a good idea.
Personnally, I don't think it ever gets cold enough in Pisgah to need any more head gear than a helmet (and remember, I'm a weenie)
The parts of your body that will make you miserable are your hands and feet. You will need a big pair of the warmest bike-specific gloves you can find. This is where I suggest you go "price-no-object". Of course you also need normal full finger for nicer days.
As for your feet...if somebody figures out how to keep their feet warm, please tell me. But here's one thing I've learned. If you put on silk liner socks under wool socks, under Gortex waterproof socks, and cram them in your normal shoe....your feet will be REALLY cold because you have made your shoe too tight.
In summary: buy one of everything. Keep it all in your bike bag, and then when you get to the trailhead, you can make final adjustments. It really never gets too cold in Pisgah to ride comfortably w/ a few decent peices of clothing. (unless it sleets...then go home) Oh, and the guy who told you that you must be a little chilly when you leave the car is absolutely right.
P.S. How can you stand a tee in the summer? Doesn't it get soaking wet and stick to you? |
| i ride in Pisgah year round... | Marcus
Sep 18, 2003 10:55 AM | | Yea the tee sticks. I've lost 22 lbs since I started riding and until I loose the rest (35 more) it's a tee, anyway I push myself so hard I really don't notice till the end. I'll never loose the baggies, I'm an old surfer in my previous life and wouldn't be caught dead in the tights. |
| Ok, then maybe legwarmers are for you ! (nm) | litespeedchick
Sep 19, 2003 4:42 AM | | |
| re: What do you wear in the winter? | wncbiker
Sep 18, 2003 5:45 PM | | Litespeedchick's suggestions are all good for riding in WNC during the winter months. Some things to think about includes how elevation and exposure affects the temps. I know on one of my favorite winter time rides I can start out with temps being in the 40's F and by the time I work my way up and around to the north side of the ridge the temps can be in the low 20's F. Many times during a ride I will start out lightly dressed, base layer, tights, gloves, and by the time I climb out and start back down I will add long sleeve jersey, light headcover under the helmet, glove liners, and windbreaker. Sometimes, if the temps are in the low 30's and I am planning to do a lot of climbing during the ride, I will carry extra base layers with me, so that I can change into dryer clothes for the cold downhills. |
| Pisgah can get quite a lot colder than that | kanaka
Sep 18, 2003 5:53 PM | | Pisgah is sometimes much colder than 30-40, especially in Jan-Feb. I have ridden at Pisgah with snow and ice on the ground and the temperature never got above freezing all day. The coldest night I have ever spent anywhere in my life was at Pisgah, Mills River campground, with my Marine Reserve unit. It got down to 2ºF during the night. And the Marines gave us crappy gear - we had the same sleeping bags and the same combat boots we wore in the summer. Guys were getting hypothermia and had to be evacuated to the Brevard ER.
Anyway, you don't give a crap about that, you asked about riding. For upper 30's, lower 40's, I usually wear tights over cycling shorts, larger shoes than normal, with 2 pairs of socks, (thick wool socks over thin coolmax liner socks), some type of wicking long underwear type shirt - polypropylene, Nike dri-fit, or something like that, fleece pullover, nylon windbreaker (I have a cheap Ocean Pacific windbreaker that I got for $10 at Marshalls and it's great), full-finger gloves, and sometimes a fleece headband/ear warmer. When I get hot, I can take off the headband and windbreaker or fleece pullover and stuff them in my Camelbak. I'm pretty cheap sometimes, so I use non-cycling-specific stuff. It may not always be stylish, but it's functional and inexpensive. |
| re: What do you wear in the winter? | Philber
Sep 19, 2003 3:19 AM | | I'll tell ya, those Col Lizard or whatever they're called tights that they plug on icebike.com are unbelievable. I sprung for 'em (not cheap) cause we ride year round here in London, Ontario, Canada, and I was looking for something warmer than the standard heavy tights that I had. When they came in the mail, i thought I'd been ripped off - they weigh nothing and they're as thin as a cheap sweatshirt. But icebike.com is a pretty darned reliable site, and they said to wear them with nothing else down to 0dF. My goodness, they are so warm and comfortable it is truly amazing. Most functional piece of cycling clothing that I think I own. Those, a couple layers of CoolMax, a polar fleece, a windbreaker, and a pair of Merrel winter hiking boots and I'm good to go the whole Canadian winter. |
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