I am getting ready for my first winter of cycling to work. I shall be leaving approx 7am in the morning and 6pm in the evenings. I have for some time had the lighting equipment sorted, but not the clothing.

Those that cycle in the cold, what do you wear to keep warm? There are some good deals at Decathlon at the moment so having sa good look there, but don't really know what types of items to get.

Mark

P.S. As per many other cycling discussions before, i am not worried about staying dry, just warm.

I always wore padded tights; they keep you very warm, but you might suffer as I did from needing a shower when you arrive. The problem was that there wasn't a shower at work... Oh, and I do look a bit rubbish in tights.

We have a shower which is a god send.

I'm sure there was a thread about winter clothing last year. MRS had a lot of input when he was commuting up in the Highlands. He's definitely your man!

Will do a search

If you find it, post it up, as oddly enough, I've been looking at cycling to work as well, but without the shower at work. Most just say, no backpack, get a pannier rack and some wet wipes.

From my looking around, you need a good base layer, seems Merino wool seems to be all the rage, then possibly a mid layer then a top. I'm hoping to get away with a base layer and my water / wind proof jacket. I've already got the arm and leg warmers, along with the over shoes bits. Just need lights, rack, bag, top base layer and maybe some mudguards, so not much then!

What sort of budget do you have? A windproof jacket of some sort is the best first investment. Then a merino base layer. If you already have shorts then legwarmers are a cheap way to achieve "tights" and I prefer them because my legs feel more free (the question of whether you put the legwarmers on before the shorts we'll save for another thread )

Gloves are important. Personally I'm a great fan of layering. Get some good windproof (Gore etc) gloves and then some "lobster" gloves to go over the top when it's especially cold or wet. This is much better than trying to so the ski glove (or similar) thing as, once wet, they take forever to dry.

Good socks (Wooly Booly are best) are great. If you use cleated shoes, then overshoes are great for keeping your feet warm and dryish and keeping salt off your shoes. BBB are best (avoid Endura like the plague).

A Buff is a amazingly flexible bit of kit.

They're the headlines but I could probably write pages on the subject

Merino Wool is your friend. Warm and remains warm even when wet, never wear cotton as it does the opposite,

Planet X have some excellent Merino bundles at the moment and some great sock deals.

Mudguards are a must really (i hate them), and the front one should have a low mud-flap as water spray from the front wheel will result in wet feet no matter what overshoes you have. I find you get wetter from the spray coming up from the road, that the bike wheels generate, than you do from the rain fall.

One other great item is a neck gaiter, I got Rapha Merino one for Christmas and they are £30 but a great investment as they keep the cold from getting on your chest and can cover the mouth an nose in extreme cold until you have warmed up.

Any views on this:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/500-seamless-...ProductFeatures

Just ride harder!

TBH, just regular warm clothes are needed except for the following:
If your legs get cold, I would recommend Bamboo Tights from BAM clothing, although I only use them for serious riding rather than commutes.
Feet get cold and so do hands. Put an extra pair of thickish socks and your regular gloves on the radiator, and put them on just before you leave the house. Over-shoes are a last gasp attempt to keep feet warm.
A buff is the finest item you can buy to keep you warm. Round the neck on cold days, up over the ears and head on really cold days, and over the mouth when it is sub zero and blowing a gale.
Other than that, I just wear regular trousers and a top with a fleece jacket if it is unusually cold.

It's a bit OTT unless you are riding very long distances in sub zero. Anything covering the mouth soon gets irritating one you start breathing hard. (There is a joke in there somewhere).

Agreed - I only started to wear a balaclava when it got silly-cold -8 to -11C

How far is the commute?

I'm assuming, BrumJim, that yours isn't 30 miles RT? I do my Amsterdam commute in normal clothes but it's only 5k each way. That's trivial. I wouldn't have considered doing the a Highland version in regular clothes.

My commute is approx 14 miles each way through country lanes and takes anything from 40 minutes to an hour depending on weather and the energy left in my legs.

Cool. Then my advice is to buy the best gear you can afford. It depends a bit on your domestic situation but I used to stick my stuff in the wash each evening and it will be dry by the morning - so no need for multiple kit. But, yes, you definitely need proper cycling gear. The idea of riding in the pouring rain for an hour in regular trousers isn't nice.

Will get some tights, foot cover thing and a neck warmer as a minimum.

I aleady have some decent gloves and an older jacket type thing, but this is going to be more committed riding in all weathers hence the questions.

Yup. Layering is the key to success. Also, keep a mental note of the temperature (use weather underground app or a thermometer outside) and what you are wearing. You'll then get to know what works.

I know that I need long sleeves below 10C for instance but I can survive in shorts pretty much down to 0C. Below zero I also need to cover my ears (they're the perfect ice detectors ) You get the picture.

My ears actually slow me down so they def feel the cold hence me looking at the balaclava.

Might get the under layers from Planet X as they look a very good deal.

As long as I don't stop my legs don't generally feel the cold, but my arms are usually rather sore by the end of the journey on a cold day.

My commute is 10 miles in and 14 home. Never needed a full head balaclava and that includes some cold and dark lanes. An over the ears woolen hat and neck gaiter will suffice.

Wind-proof gloves are good and add some thing liners and that will be enough for the hands.

For weather i find Raintoday.co.uk excellent for tracking rain clouds. Have delayed or modified my commute to miss the cloud path successfully in the past.

Is there going to be another Christmas ride this years Bockers?

If by that you mean a Christmas Breakfast feast with a tad of cycling? Probably

A big dose of MTFU required at table 7

In all seriousness, I find the prospect of rain far worse than the reality

Rain, I can cope with, cold I cannot

As a semi keen mountain biker rain makes life a little more fun on the trails

Christ, my list of things that I will require seems to be ever growing!

The thing people don't realise is that the bike is the cheapest part of cycling....




...well, at least the first one is

My current list looks like this (in order of purchase...)
Focus Variado 105
Cube Reaction Race MTB
Focus Cayo 105
Volagi Liscio Di2
Scott Foil HMX team ed Di2
Brompton
Kona Paddy Wagon SS

4 of them are in my apartment in AMS.

Sorry, yes. Mine is a 6 mile commute. Much longer, and you have to take it more gently, and therefore wear warmer clothes. And more comfortable ones too.

Not sure about taking it more gently (unless you charge like a lune possessed for your 6 miles )

MRS - That's taking N+1 a bit too far

I have some rather bright front lights and a decent rear light, but what do you guys use as a flashing light?

At the moment there's a great deal on here

http://www.bikeradar.com/blog/article/su...worth-70-42068/



This would be a great helmet light that can be set on flashing mode