orkneyblues
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Orkney.UK
My daily commute is 16 miles round trip, nearly all is on exposed Orkney country roads.
I own two bikes, a Dawes Galaxy and a Giant Defy 2. I have been using the Giant exclusively since summer, but now with winter approaching I am opting for the Galaxy with its slightly wider tyres and triple chain-ring.
I cycled as much as I could through last winter and decided I need some new gear to keep me warm and dry. As a dad of three, I have to cycle on a limited budget.
First the feet.
I have carried out quit a lot of research on Overshoes and decided that, no matter how much you spend or whatever make, your feet will only stay dry some of the time.....hmmmm, next step was to look into affordable winter cycling boots - there are none. cheapest I could see online were over £80.
Plan B - what about trying to cycle with my Scapa Attax hiking boots, which are supremely waterproof and warm and well broken in, they don't seem to weigh much more than my current cycle shoe. (Lidles) could it be done? only one way to find out. I do not wear cleats, no reason why not, the bikes came with toe clips and I just stayed with them. This turned out to be fortunate for the boot wearer as the toe clips accommodated the boots just fine. I thought that I would suffer from ankle stress due to turning your ankle slightly differently as when wearing normal cycling shoes, but after 5 miles, no difference, 16 miles today, no difference. I plan to wear my gore tex over-trousers over the tops of my boots when it rains, but I fully expect to have dry feet on arrival. I will keep you posted onto the extent of my trial as winter progresses. I was wondering if anyone else has tried this?
I have also bought a half face neoprene mask to keep my face cosy on the coldest of mornings, this will go lovely with my skull cap I used last year. I have ordered a helmet rain cover from wiggle to keep rain of my head, and today I got some waterproof and wind proof snowboarders gloves for less than a fiver from Lidl's. I reckon that they are as good as some of the winter cycling gloves that I have been looking at from wiggle and others for £20- 30. While I was there I got a thermal performance top for £13, this is very similar to my £30 Helly Hanson base layer which I use quite a lot, in fact nearly all the time.
A free cycle plus buff comes in handy as well.
Added to this I wear a Altura night vision jacket with thermal bib tights. Hopefully I should be able to stay on the bike in all but the snowiest days.
How about you?
I own two bikes, a Dawes Galaxy and a Giant Defy 2. I have been using the Giant exclusively since summer, but now with winter approaching I am opting for the Galaxy with its slightly wider tyres and triple chain-ring.
I cycled as much as I could through last winter and decided I need some new gear to keep me warm and dry. As a dad of three, I have to cycle on a limited budget.
First the feet.
I have carried out quit a lot of research on Overshoes and decided that, no matter how much you spend or whatever make, your feet will only stay dry some of the time.....hmmmm, next step was to look into affordable winter cycling boots - there are none. cheapest I could see online were over £80.
Plan B - what about trying to cycle with my Scapa Attax hiking boots, which are supremely waterproof and warm and well broken in, they don't seem to weigh much more than my current cycle shoe. (Lidles) could it be done? only one way to find out. I do not wear cleats, no reason why not, the bikes came with toe clips and I just stayed with them. This turned out to be fortunate for the boot wearer as the toe clips accommodated the boots just fine. I thought that I would suffer from ankle stress due to turning your ankle slightly differently as when wearing normal cycling shoes, but after 5 miles, no difference, 16 miles today, no difference. I plan to wear my gore tex over-trousers over the tops of my boots when it rains, but I fully expect to have dry feet on arrival. I will keep you posted onto the extent of my trial as winter progresses. I was wondering if anyone else has tried this?
I have also bought a half face neoprene mask to keep my face cosy on the coldest of mornings, this will go lovely with my skull cap I used last year. I have ordered a helmet rain cover from wiggle to keep rain of my head, and today I got some waterproof and wind proof snowboarders gloves for less than a fiver from Lidl's. I reckon that they are as good as some of the winter cycling gloves that I have been looking at from wiggle and others for £20- 30. While I was there I got a thermal performance top for £13, this is very similar to my £30 Helly Hanson base layer which I use quite a lot, in fact nearly all the time.
A free cycle plus buff comes in handy as well.
Added to this I wear a Altura night vision jacket with thermal bib tights. Hopefully I should be able to stay on the bike in all but the snowiest days.
How about you?
