Winter is coming...

[Tin Pot]

Winter, and I mean proper winter, roadie, distance, rural & urban commuting:

Additional Kit
Gatorskins or similar
Mudguards
300 lumen front light, charging cable*

Additional Clothes
Full fingered wind proof gloves*
Thermal Jersey
Thermal tights
Merino socks
Neoprene over shoes**
Water/wind proof gillet**
Snood/neck thing*
Cycle cap**

* Important
** When rain forecast

Know your route, know your bail out options, as in winter weather and bike fails are far more likely.

Know how you're going to dry all this out before the bike home...

 

[Jason]

If you are a small size, this Altura Night Vision Evo 360 is a bargain @ £40
https://www.startfitness.co.uk/altu...ivMLMASbt9rO3T3R0pFHhV7e4JoGuG4caAljkEALw_wcB
Or 2XL for fatties which I recently had delivered for £40 (Black one)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Altura-Nightvision-Waterproof-Jacket-2X-Large/dp/B013CPC6PG/ref=sr_1_2?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1504033825&sr=1-2&keywords=altura+night+vision&th=1&psc=1

what size chest and waist (not hips) are you? I usually wear L/XL in normal clothing

 

[Reynard]

Ordinary running gear makes a good base layer (long sleeves or short, take your pick, I have both) - doesn't need to be more fancy than the karrimor stuff from Sports Direct. A lightweight fleece on top of that works well, and a good vote here for Decathlon's windproof winter jacket on top of that. The jacket was a really worthwhile £50 spent for me, plus it comes with a buff as well. And definitely invest in some fleece-lined leggings. Again, these can be layered with ordinary leggings and / or worn under jeans etc.

Keeping fingers and toes warm is where it's really at; if your extremities are warm, then the rest of you will be warm. Good gloves are a must - Altura do some really good wind and waterproof ones. Nothing worse than frozen fingers that are too stiff to work gears and brakes. For feet, I'd suggest a pair of the "feet heaters" thermal socks over a thin cotton pair and medium-weight walking shoes.

Good lights for the bike as well. You need to see and be seen. And some of those reflective slap strips for wrists and ankles.

 

[RoubaixCube]

Layer up.

In 0-3'c I'll have a short sleeve thermal baselayer with a winter jersey and a gilet with a 'neck tube' to keep the cold air from going down my neck. If its much colder then I'll swap out the gilet for a a softshell jacket. I also wear padded thermal tights

 

[Milzy]

I thought this thread would be about game of thrones

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Have a look in Decathlon, particularly at the 700 series of winter clothing. You'll get a water resistant and windproof jacket (which comes with a neck / face tube), matching gloves, and roubaix tights all for under 100 pounds. Add in some BBB heavy duty overshoes (15 pounds at Wiggle) and you're all set. That lot got me through last winter.

 

[Tin Pot]

Jeez just reread my commuter thread:
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/tps-commuter-maintenance.194176/

Clean and lube regularly

Spare parts! Brake blocks, tyres and tubes...etc

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Winter hasn't finished where I live, yet. Tomorrow's minimum is predicted to be 1°, so the ride to work will be a chilly one.

 

[Beebo]

Don't wear too many clothes. You want to be cold when you start riding, you will soon warm up.
If you start feeling warm you will be a boiling sweaty mess in 10 minutes.

 

[mjr]

Living in Scotland, I've never seen the need for studded tires - if the roads are bad enough to need them, then the danger from cars makes the road too dangerous for cycling.

Where we're cycling, we don't need roads!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dq17-kXWYA


A big reason for the studded tyres is that the roads are gritted (and even that's not perfect, especially on low-traffic roads) but the tracks away from roads aren't and that's where you really want to be most of the time in icy weather, to avoid the reckless motorists as much as possible.

In eight years I missed only 3 or 4 days due to snow and ice - though to be fair I'm less than 100 yards from a bus route.

A bus route passes my gate but I still don't want to be on one when it skids into something or a car skids into it, plus I'd be waiting at the bus stop alongside a road full of skiddy cars and I'd still have to make my way on foot along roads of skiddy cars. On the whole, it seems safer to use a studded-tyred bike away from them as much as possible.

 

[mjr]

Don't wear too many clothes. You want to be cold when you start riding, you will soon warm up.
If you start feeling warm you will be a boiling sweaty mess in 10 minutes.

Up to a point. When it's windy and cold, if you start too cold, you may never warm up unless you put on the thin packable windproof/showerproof that you keep in your bag for just such occasions. You can always freewheel a bit and remove layers to cool down, but it can be very difficult to warm back up if you get too cold and haven't got enough clothing handy.

 

[RoubaixCube]

Just agreeing with @mjr 's comment

On a side note...

Its upto you, but its always worth taking an extra layer with you to put on just incase you suffer a mechanical p+. You could be stuck at the roadside anywhere between 10-20mins or even longer if youre waiting for a lift if you cant fix your bike.

I have been stuck in such situations. All i had on was a base layer and a Castelli Alpha wind jacket. It wasnt windy at all -- just a light breeze but temperature wise it was between 5-10'c and i was sitting there waiting for a lift for 45mins.

 

[User16625]

Hi all,

I've been commuting for nearly 6 months now, 5 days per week and so far I've only encountered the odd downpour. I have cycle shorts and a cycling jersey, both a long sleeve and short sleeve. I also have a fluorescent jacket but not sure it's that waterproof.

As winter is coming, how can I best prepare for it? I'm talking about absolutely freezing cycling weather, snow, rain, sleet etc. I have no choice but to cycle to work and back each day so I need to prepare without breaking the bank

If you could list your winter essentials I would be very grateful.

Many thanks
Chris

I use the same trousers in -5 as I do when its 25 without adding layers. However when its freezing, I will add a tone of layers to my body (2 or 3 jumpers and a thermal shirt over my normal T shirt). Waterproof overshoes help stop my toes from freezing. I also have waterproof over trousers and jacket. These provide an extra layer should I feel the need, rather than just rain proofing. However its just layers that I need, including extra gloves.
I also use a neck warmer or 2 and a woolly hat. No specialised clothing. First couple of miles are always the worst, after which you warm up.

 

[Reynard]

I use the same trousers in -5 as I do when its 25 without adding layers.

Cripes!!!

I was layering fleecy leggings under my jeans last winter, because cycling in sub-zero temps with an ice-cold tush wasn't my idea of fun...

 

[Hypermind]

Thank you all for your suggestions and comments!

Out of interest, can anyone recommend a decent set of studded winter tyres for a 700x23c tyre?

Thanks!