Originally Posted by
BobbyG
Today's commute was 17F and snowy with2" of powder and an underlayer of ice
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…We probably won’t see those conditions until January…
Originally Posted by
noglider
…
Then again, I'm still refining my gear, and I might be able to tolerate lower temperatures this winter. Winter hasn't come here yet.
Originally Posted by
Gresp15C
I know you're a regular commuter, so you probably don't need this advice, but I find that it helps a lot to ride steadily through the fall and into December, and get acclimated to the cold a few degrees at a time.
Starting a winter cycling regimen in mid-January is pretty tough.
I recently posted about the transition, to this Winter Cycling thread,”
Winter is right around the corner.”
Originally Posted by
ZIPP2001
The arm warmers have been on for a month now, and the leg warmers have made a couple visits already. Winter is just a hop skip and jump away, and I'm can't wait to go play in the snow.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
On several threads, I have posted my slogan for winter riding, “Gear and Gumption,” obviously mostly clothing. For me, it takes a while to make the transition between warm and cold and vice versa.
Originally Posted by
mcours2006
Seems like every year when the temperatures drops I have to rethink about what I did the previous year that worked for that particular temperature.
So this year I'm putting together a chart for myself as a guide forwhat to wear for the range of temperatures in 5*C increments.
Hopefully it'll take some of the thinking out of the whole production.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
The way I organize my winter dress is by levels (link), 1 to 6. (I got that scale from whitewater rafting, where difficulty of a river is rated from 1 to 6, and it works for me).
The levels do not mean layers, but the combination of gear for temperature intervals, in increments of about 10 degrees F…
The level makes the job of selecting clothing very easy for that decision to be made on the morning of a commute, without going outside. Sometimes I may bring along a piece of apparel from a higher level just in case.
The scheme is particularly useful at the change of seasons to remind me of what works. Also, I choose by ambient temperature and usually ignore the reported wind chill temp, because there always is a wind chill on the moving bike….
As for the bicycle, the definitive transition to winter is mounting the studded tires, early in December, and removal signals winter is over, usually in late March.
and the pristine carbon fiber road bike goes into storage. 