Hondo Gravel

Only be in the 30s today I don’t have the clothing, it was 71 yesterday. Not worth investing in cold weather garb since it doesn’t get cold here too often. The clothing I have will work with temps in the mid 40s but not the 30s.

rumrunn6

yikes, that's quite the 40 degree jump!

wphamilton

FWIW, if it's a shorter ride, like under an hour, I've found that I can wear a sweater under whatever I'd have for the 40's and it's good for the 30's.

Hondo Gravel

texbiker

It wasn't any warmer in Houston. I stayed inside too. Tuesday it was 81 and then Wednesday it dropped into the 30's.

Wileyrat

We've had the same thing in Tucson. I'm set up to be good into the low 50's, below that I'm just going to wait till it warms up, maybe head to the gym instead, or go on a hike.

Like the OP, no point in spending a lot on cold weather stuff when I spend the majority of my ride time trying not melt from the heat.

I was working in the snow on Wednesday

JohnJ80

DrIsotope

Not too cold here, but certainly too wet-- in an area that averages 13" of rainfall annually, we have received 3.2" today, and 6.5" for the month of February. My yard is a lake, the streets are rivers. The creeks are busting up over the roads and bridges. No thanks.

VtwinVince

This whole month has been freezing, with multiple snowfalls, so I'm spending all my time indoors on the stationary bike. Pretty boring.

fietsbob

Snow @ sea level again.. Its sticking around more this morning.. than a couple weeks ago..

Wildwood 

fietsbob

it's gone again today, here, mostly done by noon yesterday ..

phtomita

Got a garage/project time after the on Feb 3rd, when the first snow started on that same day afternoon/evening.
Then, only back to bike on 21st when most of paths and roads were cleaner.
Mornings are below 30 (now getting warmer). I am using my ski gloves to keep my fingers warm

schiavonec

Cold is relative, and you would be suprised how well a quality shell, with a longsleeve liner is overall. Light althletic pants work for me until about 29 or less. I use some cc ski/bike pants after that until it hits single digits. Low 20s means a thicker shell, with perhaps a fleece on top of a ls athletic shirt. I swear by neck gaiters, wool, and moisture wick. Hat thickness depends on temp, but i bought a rain snow cover for my helmet which helps. Wool hiking socks are a must. I live in CO, so i have tons of layering options though including different glove/mitt combos. It is more about bejng mentally willing to start the ride, after pedaling a bit, i never regret it.

JohnJ80

There's more to it than just temp too. We spend a lot of time in CO but live in MN where we are significantly farther north. That translates into lower sun angles and less solar radiation. And we're at a lot lower elevation. I'd estimate that I have to dress 10-15 degree lighter in CO for a given temperature. For example, when skiing in MN at 0F the set of clothes I wear is considerably heavier than the same temp in the mountains in CO. There, for the same 0F temp, I wear what I would wear in MN for about 15F. That's sort of a broad double check, because what you describe for what you wear there is about what I'd wear here for warmer temps. I think the difference is related to two things - less conduction loss at altitude due to the thinner air and the considerably stronger sun which helps warm. Humidity is lower in the CO mountains too, but I haven't figured out how to factor that in, but it plays a role too

Then there is wind but that's not such an issue on a bike since we generate our own wind and most of the effect of wind chill is seen between 0-2mph of wind speed. To stay warm, you have to first have good windproofing.

Riding in the cold is completely doable but it takes a lot of experimentation to figure out what works for you in the locale in which you ride. My biggest problem still remains in figuring out how to keep from overheating. For me, at least, I seem to have a harder time getting it exactly right and I either tend to slightly overdress which leads to rapidly overheating or slightly underdress which leads to getting cold fast. In the cold, it seems you swing between extremes much faster than when it's warmer.

OldsCOOL

mojojojo

My cutoff is 30 degrees. In Atlanta those days are few and far between.

base2 

In the mornings I use Burton snowboarding gloves. Some people have had good luck with Barmitts. It's been in the 20's here in the PNW, and a week or 2 ago it was in the teens.

I also wear standard cycling leggings & a pair of blasphemous Levi's or Wranglers over the top.

Wool socks are cheap. So are hiking boots or Neoprene booties. As long as I mention foot wear: Lake MKZ303's are pretty decent cold weather cycling boots. Pricy for sure, but worth every penny. Standard hiking boots & flat pedals work well too.

Don't get stuck in cycling fashion dogma. Standard hiking gear on close-out is plenty good enough.

I find rain gear doesn't ventilate enough for cold weather riding. It's too hard to regulate. It's weird though. I'm more miserable & cold when it's 37 & raining than I am at 17 degrees & dry.

Kabuki12

I hear ya'. Up here in Ventura County it has been an amazing winter. The hills are as green as Ireland! I still get out between the storms and only got caught in the rain once, so doing ok. I think we are way over 20" so far and I am not sure that it is over yet. Joe

JohnJ80

Exactly. Same weather here. I'm not sure you can have a thread and get understanding where some think 30F is cold and others thing -30F is cold. One night about a month ago we had a 45 degree swing in temp from night to day -35F to +10F. What's cold? That 10F felt pretty warm at the time.

J.

OldsCOOL

tclune

I have always maintained that the cold is just God's way of telling you to pedal faster.

JohnJ80

yeah, no kidding. We won't see 40's until maybe a week from today. But first we are apparently due another 8-12" snowstorm. This stuff better start melting soon or the folks down river are going to be in serious flood trouble when it all melts at once. Of course, if you told me this year that it wouldn't melt until July, I might just believe you.

OldsCOOL

tclune

You'd have to ask God...