canklecat

I rode a few times when the temp dipped into the 20s here in Texas. Didn't need to. Could have waited for warmer weather, which is always a day or two away here. But I liked the challenge. Even rode in some open fields on our one snow day here -- only an inch accumulation of powder.

It was easy to keep the torso and legs warm. The tricky bit was the hands and feet. I could ride up to an hour wearing my old Herman Survivors leather boots with layered microfiber socks. But even with ski gloves and liners my fingers were stinging with cold after 30 minutes. So if I needed to ride in sub-freezing weather more often I'd get some bar mitts or windproof shells.

I also wore disposable paper surgical masks while riding. Kept my breath warm and moist enough to avoid any problems with asthma. The condensed breath froze on my beard so I had beardcicles. Probably a good idea to carry two or more disposable surgical masks since they get soggy pretty quickly.

ZIPP2001

It was 26 degrees today so no road bike, but the mtn bike got the call. The canopy of the woods help with blocking the wind which makes it a tad easier to ride in colder temps. Still not a fan of weather much below 50 but it sure beats the trainer. I even got to play on ice while out in the woods.

skidder

Like a few others above, I live in Southern California and the mid-winter morning temps are usually high 30s/low40s (Fahrenheit). Its just another layer of clothing and a few miles of warming up. Once I did go out on a Saturday pre-dawn 20 mile ride without looking at the temp and thought it was a little bit cooler, but I never got really warmed up on that ride. When I got home I looked at the temp and it was about 28F. Lesson learned: If it gets into the low 30s I'll need another layer.

2manybikes

Friday 91 miles. 19f during a violent snow squall for a bit. Easy 40 mph gusts from all sides one after the other.
White out for a few seconds. After a while the snow stopped, but the wind stayed. I think 17f is my lowest this year. With the right clothing it's not a problem for a century.

morbikes

I have never rode through the winter until this year. Yes it was a mild winter here in central Indiana. But the main reasons I was riding was some new bike paths that made a commute to work possible, and a really comfortable touring bike that I bought in the fall that made me want to ride more. Before this year, even when I was at my peak of riding, I would not ride unless it was in the 50's at least . I found the key to riding through the cold weather was to ride through the fall, with gradually falling temps, thus being trained gradually to the lower temps. I went from the 70's to 60's to 50's to 40's, and before I knew it I was riding in the 30's. At that point it was all about dressing right. For me , my threshold at the present has been the low 20's. I worked a day shift on New Years day. It was about 23 degrees F at 3:30 am that day when I rode in. A great start to the New Year. My feet seem to be the limiting factor. My hat's off to those that ride in the teens or lower. I guess it's all about the right gear. Maybe I'll get there someday, but , I have to say , I really enjoyed this winter. and now , the cool temps of the spring will feel really great.

hogger453

About 50 is my limit.

Daniel4

I don't make climatic conditions a condition if I bike or not, otherwise I would be driving when everyone else also is making traffic worse or riding on the bus making all much more stuffy.

I drive only because of their distances or the amount of bulk I need to carry.

B. Carfree

I don't ride (other than utility riding) when there's ice on the road. That can vary around here from temperatures in the high teens to the mid-thirties F. This being the "wet side" of the Cascades, below freezing temperatures often mean ice on the road, unless we've had an unusual dry spell.

Fortunately, my ice-aversion only keeps me off the road a handful of days per year, most years. (This one was an exception, but since I had a serious respiratory tract infection during our snow/ice storms, it wasn't the weather that kept me off the bike.) After a while, one can learn to enjoy riding in the rain with temperatures just above freezing. I have found that traffic is usually lighter when the weather is a bit cold and wet.

revchuck 

I'm good down to the 20s F in the dry, which is as cold as it gets down here. If it's raining, I'll ride down to the 40s if I have to. Black ice is an occasional problem due to the high humidity; I won't ride in those conditions.

lenny866

Went for a ride yesterday, it was 18. My lowest was 12 degrees.

welwyngc

I went out yesterday for an hour. 14F. Had new snow tires on my Crosstail. Still managed to slip twice.
My new tires are Schwalbe Winter tires. Size 700X 35 - a couple of inches of new snow along the trails.
We have long stretches of cold weather and so I really want to figure out how to get out during the extended cold snaps

Vortac180

Welcome to the forum!

locolobo13 

No limit. Truthfully the lowest it's been here in the last few years was high 20s F. Usually the lowest for my commute in during the winter would be mid 30s. Those are 5 mi commutes I'm talking about. On the weekends, if the low temp is in the 30s I'll wait til the afternoon to ride.

How to handle it? Check the current weather before riding. Figure out how many layers and which ones. Keep from getting too warm? My experience is you're either too warm or too cold. Pick your poison. Usually I opt for too warm and shed layers as needed.

kaos joe

It doesn't get cold enough here (coastal NY) to keep me from riding MTB on the trails. The coldest I've ever done so is either 1F or -1, can't remember. Rode yesterday with a starting temp of 16F, and it was really nice.
On the other hand, I won't go on the road below about 25F because nobody will join me, and the trail option is always there. Any chance of encountering black ice or re-frozen meltwater will steer me to the trails also.

flan48

I ride all winter and, being in central New Jersey, it rarely gets in to the teens here (during the day). So I will ride in temperatures as low as 19 or 20 degrees F as long as there is no ice around.

Best regards

fietsbob

Snow on the ground, but it will melt during the day 3/6, I have a studded tire bike for when it wont melt , but I dont have to go far..

jppe

I enjoy doing climbs in the 40-55 degree range. I find riding in 20-40 degrees refreshing. So far temperatures haven't kept me off the bike.

CrankyOne

Wind and precipitation have an impact but generally (each way):

< 0f - 1 mile
> 0f - 2 miles
> 10f - 3 miles
> 20f - 5 miles
> 30f - 8 miles
> 40f - 10 miles
> 50f - any distance.

These are based on actually places I ride to. Church is 1 mile away and I'd rarely not ride due to temp though 33f & rain will send me to my car. Grocery and several eateries are 2 miles away and I'll usually ride to them if it's above 0 but not always. This is all on a Workcycles Opafiets or Omafiets and dressed appropriately.

40f is about the lower limit for heading out on my road bike though below 50f reduces how far and how often.

Usually we do a bunch of x-country skiing during winter but not this no-snow year.

jdw777

minimum 45-50 degrees F. BUT I have to take wind chill into consideration. 45 and windy, nuh uh.

<----- spoiled californian

Peace o/

Ogsarg

I don't have a lot of cycling experience but I rode a motorcycle year round for a long time and found that what most people overlook is exposure time. Are you going to be out 1 hour, 2 hours, all day? It makes a big difference.

On my bicycle I ride about 40 minutes before getting ready for work a couple of times a week at 4:30 in the morning. Temps in the low to high 30's this time of year. For 40 minutes, I get by with long riding shorts, a long sleeve moisture whicking top, light weight cycling jacket, a balaclava under my helmet (keep head, ears, and chin warm), and some motorcycle gloves. I'm comfortable with that for about an hour but the legs will start getting cold and then my toes.

I would say to start out with a short ride of maybe a half hour and see how it goes. Adjust your clothing based on what got cold and do a longer ride. Work your way up to whatever kind of riding you want to do. As long as you do it incrementally, it's not likely you're going to get really cold.

lost_in_endicot

I think about 15° F is the lowest for me.

bobwysiwyg

35F, no chance of ice.

rumrunn6

looked like a great trail. but shudda had studs, huh?

Outnumbered

Today was 7 degrees on my 12 mile commute to work at 5AM. New personnel record.

Gresp15C

I commute year-round, 4 miles each way. Coldest this year was about -6 F. For some reason I'm blessed with not sweating a lot, so I don't have to worry about elaborate layers. I just wear regular winter clothes, such as a ski jacket and snow pants. During colder winters, I've used my ski helmet and goggles, which have clear lenses for riding at night. I've also got bar mitts on my winter bike, and shifters that allow me to wear thick mittens.

I probably look pretty odd.