Cooler weather upper body riding attire recomendations?
 

Looking for some cooler weather upper body apparel recommendations, jerseys and possibly shells for weather roughly in the 40-55 degree F range. Did some cooler riding last year for the first time in a long time, and unlike running, found the clothes selection to be a trickier process. If I picked something that I felt comfortable with on flats or hill climbing, my core would freeze on downhill descents. Picking something warm enough on the downhill descents would cause me to feel excessively warm on hill ascents. Granted the clothes I had on hand weren't particularly high tech, an old long sleeve run of the mill jersey and a regular windbreaker jacket for example. Is there some combination of apparel tech that will provide reasonable comfort in these conditions? I'd rather be a little warm then a little cold. Once it gets below 40 degrees or so or about the time my face feels really cold, I'm done for the year. Likewise I'm not worried about my lower body. My legs don't get as cold and a pair of full leg bicycle pants is fine. Whatever the outer layer selection is, it needs to have a pocket to put in something to wipe my nose. Thanks for any thoughts.

Those are pretty typical riding conditions here from Nov-Feb, and I swear by arm warmers and a good wind vest. It should have a windstopper front panel and a mesh or very breathable back, two-way zipper, and nice high collar. Bonus features are pockets and reflective bits.

40 F - 55 F isn't cold. It should be very easy to select proper clothing for these type of temps. Experiment and see what works best for your needs.

The ascent/descent balance for clothes is always a problem - you go from putting out a ton of heat and sweat to virtually none at all. I agree with caloso that wind-stopping power is the thing to focus on, but if you have really big hills to climb and descend, there's almost no ideal solution apart from taking a moment at the top to zip up something that was otherwise unzipped during the climb.

The dilemma presented itself two weeks ago, certainly too cold to go with just a windbreaker, so out came the older of my XC skiing jackets. Two side pockets and a large back pocket! Getting too hot ... open the zipper, too cold on the downhills... close the zipper. Full fingered cycling gloves and if they're not warm enough ... XC skiing gloves. But I hope it won't come to that i.e the snow will arrive soon enough to be skiing in 2 - 3 weeks — like last year.

:50:

In that temp range I wear my windproof jacket and long sleeve wool jersey underneath. When I warm up I just unzip the jacket halfway. My jacket is a convertible so I can remove the sleeves if needed and it becomes a vest.

Highly recommend convertible jackets for rides when you start out cold but warm up.

I wear a homemade chest protector (i.e. nothing in the back), works great on downhill descents.

if you don't like the weather, wait a minute. every season I panic a little that I can't find something specific. but then the conditions change & I'm chasing the next apparel combo from last year. this time of year I start to remind myself to limit the exposed skin. that goes a long way to stabilizing my equilibrium. multiple thin layers w/ adjustable venting are my friend. adjustable necks, either 1/4 zip or 1/2 zip & pit zips are features to look for. as conditions change I add either a precip repellent outer or thermal mid layer. or both. but the latter riding condition is so severe, it is few & far between

reduce areas of exposed skin

Cool! I love it! Details please. Photos?

huh? what? somebody say DIY chest protector? Clint Eastwood in movie "Fistful of Dollars" (put this in the wrong thread yesterday before coffee, ugh)
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6a47d04a9b.jpg
& of course Marty McFly's tribute to Clint Eastwood in Back to the Future III
https://i.makeagif.com/media/2-08-2017/EGZ43u.gif