Old 11-28-21, 08:51 PM
  #20  
KatieC
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Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Iowa, USA
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I'll just focus on freezing (32 F) down to about -5 F. Above that, you don't need a lot of special clothing, and below -5 F I have never tried to ride because it doesn't happen very often here and there is usually wind chills in the -20 to -30 range and that's just not worth the risk of frostbite.

From freezing down to 20 F, my clothing is:
Unknown brand wind blocking headband that covers my ears. If it's windy, I have a neck gater that I use to keep my neck warm. Upper body baselayer is an UnderArmor Cold Gear insulated long sleeve shirt. On top of that is a windblocking jacket (current jacket is a Canondale rain jacket I bought like 13 years ago). Gloves are Specialized thin cycling gloves (not sure what their model name is) inside some lobster claw winter cycling gloves. This combination of gloves keeps hands warm all the way down to -5 F. Sometimes in the lower 30s and 20s my hands get sweaty, but I am okay with that. Lower body I use Pearl Izumi wind stopping insulated tights. Feet is single layer of socks with my Whitewoods cross country ski boots.

Below 20 F, a lot depends on how sunshine there is and how windy it is. I end up doing a lot of my winter riding in the dark, since it's usually dark before work and dark when I get done working. In that case, I ditch the headband and use a Windstopper full head balaclava. Under my wind blocking I add a light insulated cycling jacket on top of the baselayer. With the balaclava there is no need for the neck gater. Gloves stay the same. Over the windstopper tights, I wear some Gore cycling pants that I bought over a decade ago. I can't find anything quite like them on their website, so maybe they don't make them anymore. They kind of look like cargo pants. I don't think they're insulated, or maybe very lightly, but they block even more wind. I will also add a second pair of socks as the temperature dips below 10 F.

And that's it. That's the whole setup from freezing down to about -5 F.

Last edited by KatieC; 11-28-21 at 10:40 PM.
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