Unlined tights
I have unlined tights that I wear over bike shorts. I have a very thin Pearl Izumi one, and a medium weight PI with a fuzzy lining and ankle zips.
For me,
Approx low 50s to even 65F: The thin tights are fine. Perfect in mid to upper 50s, tolerable for this 50F to 65F range.
Approx low 40s to low 50s: I use the medium tights. Good.
In the low 30s, where I rarely ride: I tried the thin tights over the mediums. It worked! Not too bulky and much warmer.
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Layering!
I have two Patagonia base layer long sleeve shirts. It's extremely thin fabric, which doesn't seem that it could much at all. Way thinner than t-shirt material, for instance.
But wearing both of these under a short sleeve jersey, I'm warm in the low 50s. A single base layer is great for upper 50s to 70F, it's so breathable.
Stacking layers multiplies the wind blocking effects. It's way more than 2x of a single layer. I assume the wind is slowed way down through the first layer, so then the second layer has very slow airflow through.
The two thin layers under a wind shell jacket is very nice at 40F to 55F.
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Convertible jacket
The wind shell is also PI. The sleeves are connected by a shoulder yoke, and zip off to make a nice vest. They pack into the rear pocket of the vest.
So when it warms way up during a ride, I can switch to a vest, or even leave the sleeves at home. (A local rider will sometimes pull the sleeves on without zipping into the vest, so they are instantly removable! Yeah.
The big advantage of this jacket+sleeves is the huge mesh vent under the sleeve yoke, across the top of my back. So on climbs, I can unzip the front zipper most of the way and get a giant airflow from front to back. Much less overheating now.
Last edited by rm -rf; 01-09-22 at 09:02 PM.