rumrunn6

you don't want skinny legs come spring

Primitive Don

Absolutely. Winter cycling is great adventure! Nothing wrong with Zwift, but riding outside in the winter is awesome!

Turzy

You don't NEED a smart trainer to use Zwift, as long as you have a speed sensor (and cadence may help too), you can use virtual power with your "dumb" trainer...it's what I, and many others, do.

Blackxpress

I don’t plan to hang my bike up for the winter. In fact, that’s one reason I got back into cycling. My daily driver is a motorcycle and I’ll ride it down to about 15f but I recently traded my 2011 Harley for a brand new one and don’t want to get Road salt on it. The idea was to buy a bike and ride it when the weather’s too nasty for the Harley. Now that I’m back into cycling it has quickly turned into a new obsession. I’m riding longer and longer distances every day and yesterday picked up a nice vintage road bike to go along with my brand new hybrid.

Anyway, when I was a kid I rode a bike everywhere regardless of weather. I don’t see why I can’t still do that. One advantage of a bike over a motorcycle is that all that peddling tends to help you stay warmer.

ill.clyde

Thanks ... I'll look into that!

Turzy

I just saved you a bunch of money you'll be able to spend on your future Bianchi

cyclist2000

I am a city kid, I grew up near Chicago, I live in smaller city (about 700K), I like the convenience of the living in the city. My wife grew up in the middle of Honolulu and couldn't imagine not living in a city, for the variety and conveniences. I have coworkers that grew up in the Black Hills and they don't like it here and some eventually left to live back home. They thought there were too many people and if they wanted to go fishing there were already too many people fishing or any activity was the same way.


Many people are just more comfortable with something similar to where they grew up.

ill.clyde

I've come full circle. I grew up in a small town of 1,400 in the middle of Illinois. I moved to Chicago for my college years and several years after that ... and now I live in a small town of 3,000 in south-central Wisconsin.

I've had to adjust ... something I wanted to make for dinner tonight calls for Miso ... there is no Miso in this town.

But within five or ten minutes I can be on backroads where I won't see but three or four cars on an hour-long ride, and won't see many more than that on longer rides.

And that's why I'm now happy back "in the country." Madison is 40 minutes away, Chicago two hours. I'm perfectly ok with both of those.

drewguy

While we're at it . . . what about Fall (and Spring) - not full-on winter. So that we're on the same page, given geographical diversity, I'm talking temperatures in the 40s to low 60s - where shorts and a short sleeve top probably aren't warm enough. Maybe a morning ride on a warmish day, or afternoon when it just hasn't warmed up.

For legs - get long legged shorts/bibs? Or just get some tights (without chamois) and wear them over your cycling shorts?

What about shirt? Is long-sleeved jersey worth it? Or just wear something underneath your cycling jersey?

And are full-fingered cycling gloves enough? Anything more?

Grasschopper

I'm liking Zwift so much I'm considering selling my Salsa Mukluk (fat bike). It's fun and I can do it right in my basement while my kids are doing their homework or watching TV or sleeping. I wonder if I can trade my Mukluk for a Tacx Neo....

ericy

There is an art to dressing properly in colder weather. I keep a cheat-sheet somewhere (sort of a diary, I guess), where I note down what the temperature was, what I wore and whether I was comfortable. Roughly each 10 degrees that the temperature drops, I make adjustments. For 40s, 50s and 60s I would dress differently.

I would add that typically one uses layering. The key is to use wicking materials next to the skin so that sweat doesn't accumulate there. And if I am too warm I can peel off a layer while I am riding and stick it in my pannier.

I will have to find my cheat sheet, and then I could say more.

ill.clyde

For me ... 60s are generally shorts and short sleeves weather still.

mid to upper 50s I'm usually still in shorts, but on my upper body I have a thin baselayer (wicking) under my jersey and I wear arm warmers. If I'm too warm I slide the arm warmers down or even just stop and take them off.

High 40s, low 50s we're talking either bib tights or shorts with leg warmers, a baselayer with my "jacksey", booties over my shoes and a pair of winter golf gloves (full finger) with my regular cycling gloves over them. There's also usually an ear warmer involved or even a full fleece beanie.

Mid to low 40s ... I'm usually inside.

Layers are key, as is keeping your extremities (toes and hands) comfortable. What do they say, dress for the 20th mile, not the first 5? Something like that. Expect to be chilly to start and nicely warm when you're done.

rumrunn6

I have cycling pants that are snug but not tight. I wear my thin lined tri shorts under them

Novara Headwind


for up top I have a thick, long sleeve, honeycomb weave, 1/2 zip, high collared shirt. it might have been designed for running but the back is long enough for cycling. thin short sleeve base layer is good under it, next level up would be using a long sleeve high collared 1/4 base layer under it instead

Brooks Equilibrium Podium Half Zip


a little something under the helmet helps too
time to find my Pearl Izumi Men's Thermal Headband
last year got a Smartwool NTS Micro beanie

full finger cycling gloves are great but almost any gloves seem to work OK for me. I'm fond of thin, tight weave glove liners, next up are wind stopper multi sport gloves

cyccommute 

It's going to depend on the person more than the weather. What works for me might not work for you. The effects of temperature are also not linear. 65°F is pretty warm and most people would be comfortable riding in shorts and jersey. 60°F might require leg warmers, arm warmers and a jacket. 50°F is probably time for tights and jacket. 45°F is getting to the point where you might need longer fingered gloves and something to protect your ears. 40°F is starting into needing base layers, warmer socks and warmer shoes as well as warmer gloves.

It's even worse when you go below 40°F. 32°F requires much warmer clothing than 40°F, 30°F much warmer still and on down to about 20°C where you are probably going to be miserable no matter.

JohnJ80

And, it's also somewhat dependent on the geography. For example, when I ride out by you in Colorado, I can generally dress about 10 degrees warmer than I can for the same temperature here in Minnesota.

I also find that for the shoulder parts of the season (Oct/Nov and March/April) if I'm riding when it's sunny out that I can generally go with the temp ratings from most manufacturers. But if it's cloudy or night, then taking about 10F off of those ratings seems about right.

I too tend to keep a log of clothing combinations that were successful in a particular set of weather conditions. But, in general, the very best wicking stuff in layers so you can adjust while on your ride, seem to be what works best.

J.

snowman40

No, don't do number 4. The weather is nice but the people aren't the brightest even though they claim to be otherwise. And the cost of living is ridiculous!!!! (I'm in California, and have been since 2000. Have been trying to get out for 14 years now.)

There are other states that have good winter weather.

snowman40

I'm in Southern California, in the Los Angeles Metro Area. When riding in 40s and 50s, I have to have a rain/wind jacket as it feels wetter in the winter. At the moment, I'm able to go shorts and long sleeves, but that will change in a week or two. Since I only ride on weekends, I might just change my ride times.

Metaluna

I've been seriously thinking about getting a direct drive trainer this winter (either a Wahoo Kickr or CycleOps Hammer). My only issue has been that I've had a dumb trainer (Kurt Kinetic Road Machine) for about 10 years now, hate almost everything about it, and rarely use it anymore except as a bike stand. So I'm worried that the smart trainer won't be enough of an improvement over the Kurt to make the $1200 worth it (plus the cost of Zwift/Trainerroad/Bkool/VirtualTraining/whatever).

drewguy

What do you hate about it, other than the obvious - it's a trainer and trainers indoors just suck in every way possible?

(I'm actually considering one of these)

FlamsteadHill

Might be a typo in there somewhere.

I went to the dentist on Monday for my semi-annual cleaning and had a new hygienist. Her name was Oksana and she had a noticeable Eastern European accent. During a conversation about the weather she said "Did it get below zero where you are last night?". So I said "Not at our house, but we live on a hill, when I got down into town there was a frost."...

ericy

Can't you try out Zwift with your current trainer? You would need speed/cadence sensors - speed is probably the most important. But other than this, you can give it a whirl and see how you like it.

I had turned up my nose at trainers for years until I was in a LBS this summer and they had a trainer set up with Zwift. I got the concept immediately, and it changed my mind completely.

ericy

I used to cross country ski at 20F - where I am from, that's what we would call a nice warm winter day. When I got going, I was down to a short sleeve shirt and ski bibs on the bottom, but as soon as I stopped I had to put the upper layers back on again.

Metaluna

Actually that's what I've been struggling with. Since this is the only trainer I have any experience with, it has been tricky to tease apart the problems that are specific to the Kurt, problems that are common to all wheel-on dumb trainers, and problems that are an unavoidable part of indoor training itself. As you progress from the more specific to the more general, it becomes less likely that throwing money at it is going to fix the problem.

One problem I have that I think is somewhat specific to the Kurt (and others with a similar design) is just how awkward and cumbersome it is to handle and store the trainer. The frame folds up but doesn't really sit flat in any orientation so it's very unstable if you try to lean it up against a wall for storage without something to hold it there. In my basement, I just haven't found a way to store it nicely out of the way, and am constantly tripping over it and having to move it around from place to place, then watch it fall over when I don't lean it just the right way, etc. When unfolded, the heavy resistance unit hangs off the back in a way that makes it very unbalanced and prone to tipping over. If you bump it even slightly while mounting the bike, it will flip over onto its back like a turtle, leaving you standing there with your bike in one hand, and trying to manhandle the thing back into position and unfold the legs with the other. I have to remember to step on it with one foot to keep it in place. Keep in mind this is a 10-year old model and I think they've improved it a bit since then. Other brands that share the same basic frame shape would probably behave the same way, i.e. without a bike loaded onto it, it becomes a tippy, fussy shop queen that needs constant attention and dedicated floor space.

I think some of this weird weight distribution is an unavoidable offshoot of the wheel-on concept. To stabilize the frame while keeping it reasonably compact, you'd have to move the resistance unit forward, under the wheel instead of behind it. But that would require raising the wheel probably another foot off the ground, which would make the bike nearly impossible to climb onto. That said, I have seen a few other designs that fold down a little more tightly, with a more square outline that can stand up against a wall in several orientations, and might be easier to deal with. Also, the frame on mine is a bit bent so both legs don't touch the ground. Presumably this is just a one-off manufacturing defect. Once I sit on the bike it usually flexes into place so it's not that big a deal, but it certainly doesn't help my overall negative user experience.

More generally I dislike having to deal with wheel slippage and constant adjustment of the roller and cleaning/buffing the tire (I have a trainer-specific Continental tire). Road feel is okay but not great. I've read that the Road Machine's road feel is among the best for products in this class, which is probably true.

Grasschopper

Yeah I've actually kicked around the idea of getting a direct drive myself other than the half thought of selling my Mukluk. That said I'm looking at the $900 ones more realistically and specifically the Elite Direto.

Going back to a comparison I am currently using a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine as well and as another poster pointed out using it with Zwift and my own HRM and Speed/Cadence sensors. Honestly even this way Zwift is making indoor riding way better than I've experienced in the past. I also have an Elite Qubo Digital Interactive that my girlfriend has been using along side me...and I've used a couple of times as well. The interaction of the trainer and Zwift just takes the whole thing to the next level and is really cool...and when using a specified workout the fact that it locks you into a specified wattage for whatever zone is really cool and much better than what used to be done with dumb trainers.

I totally understand your comments on the awkward bulk of the Kinetic...it's just sort of how good trainers used to be, having also used a Cycleops Fluid2 as well. But the newer trainers are better and don't require the huge flywheels that added all the bulk to the older trainers. Of note though, there is a conversion for our Kinetic trainers to make them smart/interactive trainers. It's pretty expensive though as it replaces the whole resistance unit...and doesn't resolve the bulk/awkward issue.

I wonder how my best cycling buddy will take it if I tell him I'm selling the fat bike....

Metaluna

That's a great idea. Other than an ANT+ dongle for my PC, I should have everything I need to try it out. I even have a spare Wahoo speed sensor for my training wheel.