cyclezen

depends... sunny, a bit cooler before coverups, overcast, cool/cold wind coverup sooner
knee warmers - mostly 62/64 to 56/58
leg warmers - mostly 57/56 to 40's
I don;t do tights or anything which can't be taken off without taking off the main kit.
base layer top - varying thicknesses 66 and lower
nylon, back vented vest - 62 to whatever used with short sleeve mid weight, heavier weight or wool jersey
light arm warmers - 65 to 56
thermal arm warmers - 57 to 52
long sleeve jersey - 57 - 55
light long sleeve arm warmers, worn under a longsleeve jersey - 55 and lower
full finger gloves - 62 and lower
insulated gloves - below 50 ish
ear bands - 58 and lower
helmet liner - 54 and lower
head tube - 56 and lower
I have a wide assortment of varying weights in ALL Kit, shorts/bibs, jerseys short or long slv. Varying weights of arm, knee and leg warmers. same for earbands, helmets liners and muffs.
MOST versatile (next to arm warmers, which I wear with everything, all the time) are long tubes of varying weight of stretch material, worn either just for neck/throat, or also to cover the mouth nose, and finally up to the top of head. Works great just as a head & ear band also, when sweat management is not a major issue - cold conditions.
Head/neck tube fits great under any kind of helmet (ski, bike, moto, hockey - for outdoor) , also great for backpacking or any outdoor activity where temp management .
I have a varied assortment and almost never leave without one, when temps go below low 50's F.
like this:

stretchy Head tube/ neck muff

head tube/ neck muff under helmet

Ride On
Yuri

Rotten

I'm in line with what others have posted. Arm warmers or long sleeves at 60, leg warmers at about 55. Around 50 and I add a light windbreaker, colder than that and I have cold weather pants and a jacket.

smontanaro 

Am I the only person who doesn't wear knickers (no bibs either)? If it gets down to the upper 40s I'll switch to lightweight tights, maybe low 50s if it's windy, then have heavier stuff for below freezing weather. While still commuting to work, I was good down to about 10F with the right layers.

Jumpski

I have always worn leg warmers for anything below 60f. They can easily be removed when not needed and stuffed in my pockets. Have fun and stay safe.

Joe Bikerider

I’ve followed that rule for many years. But the switchover can be tough. At the end of summer, especially this one with 100+F days it’s hard to let go. My leg warmers are right there in the closet but sometimes I just don’t want to put them on. One good
motivation is that the wankers will just stay home and I can have free reign on my favorite mup. Even better the ebikers will stay home and their batteries will die sitting in the garage. Something to look forward to.

philbob57

I've been riding with long sleeved summer-weight UPF 50 jerseys most of the summer, though when I'm slow in washing clothes I sometimes wear SS jersey and sun sleeves. (The $30 PI sleeves seem to give better protection than the $5 Amazon ones, but note the 'seem to'.)

Tights under 60-65, tights and base layer pants under 55. Leg warmers don't stay up; I don't know if that's because my legs are fat or because the size is wrong. Base layer and jersey on top under 65; base layer, LS jersey, thermal jersey under 60 base layer, LS jersey, thermal jersey, windbreaker under 55. I stay home unless it's at least 50 and dry and the wind is under 15-20 mph. That's age having caught up with me.

BTinNYC 

I've been resisting pulling the cold weather kit out of the closet, but it's 55 degrees today. These transition weeks are the hard ones for me. In a couple months 55 will feel like summer, but now not so much. Tights and long sleeve jersey.

terrymorse 

High of 85º today, 88º tomorrow.

Knickers, knee warmers, arm warmers, gilets are staying in their drawer indefinitely.

This is the hottest time of the year in the SF Bay Area.

rsbob 

For the first time this year wore a short sleeve tech shirt under my short sleeve jersey and arm warmers which were removed about half way. Tomorrow has a projected high of 73 so no tech or arm warmers.

BTinNYC 

Low 50s last night and we turned the heat back on. Probably going for tights this this morning, but maybe after another cuppa it'll warm up a bit.

merlindave

It was in the very low 60s today, dry, and 100% overcast, so even with a long sleeved jersey on, but still in bibshorts, I felt FROZEN!

I even purposely wore my highest Swiftwick socks to at least cover up some of the calf muscles.

Between the ancient 'old school racer' adages pounded into my head from the beginning (i.e.: NEVER, EVER have your knees, or legs, exposed when the ambient temps are under 72*F!!), my acclimation to riding in the heat and humidity, (and that it seems to have gone from the mid 80s down to high 50s in one day!) or maybe I actually have less body fat than I realize (HIGHLY doubtful!!), this just felt outright COLD to me, and I feared that I was destroying my knees despite low, low gears at a high cadence.

I have to dig out all of my old bibtights, etc., or buy some new late fall/winter kit.

I was hoping for a fall warm spell at least half way through October (don't want to call it the 'traditional' name, since that might now be considered racist??), but that does not look like it is going to happen according to the 10+ day forecasts.

merlindave

Off topic, but looking at your signature;


My first track bike in 1970 was a chrome, mid to late 60s Frejus.


That sig mention is about the only other time I have ever even heard that company mentioned.

skidder

Southern California here. It occasionally gets below 40F during the winter, a few odd times it'll dip below 30F (1-2X per winter). I wear regular shorts all winter long, my legs don't get cold and I figure that's because they are doing the work and generating heat. Upper body I'll add a later for every 10F degrees below 65F, full gloves below about 60F, and maybe a thin balaclava on my head down around 40F. I'm not keen on riding below about 35F. I did go out on a winter morning on an odd 26F temp day, thought I'd warm up after a few miles, but never got warm and cut the ride short at 12 miles.

biglmbass

^ Sums it up nicely for me. At around 60-ish degrees I'll add a thin base layer under a short sleeve jersey & maybe arm warmers. If really windy at the same temps, I'll switch to a thin long sleeve jersey. I'll still ride in bib shorts in the 50s occasionally, but will need thicker socks & or toe warmers for keeping feet/toes warm.

ofajen

About 65F or so, I will add sweatpants over the cycling shorts. Thankfully I still have my old spring steel ankle clips to keep the pants legs clear of the chainring, so anything loose enough to pedal comfortably is an option. Yesterday was just over 60 and I wore sweats over the cycling shorts and a long sleeve base layer under a short sleeve t-shirt. Worked great.

Otto

gravelfan

Here in the central valley of California knickers get little use. I have thermal bibs as rides start later in winter and those have changed my knicker use. I still roll knickers a few times each winter when it is wet and foggy.

BTinNYC 

By February, 45 degrees will feel toasty, but not today. The cool weather kit got pulled out last night for this mornings ride.

These warm-to-cold transition months are tough on my old bod.

Kabuki12

I don’t own any type of leg coverings but I always wear knee high socks when cycling . My knees don’t seem to get cold like the rest of me and where I live it is seldom below 40 so I’m good. This year , for the first time, I had to abort a ride for heat. I did one of our canyons and after a 5 mile slight uphill climb I was overheated and the 5 mile downhill didn’t work to cool me down so I called my wife. I was not feeling very good. I would much rather cool conditions. Last weekend it was cloudy and cool with some light drizzle and it felt fantastic.

t2p

I have both light and heavier tights for cold weather riding (Bellweather and PI) but don't know where they are - have not seen them in years (decades)

I believe I know where they are (container in the basement) - but they would not fit me because I've gained a significant amount of weight since I last used them

so - it's just shorts for me now

we rode through last November with temps in the low 40's - and I was ok multiple layers on top and mtb shorts

lesson learned: don't get fat lol

downtube42

I pull the light wool knickers out when the morning temp is below 45F. Otherwise I'm baking on the commute home, particularly since it's a downhill in the morning and uphill in the evening.

Last weekend I did a 200k in shorts, without tights even in my bag. From now until June, I probably won't head out without tights packed, no matter the temperature or forecast.

CAT7RDR

Never really liked 3/4 knickers as I thought they were too restrictive.
I'm in SoCal and unless I head up into the mountains, high 30's will be about the coldest I will encounter.
I will try wearing MTB nylon shorts over bib shorts this year on cold mornings and regulate myself with 180 degree wind jackets and a balaclava.
Wooly Booly socks also help a lot and Gore gloves also work great.

I have thermal tights and a Gore winter jacket for the mountains but they are rarely used.

I will also keep a compact disposable Mylar blanket in my pocket for any cold extended descents if I get to the local mountains this winter.

Wildwood 

Apologies to those in the upper mid-portion of middle USA and moving east - winter with many inches of snow ... has arrived.

I'm still in bibshorts in Seattle Eastside in mid-October. Couple of days needed a light long sleeved jersey and light knickers for the occasional 'early' (days getting short) morning rides.

rsbob 

Today was low 50s so bibs, leg warmers, long sleeve thermal jersey, cloth cycling jacket, light weight long finger gloves and toe covers on my shoes. Was very comfy. Things are changing weather-wise from Wildwood’s post above.

professorbob

I have some very lightweight thermal long underwear that I will wear under my shorts when the temperature gets below 60. So far, the seam in the thermals has not bothered me and I can use them to the point where the temps drop into the high 30s. On top I layer up. When I get to the point where my feet are too cold to ride I put the bike on the trainer in the basement.

Carbonfiberboy 

I have a spreadsheet where I log the clothing I've used in various weather conditions. That's been very helpful. Leg warmers start at 55°, tights at ~48°. The wild card is precip. That changes things a good bit but how much depends on the degree and frequency or duration of the precip. I can forecast that quite well, so the SS makes sense. My coldest ride was 75 miles in a steady heavy rain at 36°. That's hard to defend against. I don't ride when there's a chance of ice on the road. Around here most of the riders who've gone out in those conditions have broken something. You're riding a dry corner and ooops there it is.