storckm

"Extreme cold" and "I'm always slow regardless."

In Ohio, we get occasional summer temperatures near 100F, and once in a while we even get sub-zero temperatures. But generally cold just doesn't leave me any desire to do more than trudge.

spelger

below 40F my speed goes to zero. i just don't want to ride outside when it is that cold. and i only do that when i can commute to work. its below 20F in the morning now so no outdoor riding until march/april.

Steve B.

Road rids are the same speeds, but the majority of my fall and winter riding is mt biking which is slower by nature, but the same general pace that I’ve done for the 8 years or so.

Mtracer

For my riding, it is the cold weather that has a significant impact on my performance.

Realistically, I'm sure that hot weather would be a the limit as you can always dress warmer to mitigate cold weather effects. But there's a limit to how cool you can keep yourself while riding. But I do not ride in extreme heat. In the summer, I get out at dawn to get rides completed before it gets hot. I rarely ride in weather above 80 F. I also live where it is very dry, so sweating is very effective.

I don't know what it is about cold weather that affects me. I have plenty of high-end gear to wear so, I'm able to stay comfortable most of the time. I think it really comes down to breathing in cold air. Though my legs never feel cold, perhaps the cold is affecting my leg muscles.

The Chemist

Definitely heat, but it gets really hot here (35+ degrees with high humidity) but not really cold (lowest is around -2 to -3). High heat and humidity saps energy like nobody's business, whereas slightly chilly weather only needs proper clothing and then it's just fine.

squirtdad

heat, with the caveat that I live in San Jose CA to it does not get cold

note: cold to me is below 0 F. I grew up in montana and 40 below 0 (same F and C)

I can dress for cold but when it get's hot I slow down to avoid issues with heat.

I can see on my HRM that when it gets hot my HR goes up if I keep same speed on a route, so when is is super hot I slow down and don't let my HR get above the lower thresh hold that I ride to

CAT7RDR

I'm usually good between 40F-85F.
Sunny and 50's works best for me.

Sierra_rider

Cold slows me down the most. Cold air further aggravates my exercised-induced asthma and often makes me feel "wheezy" on harder efforts. My power numbers are typically down and my joints don't really like the cold. Anything below freezing and I'd rather just ride on the trainer. It doesn't help that I live in a mountainous area, so the extended-length descents are brutal in the cold, even when they aren't snowy/icy.

While it may not feel pleasant, extreme heat doesn't seem to have a detrimental effect on my power numbers. Some of my PRs on local climbs have come at temps near or above 100଀F mark and my best race results have typically been in hot temps.

rsbob 

In my 30s and early 40s, 90* to 100* barely slowed me down. I enjoyed the heat and enjoyed returning after a 60-70 miler coated is salt. Fast forward 30 years and I just can’t tolerate heat very well. After doing some reading, I found it was normal for my age group.

The summer before last it was 96* and I did a 32 miler at 18 MPH average. Stopped at mile 28 feeling pretty warm since the air wasn’t going by, to take a picture. Got the picture and reached down to tighten a BOA and became so dizzy, I had to sit on the ground for about 10 minutes. I drank half a water bottle, trying to rehydrate. Got up and felt a bit wobbly and got back on the bike and fortunately things returned to normal. I reduced my speed to about 16 for the remainder. Drank a gallon when I got home. Now I take care when it’s hot and reduce my exertion.

Enjoy it while you can.

SpeedyBlueBiker

I definitely don't like riding in the cold. That's why there are two locations under my name. I'm ok down to about 55F but after that it's not fun. I tend to get a snotty nose that won't stop. Maybe a nose cover might help?
Heat? Not a problem. It is tough with the high humidity and sometimes on long rides over mountain passes but otherwise I much prefer it to riding in the cold.

Troul 

cold impacts not just mph, but also distance.
add in moist conditions to really toss up the effort level.

genejockey 

Heat. We don't get REAL cold here.

With cold weather, you can generally dress warmly enough that you won't feel the cold after you've gone a few miles. The harder you ride, the less the cold matters. The biggest problem might be descents, after you're all sweaty, but if you adjust the route to eliminate big descents, it's not so bad.

Hot weather, there are legal limits to how much clothing you can remove, and the harder you ride the MORE the heat matters. I did one ride last summer when the temps for a lot of the ride were >95 and it was the SLOWEST ride I've done on that route by at least 1 mph average. Even descents didn't help much - the sweat evaporated so quickly that I didn't feel much relief (when it gets hot here it also gets DRY)

wolfchild

You should tell Larry about that.

joesch

YMMV but for me ...
110s - not fun unless your wet and need a blow dry
100s - try to limit rides to approx 1 hr t prevent dehydration and heat exhaustion
90s - really need to hydrate lots
80s - still pretty nice
70s - ideal
60s - still pretty nice
50s - getting chilly
40s - really dont like riding these temps
30s - can do for shorter periods with right clothing

dennis336

For me the extremes are mid-20s to mid-90s. In either case, I'd generally limit the ride to around an hour and avoid if the next day or two looks better. Not sure on average speed although I find the cold is less draining until it starts getting into my bones.

Yan 

Anyone who says cold slows them down more has clearly never ridden in real heat.

You can mitigate cold by dressing warm. You can't do the same for heat because you can't get more naked than naked.

When the air temperature is warmer than body temperature, the wind is warming you up. Only evaporation cools you at that point. Performance tanks as you enter the early phase of heat stroke.

wolfchild

Dressing warm will only keep you warm, prevent hypothermia and prevent frostbite, it isn't going to make you go faster or make your ride more efficient...I don't know the science behind it but anybody including myself who has ridden in real cold knows that extreme cold does slow you down. Breathing in minus 20 Celsius is also a lot harder then breathing in plus 20 Celsius.

Troul 

I'd expect the outside active people tracked data to show more numbers in cold weather deds compared to hot weather dedz.

Yan 

You shouldn't be comparing -20C with 20C. You should be comparing with 40C.

-20C is cold but manageable with the right kit. 40C is crippling no matter what you try to do.

Jay Turberville

At the extremes, I'd have to agree. The only time I've ever hit a wall where I felt in danger of not being physically able to proceed safely was at 3PM in the middle of the summer on the last five miles of a 50 mile ride. I only finished by putting the bike into full "granny" and pedaling with the least effort possible to continue going forward. In retrospect, I should have stopped. Maybe below freezing would do the same if I weren't properly clothed. But I've only been dumb enuf to challenge the heat, not the cold.

As for time of year, it is way easier for me to get up early and cycle with temps in the 80-90s in the summer than to cycle in the 50s in the winter. I prefer warmth and sweating more to being chilled.

delbiker1 

It seems to me, in general, cold air makes for more effort to move a bicycle, just like a baseball. Cold air has more density making it more difficult to displace. The attire one wears to keep warm has more mass, more wind resistance, and same with many riders old weather bike equipment.

pdlamb

Too close for me to call.

Age is having more of an effect on me in the heat. I never really got acclimated to riding above 95F this summer, so I'm limited as to how hard I can push without overheating.

But in the cold (which I generally define as being below 15-25F), I haven't found any clothing combination that will let me ride hard. Tights that keep my legs warm also constrict and drag my legs; a jacket which allows for inner layers also produces drag. And even breathing through a balaclava doesn't warm the air enough to keep my lungs happy. So there is some limit to airspeed when it's cold where I try to balance energy production from pedaling, and still stay cool enough that I don't sweat more than my clothes can shed. And that limit is slower that I'd ride if it were 70F.

burnthesheep

Poll said "you" and "hot or cold". It didn't say extreme hot or extreme cold. Since that's what it says hot here is 95F and humid, extreme heat would be 102 and humid. Cold is 40F and extreme cold would be upper 20's.

So for ME, I'd say cold. I've worn the same kit for a time trial that was 95F and humid (club run) and a TT that was just above freezing (actual race). The hot weather is faster due to air density.

For a "just training riding" though, I'm faster in winter on gravel. Gravel is slow enough the aero difference of cold weather vs hot weather and air density don't seem to matter as much as the power boost of cold weather over hot. For general road riding? Probably still faster in summer, just browsing rides, due to air density and higher speed than gravel riding.

Like said above though, TT bike is hands down faster when warmer. Ideal though isn't "blazing" hot, but more like a humid 84 deg summer morning.

For "other people" it's known they crank the heat up in velodromes and add humidity if necessary to lower air density for hour records.

Jay Turberville

Actually, it does say "extreme" for hot and cold. Maybe it was edited?

Troul 

if i have to poop, the cold weather gets a little more harder.

Ever try to get the winter gear off when the "kids" are at the "dock" ...