Cold Weather conditions...

[bYuPride]

When I say cold, I mean high 40's low 50's with lots of cloud cover... i don't know if that's cold in the cycling world.. What are some of the things I need? What kind of jacket? I'm buying most if not all my gear at Pearl Izumi. My legs don't get real cold, so I'm not worried about pants at this point. What are some things to remember during a colder ride?

[creekster]

Originally Posted by bYuPride

When I say cold, I mean high 40's low 50's with lots of cloud cover... i don't know if that's cold in the cycling world.. What are some of the things I need? What kind of jacket? I'm buying most if not all my gear at Pearl Izumi. My legs don't get real cold, so I'm not worried about pants at this point. What are some things to remember during a colder ride?

remember to take care of your knees. Anything under 60 and I like to have mine covered at least until they or the day warms up. A good pair of leg warmers does the trick for me. Otherwise, layer up. If you are talking about PI stuff, get a good technical undershirt (something that wicks moisture) and you should be OK with that and a jersey for 40s or 50s. This sort of question is highly individualized, however, and will vary a lot from person to person.

[Archaea]

I don't like cold weather, so I have lots of specialized cycling gear developed for very cold weather, then I double up. My long cycling bibs are expensive but warm. They cost a couple of hundred dollars and then Ihave the tops. I cyclops gloves, with hand warmers. Layer your gear. Going up a cold hill means it will brutal coming down.

I've cycled in zero degree weather and despite my best precautions Ihad to be taken in the quikcare for hypothermia. My feet were darn near frostbitten.

[bluegoose]

Even though the knees may feel okay in the cold, definitely keep them covered in the 40's and 50's. Most people recommend covering them up to 65 degrees. I personally prefer simple knee warmers as opposed to full leg warmers, as they tend to stay up a little better and take up less space in my pockets when it warms up and i take them off.

A base layer like Under Armour is good. I tend to wear my vest quite often. It has good ventilation in the back and doesn't tend to catch air much , but it blocks the wind from my chest just enough to keep me from getting too cold.

Arm warmers are also a must. A nice lightweight pair take up no space in your pockets.

Full fingered gloves are also huge when the temps are in the low 40's. Throw in the wind chill and all of a sudden your relative temp is about freezing and the fingers are often the most affected by the cold.

If your feet tend to get cold, a simple pair of toe coevers can keep your little piggies nice and toasty.

Ear warmers and/or a skull cap are nice, but not totally necessary at those temps.

[bYuPride]

Originally Posted by creekster

remember to take care of your knees. Anything under 60 and I like to have mine covered at least until they or the day warms up. A good pair of leg warmers does the trick for me. Otherwise, layer up. If you are talking about PI stuff, get a good technical undershirt (something that wicks moisture) and you should be OK with that and a jersey for 40s or 50s. This sort of question is highly individualized, however, and will vary a lot from person to person.

so do you prefer the leg warmers over the tights? The salesperson recommended the warmers to me... it seems like it would be nice just to rip them off and throw them in your pocket.

all I purchased yesterday was a wind breaker type shell. It's supposed to repel water, is very light weight and can easily be folded up and put in my pocket. It's supposed supposed to breath very well too.

you know, I've been trying to get my friends to get bikes so I'll have more people to ride with, but with each purchase I make, I'm afraid to encourage someone to do this because it's so freaking expensive. I'd hate to talk someone into this and then have them find out they don't like it!

[bYuPride]

Originally Posted by Archaea

I don't like cold weather, so I have lots of specialized cycling gear developed for very cold weather, then I double up. My long cycling bibs are expensive but warm. They cost a couple of hundred dollars and then Ihave the tops. I cyclops gloves, with hand warmers. Layer your gear. Going up a cold hill means it will brutal coming down.

I've cycled in zero degree weather and despite my best precautions Ihad to be taken in the quikcare for hypothermia. My feet were darn near frostbitten.

I'm starting to think I'm a fairweather rider. I'll go in somewhat cold weather, but zero degree weather?! No thank you!

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by bYuPride

I'm starting to think I'm a fairweather rider. I'll go in somewhat cold weather, but zero degree weather?! No thank you!

Once you get the bug, there's no stopping you. I've been up Brian Head in Winter, and it was brutal, but fun.

Will be there for part of our ride Saturday.

As I understand it thus far, we ride from fiveish to eightish, run from eightish to ninish. Breakfast, football, Game, mountain bike after game and dinner.

[bYuPride]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Once you get the bug, there's no stopping you. I've been up Brian Head in Winter, and it was brutal, but fun.

Will be there for part of our ride Saturday.

As I understand it thus far, we ride from fiveish to eightish, run from eightish to ninish. Breakfast, football, Game, mountain bike after game and dinner.

Sounds like a blast! Should be pretty good weather on Saturday too.... hey, I have another side question while I'm thinking about it. The frame of my back for the most part is a dark navy blue with some black and gray. The big accent color however is baby blue. It's almost a Utah Jazz bike... would you guess it would be really expensive to have the baby blue airbrushed to white? I know it's nit picky, but my bike would definitely look cooler to me with a white accent color vs. the baby blue.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by bYuPride

Sounds like a blast! Should be pretty good weather on Saturday too.... hey, I have another side question while I'm thinking about it. The frame of my back for the most part is a dark navy blue with some black and gray. The big accent color however is baby blue. It's almost a Utah Jazz bike... would you guess it would be really expensive to have the baby blue airbrushed to white? I know it's nit picky, but my bike would definitely look cooler to me with a white accent color vs. the baby blue.

Good paint jobs can be quite expensive, but I don't bother with that. I buy buy ti or carbon colored bikes and leave the paint jobs for more stylish people. I'm a nuts and bolts kinda guy.

[creekster]

Originally Posted by bYuPride

so do you prefer the leg warmers over the tights? The salesperson recommended the warmers to me... it seems like it would be nice just to rip them off and throw them in your pocket.

all I purchased yesterday was a wind breaker type shell. It's supposed to repel water, is very light weight and can easily be folded up and put in my pocket. It's supposed supposed to breath very well too.

you know, I've been trying to get my friends to get bikes so I'll have more people to ride with, but with each purchase I make, I'm afraid to encourage someone to do this because it's so freaking expensive. I'd hate to talk someone into this and then have them find out they don't like it!

It depends on what the weather forecast is. If it isn't likely to get very warm, I will just wear tights. If it is going to warm up quite a bit (and we get coastal fog sometimes in the am so our temperature can vary a bit during the day) I will wear the warmers.

Let me add a comment about the cost of gear. All the high tech gear is nice, but you don't need it. All you need is a bike and a road. Don't get caught up in all the gear stuff. The only things I think you really NEED are good bike shorts, gloves and a helmet. T-shirts work fine. When I was a kid I had my mom sew some pockets on the back of my t-shirts as jerseys were not very common where i was and they were out of my price range. Like they say, it's not the bike (or the gear), it's the engine that counts. There is a whole movement out there that despises lycra and gore-tex on bikes. See http://www.rivbike.com/clothing/our_...ch_to_clothing

and before you get all snooty on these guys (their facility is about 1/2 mile from my office) let me tell you they make BEAUTIFUL bikes, true pieces of art. So don't break the bank for all that stuff, as all you really need you already have.