Hi everyone, I've read a bunch of posts about clothing for winter riding, but most are for a northern winter ... I.e. sub zero temps (Celcius).
Our winter is milder and was hoping someone could give me some tips on what I should be looking for to keep warm and motivated during the colder months for these temperatures.
0° to 5° (30-40 °f)
5° to 10° (40-50 °f)
What I currently have for winter:
Uniqlo heattech LS (the thin ones)
LS running shirts
2XU long compression tights
Fox Ranger shorts
Icebreaker socks
Fox dirtpaw gloves
Puma light wind/train jacket LS
What would I need to add to ride in the temperatures I listed? I'm thinking a vest and full jacket?
0-5:
You need some proper winter cycling shoes, for those temps, the Wolfhammers work pretty good. I have the previous generation Lake 302s too and they kinda suck, if you get them large enough they'll probably be ok. I find the Lakes are very versatile though, even when it's warmer like 50 degrees and wet, the are great because they keep your feet dry.
0-5 degrees is iffy as far as hands. It depends a lot on your hands. What I don't like is thick gloves, because even still, my fingers will freeze, my palms will sweat, and bike control is piss poor. So I often still have pogies, but if I'm working hard, I'm not using them in those temps, they are either rolled-up to expose the bar or off the bike completely. One thing I always have are foot-heater chemical heaters, they are adhesive and if my hands get cold, I pop a set in my pocket to warm up for 15 min, then put them on my bar and hold them, providing nice warmth. This is to avoid having to wear stupid thick gloves. Another trick is to have two similar wind-blocker type gloves and take the extra set with you on a ride, when your primary pair gets wet from sweat, pop on the secondary pair. Bonus points if you opened a chem heater and let the heater heat up the gloves in a pocket . I've found that very helpful.
Craft XC ski pants have an impressively wide temperature range. For 0-5 degrees I'm still in the XC ski pants. They do well even when it gets a bit warmer. For the 5-10 degree or higher, I'll often just go with a pair of base-layer leggings under the fox ranger shorts, but for 0-5, I want the XC ski pants with their wind-blocker fronts and ventilated rear. They do amazing.
You need some good windblocker gloves IMO. Dirt Paws are not those.
At those temps, usually a light windbreaker type shell works good, but it depends, at 0 degrees with a good wind, you might need some more significant insulation OR wind-blocking, depending on your speed and the wind(tree coverage). I have a variety of soft-shells and packable jackets I take on rides, often with a backup in my pack/frame bag. If colder than freezing, I usually recommend a nice soft-shell, because they breath so much better than heavy insulated/waterproof stuff, but when it gets above freezing, light shells seem to work pretty good. IME, avoid waterproof at all costs unless you are actually going to be riding in light to moderate rain. Otherwise, you overheat like crazy. Only when you get the actual rain hitting the jacket does it cool you enough to make that work.
In most cases, a long sleeve base-layer and light shell jacket should work well for those temps. One thing I always do though is take the "next coldest" layer with me. So if it's a 0-5 ride, I take -10 to 0 layer with me. In some cases, this is just a waterproof packable jacket (because it's windproof). In other cases like -20 or colder) it's a down-fill jacket. This is a good way to remain comfortable while riding (in addition to taking the extra gloves). When I go out there, I want to be comfortable, and I'd rather take a layer on and off a dozen times than get soaked by rain or sweat or get chilled to the bone. I found one way to deal with an extra jacket layer if it isn't packable is to "dress" your camelback with it, as if the camelback was your torso. You can "zip up" your jacket around the camelback, so it's off your body.
As far as jackets, I have a really light OR that is packable, not very windproof, but it's great for the 40-50 range when descending. Then I have a Northface packable that is kind of a puffy/shoftshell combination with large stretchy sections (arms) that breath well. Then I have a Patagonia lightweight packable waterproof rainshell. From there, it gets into my "colder" winter stuff, below zero, with a few lightweight softshells, then a couple heavier softshells, and eventually the down jackets. Hoods are important, they don't need to go over your helmet, you can put them under your helmet, but they can preserve a sigificant amount of heat, so they are mandatory for any of the above jackets for me.
A buff is plenty for those temperatures for your head. Without going colder than freezing, I wouldn't go to actual balaclavas and ski helmets. The buff is more versatile too. Works great on the neck.
IME, more than two layers in those temps=miserable wet/sweating. Changing your layers out and taking off the layer or putting it on is the key. Even in the deepest winter freeze, more than 3 layers is pretty crazy, because you just can't deal with the moisture and you'll get colder due to sweat. Options and being able to ventilate properly is the real key. Work hard up the hill, then at the top put on the light shell and descend with it to keep from super-cooling your core, then take it off as you start another climb, etc.
Wool/merino is heavier for the same insulation as synthetic and doesn't dry out as fast/easily. It doesn't smell as much, but if you are washing your clothes, this isn't a big issue. IME, there's way too much hype over wool/merino. It doesn't do all that is claimed and good synthetics close to your body are better in most situations. I find that loose clothing with base layers is cold no matter the material, the base layer needs to be fairly form-fitting to be effective. That way it transports moisture. There are some recent studies showing that the "insulating when wet" properties of wool are way overblown, and synthetics can do this too. Not great for the merino wool industry, but again, I find it to be overblown and for base layers, synthetics are higher performing. Down layers on the other hand, I find to be extremely effective. Not super relevant here, but in the real cold I'll have a down layer stuffed in my frame back. Because it's down, it stuffs into a real small space, and if I get cold and put it on, it's like putting on instant heat. Crazy how well the down can insulate you.
