Winter Clothing Advice please

smr

smr

smr

Soldato
Joined
6 Mar 2008
Posts
8,753
Location
Leicestershire
Hi all,

Got my first road bike at the end last Summer but haven't been out on it all Winter.

I don't have any winter clothes at all and am a bit confused as to what to wear. I've been doing a bit of research and I think I'm getting the hang of what to get but wondered if I am on the right track...

Presumably the first thing I need to wear is a base layer top to wick away sweat and keep me warm?

Then I see you can buy tights or bib tights - if I went for bib tights do I wear them over the base layer top and over boxer shorts ?

Do I wear anything else on my legs apart from tights or is just the tights and that's it?

Should I wear a jersey over my base layer and bib tights before a jacket? And aside from gloves, lights and overshoes is there anything else I'm missing?

Thanks for any advice.
 
I've typically been doing 45-75 minute rides, 5-6 times per week for the last month or so, not that long by some standards. In the coldest weather, during the last week with a low of ~+1C (feels like ~-2C according to Metcheck), I've been wearing...
Compression leggings
Padded shorts
Shorts
Merino socks
T-shirt (or work shirt)
Aldi Merino mid layer
PX Hydrosphere jacket
Aldi fluro winter gloves
Aldi merino beanie

After a while, especially when doing hill climbing on my skinnified fatbike, I feel the need to unzip my jacket a bit and my mid layer.

When it's ~+5C, I lose the leggings and replace the gloves with thinner Dafeet gloves.

It's all a bit trial and error, depends on so many factors (fitness, terrain, intensity, duration etc.), but to begin with it is probably best to be over-layered than under!
 
windproof hat as well.
How many layers you wear, really depends on weather conditions.

I've found wearing winter windproof tights a bit too sweaty. You may need combination of warmer clothing and summer clothing as a base layer. For myself I'm just wearing two layer glove as that is coldest part. Fine with jeans at the moment. Decent socks. Windproof hat. t-shirt, with thin fleece or padded work jacket and windproof jacket is enough.
 
smr said:
Then I see you can buy tights or bib tights
Click to expand...
Bibtights are the better option for most people. For all the same reasons that bibshorts are better than shorts.

smr said:
if I went for bib tights do I wear them over the base layer top and over boxer shorts ?
Click to expand...
I wear mine over the top of my base layer. Dont wear boxers.

smr said:
Do I wear anything else on my legs apart from tights or is just the tights and that's it?
Click to expand...
Occasionally, if it's very cold, I'll wear base layer tights under my bibtights.

smr said:
Should I wear a jersey over my base layer and bib tights before a jacket?
Click to expand...
I wear in this order: base layer, cycling jersey, softshell jumper, waterproof jacket. With just the base layer under the bibtights, everything else on top.

smr said:
And aside from gloves, lights and overshoes is there anything else I'm missing?
Click to expand...
Skullcap-type hat to go under your helmet, maybe a buff too for keeping your neck warm.
Glasses - cold air can really make your eyes sore.
 
Head:
I just wear one of those ear warmer things, and a snood if it's super cold

Legs:
Normal bib tights should be fine. If you're like me, you don't feel the cold on your legs as much

Upper body:
Base layer
Long sleeve jersey (Gabba rocks if you can afford that)

Feet:
Merino wool socks
Overshoes if it's wet and/or very cold

That should do it, with suitable gloves of course.

If you get a decent jersey, you shouldnt need waterproofs etc, as they can cope with the wet.
 
I generally find the following works for me in Winter. Don't forget to factor in wind chill too : It can be 5c with a wind chill of -2c

Less than 5C
2x base layers
1x winter jersey
Winter bib tights
winter gloves
2x socks
Overshoes

Between 6-10C
1x base layer
1x winter jersey
Winter bib tights
fingerless gloves
1x socks
Overshoes

Above 10C
1x base layer
1x standard jersey
standard bib tights
fingerless gloves
1x socks
overshoes (only if wet)
 
in Freezing cold conditions, i wear

TOP :

Winter Base Layer (Under Armour Cold block) (doesn't have to be a cycling base layer)
Long Sleeve Jersey x2 (depending on thickness)
Soft Shell Jacket (Windproof with a fleecy liner)

BOTTOM :
Bib Shorts
Bib Tights (Roubaxi fabric)
Long winter socks
Cycling Boots (sometimes over shoes over these) (or just cycling shoes with a decent pair of thick over shoes)

HEAD :

Windproof Skull Cap (Skull caps cover your ears and go under helmets very well)

HANDS :

Specialized Sub Zero Gloves

EXTRAS (to store in back pocket) :
Rain Jacket
 
Thanks for the advice guys, very helpful.

Do these items look ok?



edit - woah I'm sure those gloves were about 25 quid a couple of days ago. May have to rethink that one.
 
Just bought some BBB overshoes as well, on sale at wiggle, the £25 artic ones. I think those heavyduty don't have a reinforced toe area so if you walk a bit on them, you'll damage the neoprene. The Artic duty ones do.
 
When I lived in the Highlands of Scotland, during winter (-5ish) I'd wear a baselayer, long sleeve jersey, gloves and shorts. I never felt the cold after 5-10 minutes. Were all different though, wear what feels right, but start off cold. Nothing worse than being warm to begin with, and then being horribly warm later. I'd rather be a little cold than sweating buckets.
 
hornetstinger said:
Just bought some BBB overshoes as well, on sale at wiggle, the £25 artic ones. I think those heavyduty don't have a reinforced toe area so if you walk a bit on them, you'll damage the neoprene. The Artic duty ones do.
Click to expand...

ok. actually high viz might look a bit silly anyway given nothing else is. I've got a blue dare2b jersey coming which I got for a tenner reduced from £40 on ebay so will see how that goes.
 
Also I would recommend two rear lights in case one fails.
And move away from battery lights to USB rechargable (I have a couple of Aldi Cob lights)
That front light will be ok for town but not for unlit roads.
 
smr said:
Thanks for the advice guys, very helpful.

Do these items look ok?

<snip>

edit - woah I'm sure those gloves were about 25 quid a couple of days ago. May have to rethink that one.
Click to expand...

hornetstinger said:
Just bought some BBB overshoes as well, on sale at wiggle, the £25 artic ones. I think those heavyduty don't have a reinforced toe area so if you walk a bit on them, you'll damage the neoprene. The Artic duty ones do.
Click to expand...

Those BBB overshoes are 'meh', they're ok as a basic 'cover' for that money, but not as a winter overshoe as they're not great at keeping the wet out or the warmth in. the HeavyDuty are no better. They're just a little on the thin side (I had a pair I wore for many months before wrecking them in a crash). Overshoes will always get wrecked at the toe area very early, so it's best to find some which have that reinforced so when they do wear through the whole thing isn't compromised by it falling apart/ripping/shredding (you want the area to wear through where your shoe grips are but not to leave a big gap so they move around).

Those Gripgrab Hurricane are ok waterproof gloves but they're not for winter. They're not thick enough/have no insulation! Got some of those too, good for spring, they're not worth £40 though! :)

Bib tights is a tough one. Lots of people wear them but I found the ones I bought (thankfully DHB basic ones) I didn't wear enough to justify buying better. The last couple of winters I've found wearing shorts, leg warmers and then padless tights over the top much, much better!

My winter list is similar to Pete's list:

merino thick socks (PX Thicky) Best socks I've ever owned, so cheap & comfortable I wear them for every day, not just for cycling!
base layer (Sportful Thermodynamic) - 50% sweat absorption, 50% heat retension. I wear these in anything 20 degrees and lower, in the warm summer I wear a 'mesh' type.
short sleeve jersey Castelli/Sportful (just acting as a mid layer)
arm warmers (DHB screens but below 2-3 degrees I would wear Sportful Norain) - basically working with the above jersey so I don't need to own long sleeve jerseys
winter jersey (DHB ASV Windslam Roubaix / DHB Windslam Blade) Good quality softshells, mostly to stop the weather/wind/rain getting through so avoiding wearing a hardshell jacket (except in the torrential downpours)
winter shorts (Sportful Fiandre NoRain) Good thick shorts, wind blocking and suitable for up to +15 and down to around 3-4 on their own without additional tights
leg warmers (Sportful NoRain) Again, good mostly weatherproof layer, suitable for +10 down to 3-4 on their own
winter padless bibtights (DHB Vaeon Roubaix) Thick layer, not that waterproof but good for keeping weather out, dry quickly. Wear with the above layers in the cold weather.
thick neoprene overshoes (Sealskinz Open sole / DHB ) I wear overshoes in nearly all weather below 12 degrees, sometimes even when over with a cold wind
gilet (either Fawesome / DHB Whisp/ or HUMP) mostly for visibility as much of my winter kit is black. HUMP is great for some reflective wear in the dark, Fawsome for warmth and all are good for additional windproofing and basic rain shower protection.
beanie style head cover usually with a cap, beanie for warmth, cap all weather for keeping cold air from directly on the scalp (I wear one all weathers), also good for sweat absorption and keeping rain/sun out of the eyes.
buff/neck gaitor covering mouth (but not nose), during winter pulled up over ears so almost all of my face is covered
thick winter gloves (Sportful Sotto / Galibier Barrier) thickest gloves I have found as I suffer from freezing thumbs, Sotto still not enough for temperatures (+windchill) below -8/-10

Wow that's some list! :o :D

I commute all weathers and my commute is only short, so I don't have enough time to really overheat. For warmer (5-15 degrees) I'll wear the same things but less layers (no tights, no mid-layer) and lighter 'roubaix' style thinner shoftshells with thinner gloves etc.

In the winter heavy rain these same thinner softshells (DHB macro for example) I'll wear under a hardshell jacket. Due to the rain/condensation I'll rapidly overheat, so in the spring/autumn showers/light rain I'll usually just manage with a gilet or a light packable.

I run warm but my hands and feet get cold, so I protect them as much as possible, they also never overheat. I wear multiple layers so I can easily tailor them to suit changing conditions as I ride 3 times on workdays at 7:30am / 1pm-2pm / 5:15pm.
 
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