Cold Weather Commuting and cold legs. BIking greaves?

newts

newts

Active Member
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USA
EDIT: There's many good ideas for special cold weather clothing but I want to wear normal office clothes while commuting and have something easy to wear on top. I have zip off wind pants but even that gets tedious twice a day. The idea of the greaves, a windproof shield I could attach with a velcro strap to each leg came to me today. I didn't see if anyone has made this or maybe there is a better idea?

ORIGINAL:

So as most of us in colder climates have figured out the higher speed of e bike commuting means more wind chill. Below freezing I have a liner for ears and wear ski gloves. I can also wear suitable winter jacket. But my legs still get cold. Now I have worn long poly underwear and/or wind pants but these are not great solutions for commuting to work where I don't want to change in and out of special clothing.

I was thinking about some kind of half-pants or full leg greaves with velcro to easily put them on and off over regular jeans or slacks/trousers. I looked but I didn't see such a thing already existed but maybe I don't know what to search for?

Any other ideas?
 
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Art Deco said:
This thread may help
electricbikereview.com

Are you going to ride in snow?

I hope to avoid snow but just in case ... https://electrek.co/2020/12/08/snow-electric-bike-riding-winter-tips-and-tricks/
electricbikereview.com electricbikereview.com
Click to expand...
Not really. It's more about the bikes. or extreme riding in cold. I am asking more for ideas for every day commuting in normal clothes, especially for something easy on/off for my legs. The special warm clothing is fine except I don't want to have to change clothes twice a day at work.

Thanks
 
Below 40 F I wear waffle weave long underwear under my pants. 65% cotton. Hard to find now; I'm having to shop at Kohl's very early in the season to find Large ones. 99.9% of people drive cars everywhere that are toasty warm with heated seats. I gave up on "fruit of the loom" brand long underwear, the elastic in those stetches 50% in one wash. That poly "base layer" trash that is taking over all the shelf space in stores, I don't know what people are using for brains that buy those twice. They are very cold.
Below 10 F I wear Carhartt flock lined overpants. If you can get them the flock lined overalls have zippers in the legs to release them to pull off over boots. Straps over the shoulders hold them up better than a belt around the waist in the pants. Sorry, I couldn't wear those inside all day, they are too hot. At light tan they look stupid, too. Last job I pulled them off before work in the shoe changing room where we mechanics put on our safety shoes. If preparing to climb on the roof to beat the frozen corn out of the chutes to the cooker, I would put them back on. Nobody stocks Carhartt overpants in my size, I have to internet order them from the factory store in Memphis. Big people can buy import copies at the sporting goods store in the deer hunting department.
I tried dancer leg warmers once but they ended up in a collar around my ankles. Had to be under the poly work pants, air trapping weave doesn't work when wind can blow the warmth away.
 
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Below the mid 30's I go from shorts to long pants ... but very specific ones. Duluth Trading Firehose Flex material cargo pants. One size up on pant length than usual. Duluth pants have a 4-corner gusset in the crotch they used to call their 'ballroom' gussett, now more discreetly called a 'crouch gussett'. It makes all the difference in the world for keeping your family jewels decompressed when leaning over the handlebars and pedaling. And the 'flex' variant is their tough fabric with interwoven spandex, so its comfy while cycling. Before the Flex stuff came out, I used the ordinary Firehose 11 oz fabric pants.

Have never done fleece liners, but when it gets well below freezing I do add polypro long underwear. Worst case on top of all that (rain or fog) I throw on rainpants, but thats only if its pouring. I coat the pants with silicone spray a couple three times a year and that beads water off them. The Duluth pants are water repellent on their own.

My raincoat is long enough to cover my butt as well, and of course I do wheel and body fenders to keep as much spray off of me from the ground, which it seems is where most of the water comes at me from.
 
Snowboarding trousers (zipped at the ankle as these tend to be wide there) can do miracles. For cold feet, electrically heated socks and shoe insoles exist.
Not sure if that's the answer to satisfy the OP needs but that's what I do in the winter.

I simply think there are no regular clothes that could stand the cold when riding an e-bike in the winter.

rich c said:
The standard code for winter outdoor sports; "if you are cold, add better head covering". I use a snow boarders helmet. Insulated and has ear covering. Makes me warmer all over.
Click to expand...
I was on a 38 km ride yesterday and despite of wearing my snowboarding helmet, goggles and warm gloves, my legs were freezing. That's because my warm Autumn bibs worn over a thermo-active base layer were not sufficient at 1 C.

I also own a pair of Gore-tex cycling trousers and it looks the right time to wear them has just come.
 
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As a former motorcyclist, in this situation I would don my rain pants. To make it easy to get in to with shoes, I would use plastic shopping bags on each foot over my shoes, then your feet easily slip through the rain pants without hanging up.
 
Viking1 said:
As a former motorcyclist, in this situation I would don my rain pants. To make it easy to get in to with shoes, I would use plastic shopping bags on each foot over my shoes, then your feet easily slip through the rain pants without hanging up.
Click to expand...
That's a great idea. I think after this thread I will use the wind pants, your trick is a good one. And also get a larger winter high viz jacket to fit over extra sweaters and layers.
 
Having flexibility in the idea of changing into your work clothes upon arrival at work opens up alot more alternatives in what is out there. As my credit card statement shows, good gear comes with a price, but it's a price well invested that you know can make your riding more enjoyable, even in some questionable weather conditions for a bicycle.

In most cold weather riding, I've been wearing this exact winter pants from Fox Racing; and I can tell you it blocks out the coldest winds and precipitation: Link-https://www.rei.com/product/160143/fox-defend-fire-pants-mens This color combo is no longer available, but that's the way of color schemes in cycling clothing, it changes every other year. They feature a soft, micro fleece material on the inside. I absolutely love my Fox Racing Fire Pants.

And for the really hard core cold weather riding ops, I picked up a Dirtlej Core DirtSuit. The DirtSuit is to wet, cold weather riding that the Kokatat Gore Tex Drysuit is to sea kayaking. The one thing I found with the dirt suit is that the cut is not generous to those of us who have filled out a wee bit in the middle as we age. Link: https://bikerumor.com/review-new-di...tsuit-w-improved-breathability-waterproofing/ The thing about the DirtSuit is that it is an expensive piece of clothing; think over 400 dollars. And being a German made item, there is but one US distributor, the last I checked. The quality of the suit reminds me exactly of my Kokatat drysuit...

I'd suggest a re-think on sticking hard & fast to wearing the work clothes underneath whatever you decide to wear. Cold weather bicycling some distance from home requires good layering underneath your outerwear to allow sweat moisture to wick to the outer layers and hopefully, out of the outer clothing. And don't forget gloves and a good warm hat. Even goggles. Something innocent as getting a flat tire in winter and the repair of a flattened tire could make you go hypothermic if you are caught being improperly dressed for the conditions at hand. Well, fwiw, that's my take on it.
 
I don't deal with cold weather much (0C plus wind chill is as low as it gets here) but bought a pair of these recently for the frequent rain showers we have: https://decathlon.com.au/products/500-city-cycling-rain-overtrousers-169380?

Cheap, should cut the chill well in combination with suitable work pants (I just wear denim jeans) and best of all they slip over my boots and pants easily without having to remove anything. 20 seconds and they're off.
 
I have to carry a extra bag now because our weather changes so much. rain pants a light jacket for awhile maybe light or heavy gloves with the other on and a few other things.
I saw those goretex suits at REI or at least bibs but I now have very warm pants that I don't have to change. if the rain is not heavy they work as rain pants too. the warm pants kept me far warmer then when I had normal pants. I don't need a huge amount to keep my legs warm or my upper body, my feet and hands are the hard ones to keep warm. my feet are fine till it gets below 32.
 
To complete this thread, I ordered the rainlegs from clevercycles. They are pretty much exactly what I wanted in my head. They are made in China but good materials and construction. I got the fully reflective ones.

This morning it was 27F degrees (about -3C) so I thought I would try them out over my usual jeans I wear to work. They worked great to keep the wind off my legs! They also are easy to put on and take off and they don't take up much space in the panniers to be part of the EDC kit.
 
Hard to find:
Insulated pants with full length long side zippers, all the way to the waist side zippers. Easy to get on and off without the need to remove shoes. Found mine at a bike shop. My local sporting goods had some but they were all camouflage colors. Not for me but everyone is different.
 
newts said:
EDIT: There's many good ideas for special cold weather clothing but I want to wear normal office clothes while commuting and have something easy to wear on top. I have zip off wind pants but even that gets tedious twice a day. The idea of the greaves, a windproof shield I could attach with a velcro strap to each leg came to me today. I didn't see if anyone has made this or maybe there is a better idea?

ORIGINAL:

So as most of us in colder climates have figured out the higher speed of e bike commuting means more wind chill. Below freezing I have a liner for ears and wear ski gloves. I can also wear suitable winter jacket. But my legs still get cold. Now I have worn long poly underwear and/or wind pants but these are not great solutions for commuting to work where I don't want to change in and out of special clothing.

I was thinking about some kind of half-pants or full leg greaves with velcro to easily put them on and off over regular jeans or slacks/trousers. I looked but I didn't see such a thing already existed but maybe I don't know what to search for?

Any other ideas?
Click to expand...
Although I am new to the forum, not new to riding. Without causing shade on ebike users, I am surprised at the lack of protective clothing. Consider motorcycle wear, as well they will afford high viz, protection and if you up size your business attire should fit comfortably. Same thing with gloves and half helmets, goggles et al. Most m/c have ventilation as well.

Motorcycle courses provide riders with defensive driving techniques that can be beneficial as well. 😎
 
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