cool weather gear

[Hugh]

I,m heading down to my local bike shop to pick up a little cool weather gear in a few minutes. The temperature in the mornings when i ride to work is averaging 3 to 5 degrees Celcius which is just a little above freezing. So a pair of insulated gloves and some type of an insulated skullcap to fit under my helmet for starters. When i started riding to work this spring once the snow and ice had gone my hands were often so cold as to be useless for a the first few minutes after arriving. I did look into battery heated gloves but the reviews are generally poor. They have Outdoor Research gripper gloves which should help and if necessary a pair of cycling poagies will be added. I first used poagies on my kayak in spring weather, for anyone not familiar with the term, they fasten with hook and loop over the bars, are large enough for gloves to slip into and keep wind and rain, etc off hands and or gloves. The poagies i found at a company called Mountain Equipment Co-op.

 

[J.R.]

@Hugh looks good! Here in the southern 48 we more often call pogies, bar mitts. There was a good discussion here last year about them and many riders love them. I have a really nice pair of of Pearl Izumi gauntlet gloves I got 2 years ago and found them indispensable.

Here in PA we are still behind you on temps, but you are right on in timing. Thanks for reminding me!

 

[Berry78]

This is a great thread. Ebikes incentivise people to keep riding longer into cold weather. Love hearing about the options!

 

[Hugh]

I picked up a pair of Outdoor Research gripper gloves, so far in the morning rides they have been windproof and fairly warm, but it has not gotten very cold here yet, been averaging around 6 to 10 degrees celcius. Have not needed to use the insulated skullcap under the helmet yet. I have taken to wearing my thin leather jacket with a reflective vest over it though, the added warmth has been great. Like in Game of Thrones -winter is coming.

 

[James Kohls]

Getting down to about 50 F here in the mornings (10 c). I wear Under Armour ColdGear compression shirts with a Pearl Izumi Ride Men's Elite Barrier Convertible Jacket. Will probably have to get a heavier jacket once it drops below 40 on a regular basis. Pougies are on my Amazon wishlist. I haven't felt a need to switch from my fingerless gloves yet. But I have a pair of Specialized Element 1.5's waiting for some use.

 

[Cnugget]

Making a list of cold weather/rain weather gear: Pogies!! hehe... Anyone ever consider a rain suite Onezie? I keep thinking it would be great to jump in, zip up and go.

 

[Hugh]

I was cleaning my garage yesterday and found my old Kayak paddle hands, a kayaking pogie and tried them on the bike. They are just waterproof and windproof nylon and I think I can access the brakes, shifters, etc with them on. The next time i head to work early and it,s cold they will get tested.

 

[Bobh]

I just had a chilly ride this morning and was thinking it might be time to get prepared for what is coming.

My main need is gloves. I saw some Pearl Izumi lobster gloves which seem to get good reviews.

https://www.rei.com/product/884860/pearl-izumi-pro-amfib-insulated-lobster-gloves

I was curious if anyone has experience with these or similar.

 

[Ann M.]

Those look interesting, @Bobh, I like the separate digit so you can still shift and brake more easily than with a typical mitten. Like the waterproof inside layer and that it's not overly tight appearing. Now with that said, I have issues every fall and winter with frozen hands but my solution is a couple of pairs of gloves and the most important, a set of glove liners. The liners are lightweight for when it's the wind chill causing a problem, easy to carry but not so heavy that my hands will be sweating from overheating; an issue that could be a problem unless it's very cold. Pull them on, then add another layer of gloves if needed. The lobster gloves look great for the coldest weather, though.

 

[Cnugget]

Ak. Winter gear is expensive!!! Looks like I might have to break out the sewing machine and Franken make something. Lobster mitts couldn't be that hard could they?

 

[James Kohls]

I just had a chilly ride this morning and was thinking it might be time to get prepared for what is coming.

My main need is gloves. I saw some Pearl Izumi lobster gloves which seem to get good reviews.

https://www.rei.com/product/884860/pearl-izumi-pro-amfib-insulated-lobster-gloves

I was curious if anyone has experience with these or similar.

View attachment 10667

Bike Blogger on Youtube wears those and seems to like them.

 

[Hugh]

Its not for my bionx road bike but for a Giant Talon 2 I bought this spring, for now its just pedal power but i bought a set of studded tires for it a couple days ago. And have ordered a pair of goggles plus a neck warmer. And trying to decide if I should add a 250 watt geared hub motor to the front wheel which with my power would geive me 2wd.

 

[tomjasz]

Minnesota style in January

 

[SCbiker]

Bike Blogger on Youtube wears those and seems to like them.

James,

boy that brings back memories ... tell me. what do you do to keep your bike running good in the ice, salt, sand environment

stay safe ... B.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I just had a chilly ride this morning and was thinking it might be time to get prepared for what is coming.

My main need is gloves. I saw some Pearl Izumi lobster gloves which seem to get good reviews.

https://www.rei.com/product/884860/pearl-izumi-pro-amfib-insulated-lobster-gloves

I was curious if anyone has experience with these or similar.

View attachment 10667

I have them and used it extensively last winter but if you live in a place that gets much below 32F, as JR suggested you may need to go with bar mitts.

 

[drcollie]

Here's the secret of cold weather riding and gear.

It's not so much what you put on your extremities, it's that you keep your torso warm Your vital organs are all in your torso, and your circulation system will slow the blood flow to your limbs if your inner core is getting cold. Keep your torso warm and the blood flows to the rest of your body. So instead of buying bulky gloves, fur hats, etc, get a battery-powered heated vest, you don't need the sleeves. Also, the largest heat loss comes from your neck, so wear a neck gaiter. Do this and you can stay nice and toasty with regular socks and fairly thin gloves.

Years and years of motorcycle touring for hours on end in freezing cold taught me this technique, and at speeds a lot higher than an e-bike it works great.

 

[tomjasz]

Goosedown and goretex, mittens with glove liners. Ski bibs, all good gear or snowmobile gear. All mechanicals sprayed with ACF50 or Boeshiled or similar. Bring bike into warm air overnight. I run with a 10s3p, or 14s3p packs that I unplug and easily carry in with me to keep warm. A warm battery is the most important item. The rest is just understanding dressing for cold. I prefer my 36v 15-20mph bike. 30+ raises the brutal bar. My new snow bike will be 20 max 38T x 22T. 52v 14s3p

 

[tomjasz]

James,

boy that brings back memories ... tell me. what do you do to keep your bike running good in the ice, salt, sand environment

stay safe ... B.

ACF 50 for mechanicals. I don't have to, I ride for fun, and short errands. I never drive anymore due to a disability. I've also worked out doors from the north woods of MN to the desert of NV. -30-115F it's just weather.

 

[James Kohls]

James,

boy that brings back memories ... tell me. what do you do to keep your bike running good in the ice, salt, sand environment

stay safe ... B.

FYI, that wasn't my video, but I have ridden my regular road bike in past winters.

This is the first year I'll be using an ebike in the winter. On my old pedal power road bike, I would bring it into my basement and hose it off near the drain. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to do that very easily with a 50 pound bike. At least not often. This year, I'm thinking of buying one of those children's plastic sleds to set my rear wheel in and clean it that way. I have a quick release on my chain, so I can take it off easily. I'll probably use a spray bottle to clean out the gears and chain ring. Once a month, I'll probably take the rear wheel off and bring it into my basement for a good cleaning.

If your bike is entirely aluminum, you won't have to worry too much about rust. Aluminum will eventually corrode, but it won't rust. You can use a magnet to try and find any steel parts on your bike. Some car wax would help protect those parts in the winter. Snow along roads and sidewalks tends to have a lot of coarse material in it. This will be sloshing all over your drive train. If getting your bike wet on a regular basis won't work (being an outdoor only bike), using an air compressor with a spray nozzle to blow out debris is probably better than nothing.

 

[Hugh]

Sad update to this for me anyway, I took the bike to work that I had planned to add a front gear drive hub to and locked it to a bench in front of the train station at my work. Came out at 10pm and the bike has been stolen, only the front wheel still locked to the bench. The bikes always get 2 locks and this time the bench was more convenient and I did not think about the quick release front wheel. Thankfully my BionX equipped road bike was safely at home locked in the garage. I plan on retiring, again, this spring so no way will I be riding to work again.