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Riding in cold weather.

10K views 68 replies 32 participants last post by  Sharryhate 
#1 ·
OK,
So I've been riding since August of this year and try to get as much riding as possible. It has been getting very cold here in New England. I've been riding in 50 degree weather no problem but this morning when I decided to take the bike to work, it was 30 degrees out. I decided to take the city roads instead of the highway but even through the city riding, I was very cold by the time I go to work (20 minutes). The most problematic for me is the knees getting very cold. It's been 5 hours since my ride and my knees are still cold.

How many of you ride in below freezing temps? What are your ideas on staying warm? Any thoughts or comments?
 
#34 ·
I've always ridden all Winter, but with a short (12 mile) commute now there's only a couple of minutes difference between the bike and the car - a lot less than the time it takes to pull my gear on and off at each end of the ride, so when it's still an hour before dawn and the rain is freezing as it hits I tend to get in the car. The car is cheaper to run than the Streety anyway.

So far as cold goes, the only real issue I have is my knees when it drops below about 5C. Gortex rain pants that keep the wind chill off solve the problem on an unfaired bike. Biggest problem is keeping my glasses clear. A pinlock takes care of the visor.

Long trips are OK, but it isn't really worth gearing up for a 20 minute ride. Must be getting old lol.

Rob
 
#36 ·
i havent worn long johns once riding these past 2 winters. temps have been down to 20's/low 20's so far.

as long as my hands and my neck is warm, i really dont have any issues.
neck so far is good but hands are starting to get annoying after 15-20 mins in those temps.
 
#38 ·
Craziest thing to see riders in the winter! Riding in Hawaii, I quickly forget that there is more than one season until I went back to Cali for Christmas this month. Sure going to miss my year-round riding weather when I transfer.
 
#41 ·
Only wear long johns on the boat in Winter. They're far too warm to wear around the office all day and apart from changing my boots for shoes I just want to take my outer gear off - not do a complete change. Helmet,gloves etc., go into the top box when I get off the bike, hang the jacket on my chair back and change my shoes.

taotaomona77 - Cali and Florida are two States where year round riding is easy. I do remember working in Florida one December listening to the local radio praising the brave bikers who were braving the bitter cold for their Christmas charity run. At the time, we were lounging around the hotel's outdoor pool wearing swimming costumes and enjoying a beer and the December sunshine.

Rob
 
#43 ·
Only wear long johns on the boat in Winter. They're far too warm to wear around the office all day and apart from changing my boots for shoes I just want to take my outer gear off - not do a complete change. Helmet,gloves etc., go into the top box when I get off the bike, hang the jacket on my chair back and change my shoes.

taotaomona77 - Cali and Florida are two States where year round riding is easy. I do remember working in Florida one December listening to the local radio praising the brave bikers who were braving the bitter cold for their Christmas charity run. At the time, we were lounging around the hotel's outdoor pool wearing swimming costumes and enjoying a beer and the December sunshine.

Rob
i'd be :Laughing rolling: as well. idk how cold it gets in the uk though.
 
#42 ·
Just wanted to say if you're going to ride in cold weather, please, please warm your tires up. I just dumped my bike two days ago due to cold roads, salt and un-warmed tires. Be safe and consider the conditions.
 
#48 ·
i rode 30 miles tonight in 33 degree weather. my legs got damned cold by the end (even wearing long underwear under my jeans, the wind gets through, should've worn over-pants) my biggest problem with cold riding is just that my glasses fog up inside my helmet if i dont keep the visor cracked, i just bought a 'breath box' i need to put it in my helmet when it comes in and see wether i still get alot of fogging, or if it really does deflect all my breath out n away
 
#50 ·
is just that my glasses fog up inside my helmet if i dont keep the visor cracked, i just bought a 'breath box' i need to put it in my helmet when it comes in and see wether i still get alot of fogging, or if it really does deflect all my breath out n away
For me, niether breath box nor anything else mechanical works for my glasses. The only thing that does is Fairy Liquid, applied thickly, allowed to completely dry, then polished off. Lasts for about a week.

Rob
 
#49 ·
Worst ride I had this year - local council gritted the roads - totally unnecessary as it was about 8C - and going out in the dark the bike was sliding around on the grit. I couldn't see the grit, didn't expect it to have been spread at that time, and did several miles trying to convince myself that the tyres weren't really going flat on me.

Problem was solved when I stopped and felt the stuff rolling around under my foot. Once you know what's happening it's easy to cope with.

Rob
 
#51 ·
I called HelmetHarbor.com because I had a few questions about a firstgear jacket. The owner answered the phone and gave me a 8% discount code I could use which ended up being a discount on top of the discount on the website! The code is "discount8". Arai Helmet Specialist, Amazing Prices, and Firstgear Premium Apparel....Im pretty sure this is for the entire site and not just Firstgear...hope this helps, if you make a purchase, report back to us and let us know if it is still active.
 
#52 ·
It dipped a little low today, high 30s. I never thought gloves could make such a huge difference, but I had some riding to do for work today and my hands were killing me. I was using perforated summer gloves with a wool liner under... just worthless. I ran into a shop and bought these:

Cortech Scarab Winter Gloves - Street Motorcycle - Motorcycle Superstore

Whoa nelly. I rode about 100 miles with these, and my hands were toasty the whole time. I was pretty well layered up otherwise (full long johns, 2 pairs of socks, sweater, balaclava, textile jacket w/liner), and so the ride was a lot more enjoyable than usual. Even up to ~100 the wind did not cut through. I still want to get a fairing though, would be nice to have some additional protection and a screen to duck behind.
 
#55 ·
It dipped a little low today, high 30s. I never thought gloves could make such a huge difference, but I had some riding to do for work today and my hands were killing me. I was using perforated summer gloves with a wool liner under... just worthless. I ran into a shop and bought these:

Cortech Scarab Winter Gloves - Street Motorcycle - Motorcycle Superstore

Whoa nelly. I rode about 100 miles with these, and my hands were toasty the whole time. I was pretty well layered up otherwise (full long johns, 2 pairs of socks, sweater, balaclava, textile jacket w/liner), and so the ride was a lot more enjoyable than usual. Even up to ~100 the wind did not cut through. I still want to get a fairing though, would be nice to have some additional protection and a screen to duck behind.
fairings would make such a difference; i really havent changed anything i wear compared to warmer months, even today. i've ridden in the colder days that occured these past few weeks, even the sleet day.
with the fairings i think its why i never found my legs cold and never wore anything besides ankle socks with my knee pads and pants.

the gloves thing really does make a difference, i got a pair of a* apex gloves with some insulation, they don't work the best but improves hand numbess taking into effect longer than if i had regular gloves on. do those scarabs have a built in liner?
 
#53 ·
Here in Phoenix it has been as low as the mid 20's at night/early morning, IN PHOENIX! I still refuse to drive my car (it doesn't have a heater so either way I will be freezing my ass off). I am debating getting some heated grips just for the winter time because it is insane how cold it is here.
 
#54 ·
I have the mooseracing heated grips from motorcycle superstore on one of my bikes, and they are awesome. $45. easy install if you have 1/2 a brain. well worth it!

it's been in the high 20's at sunrise here (when I commute to work). it's clear, dry and sunny, but damn that's cold on the freeway.
but I get the itch if I don't ride every day. so I just might ride tomorrow.
 
#56 ·
The fucked up thing is I am trying to move somewhere warm so buying fairings prob wont even pay off lmao.

The gloves def have some kind of liner inside. The outside is solid leather w/knuckle armor, the inside is Thinsulate. If you do any kind of cold weather riding they are a good buy for sure.
 
#57 ·
^ are your new gloves bulky? I read that they have a thinsulate liner. I might have to get some for winter riding, as even though I have grip warmers the first digit of my fingers still freezes.
 
#58 ·
the a* apex gloves i got have that thinsulate thing. i found it extremely weird and bulky at first. i still get that feeling after not wearing it for a bit. i personally lost A LOT of feel when wearing them. i'm more use to them now and keeping my hands warmer with the sacrifice of feel is worth it i guess
 
#59 ·
I definitely lost feel with them. I think that is just to be expected of thick winter gloves honestly. But its not to the point where I feel like I have less control. I tried to use regular winter gloves and def felt like I had trouble controlling the bike and gripping the throttle. With these, after a while you don't notice the loss of control.

Personally I like a little buffer between me and the controls. I don't like riding w/no gloves for example.
 
#61 ·
I've posted a few times about not particularly needing any special Winter gear, but I've found an exception this year.

When Hein Gerricke went belly up I got a really nice pair of Gortex lined gloves at half price - about £60 if I remember right. Wore them for the last of the summer and found them very comfortable and totally waterproof, but with the temperatures down around freezing I can't ride more than about 5 miles in them without real pain in the back of my fingers, so I've had to go back to my old gloves.

Rob
 
#62 ·
Riding in cold weather

When I lived in St. Louis I rode my trials bike off-road in the snow a few times when I became impatient for winter to end. Once I did that when the temperature was about 17-below zero. I put on a snowmobile suit over my other clothes, and that worked great. This one had zippers up the legs so that it could be put on or removed while wearing boots.
As for the boots, the warmest I ever had was when I was a survival instructor. They were rubber outside, a layer of foam, and rubber inside. The principle of insulation is dead-air, surrounded by air-tight or almost air-tight material on each side. Fluffy materials like Goose Down provide lots of little air spaces, and that's why Down jackets and sleeping bags are so warm. With those insulated boots my feet would sweat even when I was walking with snowshoes over six or ten feet of snow. Water destroys insulation qualities, but in that case the sweat didn't matter because it couldn't penetrate the rubber layer inside the boots so the insulation remained dry. I would recommend that type of boot for cold weather riding, and that type of insulated snowmobile suit because it's so easy to put on and take off. Of course it had an insulated hood. The most important parts of your body to keep warm are the head, hands and feet......because that's where you lose the most heat from radiation or wind. Wind is the big enemy. Good gloves are a must. Insulated boots can be leather, if they are not going to get wet, but rubber is the best choice to keep your feet warm in wet weather.
 
#63 ·
Here is what I am currently using, once I get new gloves I will be able to ride in sub 35* temps.

Icon Patrol jacket
Icon Patrol pants
Icon reign boots
Revit Carver H20 Gloves
Alpinestars Open Face Balaclava
Shoei RF-1100 helmet


I can ride in temps down to 35*, any colder and I will need to up grade my gloves. I have ridden with all of this down to 22* and the only part of my body that got cold were my hands.
 
#64 ·
Im in Los Angeles but this winter has gotten below 40d in the mornings. I travel approx 39 miles each way to work. I wear fieldsheer mercury 2.0 pants. Alpinestars drystar longrange 2 jacket. Astars goretex gloves which dont help by the way at those temps and schampa that wraps around my mouth and neck. When riding in the rain i add my astars waterproof boots. Overall i stay warm except for my hands.
 
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