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Where do you draw the line......

2K views 44 replies 39 participants last post by  Fett 
#1 ·
I'm wanting to ride today, but the temps today have it pretty cold out today. As in the high is about 30 and that's at 1 or 2 pm today. when you factor in wind chill (according to weather.com) it's not going to get above 22 degrees. I think this is where I'm going to draw the line. Stay home, work out some. I did ride yesterday, but I was leading my freind who's new to riding around so it was a slow ride for me and only covered a quarter of what I normally ride. What about everyone else?
 
#2 ·
Whoa...C-O-L-D

I usually draw the line when it's below freezing. The lowest I'd go would be 35 degrees with wind chill factored in. Preferrably I won't go unless it's 40 or higher. Just not a cold natured person. If I have a large group of friends I'll give almost anything a try...at least I wouldn't be the only one suffering.

Also, I'll be doing the Fontana Icycle race Febuary 5, near Cherokee, NC. Oooooooo...that's definitely going to be cold.
 
#3 ·
Boy you guys would never make it up here in the north country (S.E. Michigan). I rode yesterday and the temps were in the mid teens. I wore an extra layer of poly-pro undergarments and used chemical toe warmers in the shoes and had a great time. Plan to ride later today in the low teens.
BTW we have an annual ride in feb. here where we usually have guest speakers at our state-wide MMBA annual meeting/gathering of the tribes, which have in the past included Gary Fisher (he rode in 15 below temps) the next year Keith Bontrager (10 below) and wouldn't you know it when John Staamsted was here it was like 40 degrees.
Another point is we NEED below freezing temps to ride trail here in the winter so as to not damage the trail. Otherwise we have a layer of slush or mud on top of a frozen sub layer and end up creating ruts that channel snow melt and rain in the spring and end up doin a lot of erosion damage.
Personally I love the variety and would just as soon ride in 20 degree weather as 90 degree. So the short answer to your question is, I draw the line around 15-20 below zero, that's farenheit!
 
#5 ·
I've regularly done temps in the low to mid 20's on night rides where I live.
It does help to have a few fellow nuts to share in the misery. Actually it's not that bad once you get warmed up. We always try to start the frigid rides with a looong climb to get the blood flowing.
Most of riding in the freezing stuff is mental anyway. Just ask Mike Curiak.
 
#6 ·
i draw it at approx 0 deg F

If there is no wind. You need big enough shoes to protect your feet in layers. Like Radair said one climb ad your inner furnace will do the rest. Insulate your head, hands and feet.
I do notice a big difference in my rear hub performance once the lube freezes in there like pranut butter. Boston area rider, no regrets after a frigid ride.
 
#7 ·
When biking in NJ, whenever biking much below 30F, I sometimes got a very bad bronchitis with hacking all night that took a couple months to clear. Could be from heavy breathing through mouth. So I tried not to go all out below around 30-40F.

But otherwise the low temperature riding with proper gear and clothing was fine. At 10-20F I needed double layer thermal leggings.
 
#9 ·
Love Winter riding!

This weekend my buddy and rode in about 25-30 degree temps. When I left the house the wind chill was 14! The coldest I've ridden in was probably about 19. As long as my extremities are warm I really don't mind. I normally wear tights under my baggies, a long sleeve jersey and a "winter" fleece jersey over that. Winter riding gloves and one of those thin headband ear warmer things. This weekend was perfect though, after about 15 minutes on the trail I was toasty. The best part about riding in the winter is the trail gets nice and frozen....like riding on concrete! (fast)

I'm always expecting my frame to crack in half when it's that cold though....

Flynn
 
#10 ·
Line? There's no line!!!!

crashedandburned said:
What about everyone else?
Temperature does not typically figure into my go/no go decision. I've ridden on the coldest days here in CT (below zero F) without much issue, once you get going its usually not bad. Its just that first 20 minutes that sucks, until you warm up from the inside.

John
 
#12 ·
Its not really that difficult.

GuruAtma said:
The temp here today is 63 degrees. I don't think I'd last long back east or up north. How do you dress warm enough not to freeze, but still not overheat on long climbs?
Many threads over on NEMBA about this sort of thing. Basically layers is the way to go, and everyone's heat generating ability is different. The base idea is that if you are warm enough when you first start out, you will be overheated when you actually start riding. I can manage the cold pretty easily utilizing a breathable vented shell over a couple of wicking/insulating layers. When I get hot, I just open the pit vents and the front and the cold air takes care of the rest. Also if I judge incorrectly right from the get go, its pretty easy to stow a light shell.

In rare, high wind/low temp situations, you need to cover exposed skin with baklavas or whatever. For me to go there, it needs to be REALLY cold as I will bake in anything that covers my head.

John
 
#13 ·
I must becoming either 1) old, but I don't think that's really idea or 2) a real wussy :( I do agree with the frozen ground being fun to ride on and having a few friends just as crazy to ride with in cold temps helps. last year I had to bail off of my bike because water froze to my rims after riding thru a creek and found out too late that I couldn't slow down. OUCH! I still have a scare on my hip over that one. I guess I just needed to hear that I'm not the only one crazy for being out there. THANK! :D
 
#15 ·
cold schmold

I commute year round and last week we had temps down to -34C / -29F. I was forced to take the bus for two days because at around -25C my rear hub stops engaging. I worked on the bike on the weekend and I hope that cleaning and lubing the mechanism will get it working in the cold. I can't test it right now because we are having a Chinook and it has warmed up to above freezing temperatures.

Every time I ride the bus it reminds me of why I prefer to struggle in the cold. For me the secret is eletrically heated socks and pogies on the my handle bars. The rest of me is easy to keep warm with various layers. As long as I can keep the bike working I keep riding. The only things that stop me are when the bike quits, it gets really icy or we have a heavy snowfall.
 
#16 ·
LINE!!! what line??? We are all bike fanatics here, there should be no lines!! :mad:

(Editor's Note: Poster resides in Texas where the high temperature dips below 20 for only one or two days a year. With that in mind, all credence (which is very little) should be given to the exclamatory statement above. :D )
 
#18 ·
neveride said:
It's the wind that gets me every time. I'll ride in any temp so long as there is no wind, though I used to joke that anything below 65 is too cold to ride. :D
The temperature normally doesn't stop me form riding. Ussually the snow and wind will stop me riding long before it's too cold. As long as the road conditions will allow me, I commute to work year round. Course it's only a 10 min. ride. :) The trails have far too much for riding now.
 
#20 ·
About 10F

Below that and I don't have the right equipment.

We had rain last week just before the temperature dropped, and everthing is coated in ice. Just excuses I know, but I sent my rear shock into Fox for service, and hopefully will have it back in time for some more winter riding.

Walt
 
#21 ·
I moved from FL to GA back in the spring. During December the temps really started dropping and for about 3 weeks every ride I did was my coldest ride ever. It was beginning to wear on me and my wallet (I kept buying more and more gear). Luckily we finally got some amazingly warm weather for a few weeks.....well now that I think about it during the warm snap I may have lost all the acclimatization and reverted back to being a wussy.

I miss the FL winters, but love the GA mountains.

Eddie O
 
#22 ·
I'm a total Southern California wussy!! You guys are amazing. If it's in the 40's I start debating whether I want to ride or not, hehe, and that only happens like once a year around my part of the world. It's more like, when it gets over 100 in the summers I may decide to sit around the beach instead of hitting the trails ;)
 
#23 ·
Never too cold

I could say that I never cancel rides because it's too cold but that would be a little misleading. The fact is my trails are covered with snow long before it gets really cold. As for commuting, I do that as long as the shoulder on the 3 busy roads on my route are not snow covered and that depends more on how badly they've been plowed rather than temperature.
 
#24 ·
I agree

that its relatively easy to stay warm when its extremely cold outside with some light layers,: so long as your blood is pumping, furnace cranking, etc. Some things to consider though: its a different game when something breaks and you're miles out (gloves come off, fingers get cold trying to fix) or you get wet. It can become a dangerous situation Your core temperature drops fast when you're not "puttin' out". And being cold, REAL cold, can be de-motivating. I bring an extra fleece at a minimum. When its below freezing, chemical toe warmers are my friend. They don't do much good after the feet are cold, better to put them in before you leave. Clipless pedals are effective heat sinks that conduct the cold up to the bottom of the feet, there's no escape from it.

NOTE TO SELF
[i must be getting old.....thinking about stuff like this. it was easier being young and dumb. ingorance is forgivable, but stupidity is for life]
 
#25 ·
Jinks said:
I'm a total Southern California wussy!! You guys are amazing. If it's in the 40's I start debating whether I want to ride or not, hehe, and that only happens like once a year around my part of the world. It's more like, when it gets over 100 in the summers I may decide to sit around the beach instead of hitting the trails ;)
I agree. Anything lower than mid 50's and I'm out! :p
I could ride when it's colder...but I'll complain the whole time...and no one wants to listen to that...
 
#26 ·
The DC area often feels like the tropics. I tend to like the cold though. As long as I've got the clothes on to deal with it, I'll ride well below freezing. We had 22 degree weather with wind chill to about 3 degrees yesterday. Making sure you have the right layers makes all the difference. Quite honestly, riding indoors or worse yet, not riding at all is too depressing.

If it isn't cold here, most of the trails are too muddy to ride. When it is wet out, we're limited to a few really good trails. Variety is the spice of life. I like having a lot of choices available to me. Give me some buff singletrack made of frozen mud every now and then and I'm a happy man.

As a side note, I don't use any of those fancy chemical hand or foot warmers. I have a pretty good slelection of old and really ugly winter cycling clothes from the "good old days". Yesterday I broke out the wool cycling jacket. It was too warm for me. I rode almost the whole day with the jacket unzipped almost all the way. I still sweated a lot. We were doing a lot of climbing and working pretty hard though. It is hard to balance staying warm with making sure you don't sweat too much and get wet.

On the technical side, make sure your drivetrain is absolutely spotless when you ride in really cold weather. Any moisture from creek crossings or puddles that aren't frozen will really kill your ability to shift. If you've got shimano derailleurs, they don't shift well. The SRAMs tend to shift, but the jockey pulleys freeze solid and stop spinning. Single speed seems to be the way to go if you can.

The really soft compound tires are also a bad idea if you're riding somewhere rocky. My buddy Jason lost a bunch of lugs on his Kenda Nevegal Stick-E tires yesterday in the cold.

Good topic. Thanks y'all for posting up.

Peter
 
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