Winter cycling

[dirty boy]

Anyone here commute whatever the weather?

I'm after some 'waterproofs' to keep my dry on the commute to work. Need to be fairly substantial so that I don't get cold on a leisurely cycle in (slow so I don't sweat) and good at fending off the rain and spray of a fierce North Sea (I cycle 1 mile by the beach and do take a battering by the elements on that stretch in particular)

I'm looking at the Gore trousers £125.99 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gore-bike-wear-path-waterp...

And the dhb jacket £62.99 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-eq25-waterproof-cyclin...

Would welcome any thoughts though.

Quite fancied an all-in-one but can't find one that doesn't look like it should be attached to strings and flown!

[dirty boy]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That's a fair comment.

To date, i've always worn something like a ski jacket, but it does mean you get hot and sweaty, not ideal.

I do leave some items of clothing at work, perhaps you're right, i'll just up that and save some pennies.

[Oz83]

I think your priorities are the wrong way round - spend more on the jacket than leg wear. Your legs are always moving so will stay warm and need to be unrestricted. Your upper body stays relatively still and has a large surface area and will catch the rain so I'd spend my money there.

A good set of regular lycra leggings is enough to keep the windchill off. In my experience the thermal types only hold sweat and end up stinking after a couple of days. A good jacket will serve you well all year round, so it's probably worth spending a few quid on one (£100+) with Gore or eVent fabric. Team this up with a merino base layer and you should be nice and comfy.

Best thing for comfort is to keep your extremities warm and dry...by that I mean waterproof socks (Sealskinz) and windproof/waterproof gloves (again Sealskinz or Endura are good). I would recommend buying the gloves one size too big to allow some insulating air space within the glove, otherwise your fingers will get cold. I also use a Buff as a hat/bandana under my helmet to keep my ears warm - avoid those skull caps as they will boil your head!

I really enjoy the feeling of being on my bike in winter with the rain lashing at my face, yet being all warm and dry, generating my own heat as I ride along...just me then :-)

Edited by Oz83 on Tuesday 2nd October 10:32

[T350 Al]

dirty boy said:

Anyone here commute whatever the weather?

I'm after some 'waterproofs' to keep my dry on the commute to work. Need to be fairly substantial so that I don't get cold on a leisurely cycle in (slow so I don't sweat) and good at fending off the rain and spray of a fierce North Sea (I cycle 1 mile by the beach and do take a battering by the elements on that stretch in particular)

I'm looking at the Gore trousers £125.99 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gore-bike-wear-path-waterp...

And the dhb jacket £62.99 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-eq25-waterproof-cyclin...

Would welcome any thoughts though.

Quite fancied an all-in-one but can't find one that doesn't look like it should be attached to strings and flown!

I recently bought the exact same jacket from Wiggle. I've only had it a couple of weeks, but it has seen some really horrid weather already. Really good jacket for the money in my opinion, it's kept me dry in some horrific downpours. Most waterproof jackets do tend to get very sweaty, but this one has nice big zip vents on the side that seem to keep a nice airflow. Sizing seems to be the main gripe by reviewers, but the sizing was spot on; I think a few folks are in denial about what size they actually are! That said, if you do like a bit of extra bum-coverage from the jacket, you might want to go a size up.

[Gumstabber]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Yeah, I felt like boil-in-the-bag rice this morning!!!

[tombine]

Gumstabber said:

Yeah, I felt like boil-in-the-bag rice this morning!!!

+1, basically like wearing a big heat insulating tarpaulin!! Get a decent rucksack that will keep everything dry i say!!

[nammynake]

How long is your commute (time) ?

[BalhamBadger]

My commute is only four miles and I also take it easy to avoid arriving in a sweaty mess. I wear an old Endura Night Vision up top to keep the wind and rain off, adjusting layers beneath to suit the prevailing temp. When it's really filthy I wear a pair of cheap "Kathmandu" waterproof trousers to keep the worst of the wind and water out. Does the job and I don't go hell for leather minimising the internal condensation effect.

Highly recommend a buff to pull over your face and ears - staves off the worst of the cold and stops the "ice cream headache" sensation.

I haven't got waterproof shoes - when they're wet I just stuff them with blue roll, changing it for fresh stuff halfway through the working day - they're more or less dry by home time.

Good pair of gloves essential - I just got a cheap "waterproof" pair from Wiggle - they keep the water out for my four miles but do saturate eventually.

[BalhamBadger]

Oh and a cheap pair of clear glasses is helpful to keep spray and other road debris out of your eyes - safety specs from ebay will do the trick. Especially useful if you're getting blasted by the elements on the beach every day!

[JustNeil]

I found that a decent waterproof jacket, some decent gloves and some shoe covers were enough to keep me comfortable. As mentioned above, just accept you will get wet, but as long as you're not cold then it's actually OK. I don't relish getting wet, but it doesn't bother me and I ride in every day,in the north east, so get wet pretty much every day :-)