advice for a commuting novice please

Mark Alexander

II have 2 questions for you commuters out there.

firstlythough, I have finaly after 2 months, recieved my new On-One Pompino and rode to work today. What I found was that although my journey is only short, I t was a hassle to get myself sorted once I arrived.

As it was damn cold, I had on shoes, tracksuit and waterproof trousers, with 2 tops and an Altura jacket on the top. a buff scarf and 2 pairs of gloves, oh a helmet too.
And a partridge in a pair tree.... I left the kitchen sink though

Do I really need all this? I have odd circulation. I am thinking that it was a bit of overkill but What do people wear? my body gets warm but my extremities are a nightmare.

Also can anyone recommend some mudguards for a pompino please?

el_presidente

Just use trial and error

different people run hot / cold and will be comfortable with different clothing for the same conditions. Wear whatever you are comfortable with. It may be worth being cold for the first 5 or 10 minutes to ensure you are comfortable for the majority of the trip and don't have to do too much faffing.

Your level of stuff sounds about right though. Today I had overshoes, tights with baggy shorts over the top, 2 baselayers and a medium weight jacket, buff & earwarmers, winter gloves. I was quite warm enough.

Mog Uk

el_presidente wrote:

Today I had overshoes, tights with baggy shorts over the top, 2 baselayers and a medium weight jacket, buff & earwarmers, winter gloves. I was quite warm enough.

Sounds almost identical to what I was wearing. Thermal socks and overshoes, tights with baggy shorts over. Baselayer, winter top, medium weight jacket, fleece hat, buff neckwarmer and gloves, oh and clear glasses as I hate my eyes watering....

It very much is trial and error and over time you will learn what works best for you. I can now stick my head out the door and determine what to wear.... I would much rather be warm than to cold though......

DavidTQ

Proper cycling gear I find far better than normal sports gear for cold weather cycling. Heres what I was wearing.

MTB cycling shoes, thick and padded
Ski socks
Padded Lycra shorts
Micro fleece lined wind proof bib tights
thermal base layer
long sleeved windproof "winter" jersey
wind proof light weight jacket,
Insulated cycling "autumn" gloves, with a set of wind proof water proof thermal cycling gloves over the top.
A micro fleece balaclave
a lycra head band covering the ears over the top of the balaclava
My cycling helmet over the top.

Absolutely beautifull temperature the whole way by the end of the journey the jacket was unzipped.

Certainly this outfit had potential to be comfortable with temperatures a few degrees lower yet and theres always the options of knee and leg warmers over the top,and Ive got a thicker ear covering cycle cap I can wear instead of the lycra band to keep my ears warm if I need it.

I think if anything my gloves are still the weakest link, my hands can feel that its cold outside when I start out, although normally by the end of the journey my hands may be a bit sweaty but nice on the temperature. Certainly nowhere near getting numb like they were before I brought the wind proof ones

I think windproof gear is essential for winter.

I was EXCEPTIONALLY comfortable this morning despite the fact that it was a particularly cold day.

dirk_van_gently

Mark, like El Presidente said, it's horses for courses.
I would only use waterproof over trousers when it's raining, they do tend to have a "boil in the bag" effect.
As to the Faff of sorting yourself out once at work, that is just something that you will work out for yourself, there are no hard or fast rules, I suspect almost everyone's circumstances are different. I would advise leaving clothes and especially shoes at work if you can, think minimalist payload. I work out of 2 seperate offices, so my logistics are doubled.
Good luck, anyone who starts commuting at this time of year must be enthusiastic.

Shadowduck

Aye, as Dirk says - my first piece of advice on starting commuting would be "Do it in the spring!". You're obviously made of sterner stuff than me. I commute year round but I couldn't face the winter if I hadn't seen the summer (if that makes sense).

As for clothes, what everyone else said. You won't find two people who use the same gear or the same system, but you'll soon get it down. Once you get it right, you should be lovely and warm without being sweaty. I usually arrive in better shape than the poor cardines who've had to stand and scrape ice off their windscreens.

fossyant

Looks like you have most of the right stuff - good overshoes and gloves plus buff/skull cap are needed if you get cold extremities

el_presidente

re Pompino muguards - your best bet is probably to ask at the On-One forum

jedster

I would be boiling in your gear. Of course a lot of this is personal and it does depend how fast you cycle (i.e., how much heat you kick out).

Today I was wearing
winter bib tights (light roubaix fleece)
3/4 length baggy(ish) shorts over
merino base layer
windproof shell
winter gloves
winter boots
helmet

and I was warm within 5 minutes and sweaty after half an hour.
This is my cold weather kit. Most days I would replace the bib tights with normal bib shorts and possibly leg warmers.

I never need to wear a hat under my helmet. On very cold days I have worn a neck gaiter thing pulled up over my face but I find that it makes my glasses steam up horribly.

I have never worn waterproof trousers - you get just as wet from the sweat as you would from the rain (at least if you have mudguards!) and cycling gear dries really fast.

J

highway star

This is my 7th winter commute and I have only just worked out what to wear. Like you I start off with poor circulation in the mornings, I wake up with cold hands. Just before Christmas my hands got really numb on the way in, I was in quite a bit of pain for 10 mins before I thawed out. Since Xmas thanks to Santa (whom my 9 year old boy no longer believes in ) i now have some wind proof gloves and some wooly overgloves with no ends to the fingers. Instead is a mitten style pouch which I can pop over when I get cold. Worked well this morning. However it has been colder

Shadowduck

highway star wrote:

This is my 7th winter commute ... *snip*

Is that the seventh time you've commuted in winter, or the seventh winter for which you've commuted? :?

CheapSkate

Mark Alexander wrote:

Also can anyone recommend some mudguards for a pompino please?

I have SKS Chromoplastic mudguards on mine - should come in at a little under £25 depending on where you get them.

I also have iffy circulation and cold extremities, but what I wear changes from one week to the next, and never includes waterproof trousers.

il_principe

Get some proper cycle clothing, you may not like the "look" of it, but it works!

Today I wore:
Bibtights
Long sleeve jersey
windproof jacket
gloves
skullcap
overshoes

Kept me plenty warm.

Belv

You have answered your own question at the end - your body is warm and your extremeties are cold, so wear less on your body and use thicker gloves, thermal socks (although i have never found a way of keeping my feet warm, just less cold), and some sort of neck/head covering.

My body works in a similar way - i had tracksuit bottoms over my cycling shorts and a t-shirt/fleece combo on top, no need for thermals or wind-proof stuff for me today. However i did have my thickest gloves and a buff-as-balaclava on.

Riding against the wind was so tough today that it negated the wind-chill effect, i think.

Bassjunkieuk

I'm gradually working on the wife to let me get more cycle specific clothing!

I think I'm quite fortunate as I seem to keep warm most of the time anyway, but for today I did wear an extra layer on my upper body to keep a bit warmer and switched over to my full finger gloves.

I'm currently using a long sleeve thermal vest from Asda - which has been warm enough for riding in by itself up until recently. I then added a lightweight breathable ski top the wife got me from Tchibo at Xmas today. I also have a set of wrap round ear warmers :-)

For the lower half I use padded cycle shorts under some old 3/4 length trousers and then just socks and trainers. I also carry a rucksack on my back and have a high vis bib on which helps keep my back warm and sorta of acts as a mini wind break for the front!

Although this does now seem fairly minimal compared to other people I have yet to feel really cold once I'm up to speed, which usually takes between 5 and 10 minutes of cycling to get the heartrate up and pumping blood round the body quicker!

wastelander

Clothing is always a tricky one and a lot depends on the effort required during your commute. With it being a snowy day with a sharp wind I wore the following

Bib shorts
Roubaix fleece bib tights
Long sleeve base layer
Track jacket
Gloves
2 x buffs - one as a skull cap and another as a neck warmer
Overshoes

Once the temperature rises a few degrees I'll be swapping the bib tights for leg warmers and the jacket for a short sleeve shirt with arm warmers - but my commute does involve a few long climbs to get me warmed up nicely

Mark Alexander

I would like trousers that look like trousers but have straps of some kind at the bottom. I don't need a pad inside as it's only 3 miles and i'm 'ard 8)

I am considering a better jacket as all my kit is more for road use spring summer and autumn. 3 layers are just too much, i'd prefer to be cool in body but have 3 layers on the feet and hands

Mark Alexander

can anyone please recommend a jacket (with a little off the bike class) that's not Rapha :shock: ?

georgee

I use a karrimore black/grey thin one from JJB, cost me £12.50, not fully breathable but does the job a treat, you need buy a size smaller than usual and it packs into the smallest of pockets. Enjoyed raising that one when a mate from the club went on about his new Rapha jacket.

As for me today

Bib shorts
T shirt
Long sleeve baselayer,
Cycling jersey
Socks and summer shoes with two corners of a carrier bag over the toes (inside the shoes) as I’ve destroyed my overshoes
Endura storm (winterish) gloves

Some of these are a touch damp as I forgot my towel so the arms of the baselayer were used to dry my hair post shower.

Did see one old bloke on the path in Richmond Park in shorts that I did think was a brave shout.

belgiangoth

Mark, as mentioned cycling gear is very specific to the person and distance travelled. On my commute I wear tights and 3/4s as well as up to three layers on top (not counting a softshell) but ride past cyclists in shorts and t-shirt!

On my pompino I run SKS mudguards, which work fine.

Mark Alexander

I tried less on the way home, trackies and t-shirt with jacket and was fine. Thaanks for the adice everyone.

MilitantGraham

My house is permanently in the shade during winter so I often find that having dressed to keep warm at the start of my journey, after a few minutes pedalling in the sunlight I am too warm. I just pull over, take off one shirt, put my jacket back on and carry on.
My biggest problem at the moment is that my shirt is still damp with sweat by the time i come to go home. I think I'm going to have to start taking a spare shirt with me to wear home.

Mark Alexander

I have just bought an Adidas top today. I have always avoided this before because I was unsure of non-cycle makes but I bought a semi weather proof one and rode home with it on.

It's passable as a normal jacket even with a little'design' in it, but it has 3 rear pockets that are unobtrusive. for a person with short arms, it advertises itself with long ones, the fit was perfect!! I must be loosing weight :shock: 8)

I'm back at work tomorow and plan tpo leave a pair of shoes and a top there. I may even get away without a bag which would be nice.