keeping warm while riding

freeride-mike

As im relatively new to xc riding i tend to just ride in what i have (waterproof walking jacket, trackie bottoms, zip fleece) ive found in my jacket im waterproof but get so hot i poor with sweat and in my fleece even though warm'ish i still get very cold on the chest and forearms :?

ive read peoples topics on base layers, mid + top layers etc.... an am a little confused, i dont want to spend alot as the winter months are coming to an end or look like the michelin man (more than i already do) with lots of layers on, so some advice on a base layer top (long sleeve) to wear under my fleece idealy to keep the wind out would be appreciated


thanks in advance
mike

mrfmilo

Ideally you should get some proper cycle clothing.

If you want cheap, but very good get a Tenn Outdoors baselayer, Tenn Outdoors Jersey and a windproof jacekt ( I use Altura Cropton)

That keeps me very warm

Splee

I'd go with a few thinner base layers rather than anything like a fleece just for ease of movement.
Something like a tech T from Berghaus x2, a gilet then a wind/waterproof breathable outer layer has done me fine through the snow over xmas and new year. I have had to put two pairs of gloves on though and usually have a polar buff on.
I do also have merino base layers which are excellent but are quite expensive, if you ski then justifying buying merino is easy as they're great for any energetic exercise in the cold.
As for windproof that is usually down to the outer layer but I did buy a long sleeve top from deMarchi I think that has a wind proof coating just on the chest which is ideal on the road bike but I don't alway feel is necessary off-rode.
Look on something like Go Outdoors web site for their special offers on base layers
............mind you probably from now on its going to be more of the waterproof gear that is the focus

Briggo

When you say not a lot, what does "not a lot" mean.

£30 to someone is a lot and to someone else its pocket change....

I personally use a craft pro warm l/s baselayer and endura mt500 jersey jacket, keeps me super snug and really well vented but its £90 for the two items.

Anonymous

If you're cold, you're not putting enough energy into your cycling

But more seriously, I don't use specific cycle gear (and I never do "I look like a prat" lycra except the cycle shorts for padding which is worn under shorts). If it's quite cold I wear the base layers I use for skiing under a loose top, which again is a light ski jersey top. Stuff like Helly Hansen thermals (micro thin but warm) is good. Unless it's very cold, I don't bother with thermals for the bottom half of me. Too restrictive on the legs and gets a bit sweaty.

No cotton for base layers by the way. The sweat will absorb and just end up making you cold (and in sub zero temperatures it can be dangerous).

Layers are good. Trap heat in the air between layers, and you can add/remove layers to adjust temperature.

If it's blowing a gale and wet I have a light windproof top. It's not anything dedicated to cycling, it's just an Adidas thing I got cheap from TK Maxx. Fine for wind and a bit of rain. It's not for being totally drenched in though, but a full waterproof is too heavy and bulky and if it's that bad I'll likely be too busy extracting myself from a bog to care

The thermal suff I've got has been around £15, but then I've been buying most cheap in the US when skiing.

HebdenBiker

I got a pair of fleecy bib tights from Decathlon (about £20 I think) and have never had cold legs. The missus bought me some Sealskinz socks for Christmas and they are the best bit of winter cycling kit I have ever owned. I also have an Endura Gridlock waterproof jacket (£40ish) which I use for MTBing and commuting and have never been cold on my top half. I wear a buff round my neck on really cold days which I can pull up over my ears and under my helmet.

asdfhjkl

I wear a full baselayer at this time of year and while it certainly helps, the biggest challenge is keeping my feet, hands and head warm. A toasty pair of gloves, two pairs of socks, and a Buff under my helmet work perfectly. Helpful to have another Buff for round my neck if it's particularly chilly or windy. I always seem to find it colder than others do, so I tend to go out looking like the michelin man with all my layers on!

freeride-mike

thanks for all the advice input

"trapping heat between the layers" never thought of that 'doh' learn somthing new everyday

i only seem to suffer the cold on my chest and a little on the arms so just a better/wamer base top layer is all im after really.

briggo= i suppose if its just a top im after then £20 - £25 would be fine

splee= ive had a some good camping bits from go outdoors so will give them a try cheers

8)

popstar

I think in your case ...

-do yourself a favour, buy merino wool product such as Endura Baabaa either long/short sleeve. After that you will never look back. On my last ride at temperatures of 2-5C* I only wore short sleeve baabaa layer and cheapo karrimor waterproof jacket. Didn't even think once I was cold during whole day!

It's true what people and magazines say, once you get sweaty in them yet you still feel warm. Same can't be said about normal synthetic base layers. Tried myself and never would regret of those £30 spent.

stumpym4

freeride-mike wrote:

thanks for all the advice input

"trapping heat between the layers" never thought of that 'doh' learn somthing new everyday

i only seem to suffer the cold on my chest and a little on the arms so just a better/wamer base top layer is all im after really.

briggo= i suppose if its just a top im after then £20 - £25 would be fine

splee= ive had a some good camping bits from go outdoors so will give them a try cheers

8)

Here you go mike

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/c/cycle/7/Base_Layers/
I use a dhb zipped base layer which is great

bobcheese

If you are in birmingham get down to the decathlon store in Dudley. They have good cheap(er) clothing especially winter stuff plus you can try it on unlike the internet

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I bought a load of "snow boarding" gear from Aldi back in Novemeber, during one of their specials. If I recall rightly, my shopping trolley was something like this:-
3x padded socks
2x base layer tops
2x base layer leggings
2x lycra tops
2x baggy hooded sweatshirts

Something like £85 total. The base layers and lycra tops have been a god send, both on the bike and on the postie round. Even on the coldest days, a baselayer layer set, both lycra tops, endura 3/4 humvees, gloves, buff, skull cap and a Reebok windproof/shower jacket kept me toasty during my four hour round.

rowlers

popstar wrote:

I think in your case ...

-do yourself a favour, buy merino wool product such as Endura Baabaa either long/short sleeve. After that you will never look back. On my last ride at temperatures of 2-5C* I only wore short sleeve baabaa layer and cheapo karrimor waterproof jacket. Didn't even think once I was cold during whole day!

It's true what people and magazines say, once you get sweaty in them yet you still feel warm. Same can't be said about normal synthetic base layers. Tried myself and never would regret of those £30 spent.

DItto on the merino, you won't believe how good they really are until you try one. Never too hot and never too cold, they never stink, they are super comfy etc... spend as much as you can on one!

Northwind

TK Maxx is a good one, my local one is selling Pierre Cardin thermal base layers for a fiver, the long sleeved one of those would be a perfect base (I got a couple of short ones). Then over that, for most conditions just a £10 fleece will do the job, I've been out in just a cheap base layer and fleece combo down to about -5, no problems. Lower than that and I like to add a top layer as well.

freeride-mike

Northwind wrote:

the long sleeved one of those would be a perfect base Then over that, for most conditions just a £10 fleece will do the job

thanks thats exactly what i wanted to do.


@bobcheese: cheers, im off to decathalon @ dudley this morning see what i can pick up and theres a TK MAXX there too

bails87

I was out yesterday afternoon between 4 and 6, so it was getting chilly. All I had on was regular (non cycling specific) 3/4 length shorts, which just cover my knees when I'm riding, a thin umbro baselayer, cheap from sportsdirect, and a Gore Phantom jacket. The jacket isn't cheap, and was an 'extravagant' buy for me, but it works really, really well, so much so that I was a little too warm.

I'm sure you don't have to spend that much, but something to keep the wind off you will really help regulate your body temperature, seeing as the Gore isn't thick or fleecy, it just blocks the wind, so you don't lose heat.

.blitz

freeride-mike: good advice above but you can help yourself keep warm by insulating the parts where heat loss is the greatest - this means wrists, neck, head and ankles. There's a lot of blood close to the surface in these areas and it will cool very quickly, so gloves with long wrists, a buff and some wool socks will help the tech base layers etc do their stuff.

cat_with_no_tail

+ another one for TK Maxx. tbh most of the stuff I wear for riding comes from there. They sometimes do stuff by a company called "Trekmates". It looks like it's designed for hikers, but works well on the bike too. I also got a waterproof coat which is as good, or better than waterproof cycling stuff at 5 times the price.

Dunno if your's will be the same layout as mine, but ours usually keep the baselayers with the Pants.

Northwind

.blitz wrote:

freeride-mike: good advice above but you can help yourself keep warm by insulating the parts where heat loss is the greatest - this means wrists, neck, head and ankles. There's a lot of blood close to the surface in these areas and it will cool very quickly, so gloves with long wrists, a buff and some wool socks will help the tech base layers etc do their stuff.

Thats good advice. And also, gives you good heat management, your forearms are like heat sinks so if you've got gear you can roll up and down you can cool down quite well if you need to.

ride_whenever

No wonder you're overheating!

For riding you want to feel cold when you step out the door. I tend to wear a long sleeve baselayer, usually my merino one, but lycra if it is a little warmer. A fleece gilet with a waterproof back and windstopper front to keep the chill off my chest. Lycra shorts, leggings, merino socks and thats it!

I'll happily coach at the river before sunup in my snowboarding trousers (hmmm, waterproof and fleece lined) baselayer, fleece and gore-tex jacket!

I find that arms work well for controlling temperature so tend to just have a baselayer on them.

From the sounds of things your fleece isn't really up to much. Try just a merino baselayer and your waterproof. That should keep the wind out and keep you warm.

loltoride

Endura Stealth Jacket , 1 -2 Base Layers dependant on temp If minus usually 2, good winter gloves only ever 1 pair at a time always warm up, Karrimor cycling tights with padding excellent buy for the price £12.99 and recently some Endura overshoes MT400 which are excellent.

Only expensive item was jacket but well worth the money and so far seem to be able to use in all conditions.

freeride-mike

THANKYOU for all the really great advice

Took myself down to decathalon today (cant believe i didnt go there 1st) they've got just about everything and not exspensive either got myself a long sleeve wind proof base layer for just £10 :shock: pleased with my reasonabley priced purchase i decided to go mad and spend a couple ££ more lol so nipped into sports direct for some socks and picked me up a pair of karrimoor trainers on sale £16 from bout £50ish i think :shock: :shock: 8) (save my poor white DC's from getting trashed in the mud)

Thats torso and feet sorted, ive got some fox gloves so never suffer with cold hands and my fleece has a very high coller so neck is protected well. Next on my list is bottoms, im a big lad so no spandex or tights :oops: but suggestions on trackie bottoms or leggins etc.... please????


cheers all
mike

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Baselayer leggings with some 3/4 shorts over the top eg. Endura Humvees; not necessarily with the padded liner aswell (but this could add comfort and warmth).

The Spiderman

My most useful bit of winter clothing is a gilet I got from Decathlon.
Worn with a long sleeve jeresy or base layer its normally all I need.Its enought o keep the windchill off my chest but the vented back and lack of arms stops me overheating.
I always use a pair of long bib tights in winter,mine are DHB Merstons,which have been a great investment.

Other than that the most important things are keeping hands and feet warm.

Kiblams

With all the rain recently, I have been finding that my short sleeved base layers have been die when used with waterproofs, now I wear a long sleeved base layer (short sleeved on top if it is cold enough) and a windproof or waterproof jacket to keep the elements out. I have never been as comfortable as I am now since I started using long sleeved base layers

On my legs it is simple cargo shorts and waterproofs cut into shorts over them if the rain is too extreme 8)

God bless base layers, I can commute through the winter without getting to work either numb and/or soaking wet from sweat

freeride-mike

Kiblams wrote:

I have never been as comfortable as I am now since I started using long sleeved base layers

i went for a long sleeve base layer as everytime i went out in a t shirt under my jacket my sleeves filled with sweat

Briggo

freeride-mike wrote:

Kiblams wrote:

I have never been as comfortable as I am now since I started using long sleeved base layers

i went for a long sleeve base layer as everytime i went out in a t shirt under my jacket my sleeves filled with sweat

Aye cant beat a longsleeve bs, just popped into my local Trespass shop actually and noticed they had some fairly good own make longsleeves for £12.50 which isnt bad, they feel fairly good too, if I didnt already have some I woulda bought one.

Hadagan

Sports direct.com shops...look in the golf section for waterproofs or the cycling section

I just bought an Umbro thin waterproof jacket £6 and the overtrousers £8

Also a jersey to take away the sweat from your body and keep it on the outside of the garment - Halfords £20

All worth it

I use them and they work when cycling/downhilling

Both perfect for cycling ( or playing golf too ! )

Atz

In terms of legwear, I wear shorts all year around with (at a push) tights (by this we mean long lycra leggings) but only when it's WELL below zero. The rest of the time it's just a short liner.

Top half, base layer, jersey (I've got a long-sleeved winter top) and gilet for extra warmth.

clodhoppa74

there was a bit in mbr about how to keep warm, it's best to keep your 'trunk' or torso warm, as that's where the organs are, so if it's cold then the warm blood is kept inside the torso, meaning your hands and extremeties get colder, so by keeping that warm, you'll keep the rest of you warm too.

i've been fine this winter with a pair of normal riding tights, shorts over top (to protect myself from the elements and the laughing passers by), wicking base layer (about a tenner from Go Outdoors), a dh jersey (i'm not small, they fit better) and a thing but showerproof riding jacket (about £15 from Go Outdoors) which is vented under the arms. it's also hi-vis, but i wear it to commute as well. stick a skull cap typr beanie on under the helmet, a thermal pair of socks and gloves and i've been toasty as anything this winter. got the stuff bit by bit and didn't feel a pinch on the wallet.

ride_whenever

on legs, padded shorts, lycra leggings and then waterproofs over the top.