I recently went shopping for leg tights to keep me warm in ultra cold weather. Well, I found nothing that I liked. Right now, I only have a full length Sugoi tight that feels a bit cold when worn alone in 34F weather or so. Since I couldn't find anything warmer, I took one of my somewhat tight fitting sweat pants and put it over my Sugoi tights -- two layers! Well, this combo felt so warm when I was out! My weathermeter read 25F but the weather forecast said high of 15 F -- whatever the temp was I did not feel any cold with this combo on my legs!
Any of you try something similar? How about two head caps?
I recently went shopping for leg tights to keep me warm in ultra cold weather. Well, I found nothing that I liked. Right now, I only have a full length Sugoi tight that feels a bit cold when worn alone in 34F weather or so. Since I couldn't find anything warmer, I took one of my somewhat tight fitting sweat pants and put it over my Sugoi tights -- two layers! Well, this combo felt so warm when I was out! My weathermeter read 25F but the weather forecast said high of 15 F -- whatever the temp was I did not feel any cold with this combo on my legs!
Any of you try something similar? How about two head caps?
I'm glad it works for you, but my only concern would be the moment your sweat soaks through the spandex layer and your sweat pants absorb it, there is no way it will dry (sweat pants aren't the greatest whicking material). Making you colder in the long run.
Can't you wear woolens or a polypro base layer with tights?
I went out today in 15F weather and was toasty with a polypro base layer and some jeans, drag be damned, and was warm enough. I don't get soaked because the combo is thin enough so that you feel a bit chilly when starting out, but I make up for it on head, chest, feet, and hands.
Hey - I just did a 44.46 mile workout on Lake Shore Drive today - was 24F - felt all warm except for my feet in my Shimano SPD shoes. Maybe I'll use a double layer of socks next time. I proved your theory wrong about sweat in the legs -- when I took off all my clothes at home after the workout my tights and sweat pants weren't wet at all, but my long sleeved cotton shirt, long sleeved fleece sweatshirt - were wet. My coat was a little moist. So it's mostly your upper body that will do the sweating. Starting out my legs didn't feel a bit cold.
Today was my longest ever long distance cold weather ride I have ever done. I've never tried a workout in the teens. Maybe that might be too cold for my feet and gloves, but it was 24F when I worked out today. Total time in the cold probably 3:20 with no warm breaks.
My Sugoi tights were not made for ultra cold weather. And I wouldn't bike in jeans because the pants might get into the crank / chain. Seriously, some tight sweats over some tights will do the trick, as it acts as a great windbreaker.
Even if your legs stayed dry today, that says nothing about cotton. If it gets wet, it stays wet. It's a proven fact. The only time that the miserable qualities of wet cotton have been good in the cold has been in the ol' 60/40 cloth that used to make up winter outdoor kit/mountaineering kit. It only worked 'cuz when the cotton got soaked, it eventually froze and made a windproof outer.
With Craft tights over regular ol' bibs and leg warmers, I'm good to at least the low 20's, and neither the tights nor the leg warmers put me out financially.
Iffin' you're going to ride in the cold, then spend the bucks to stay warm and comfortable properly. You don't know suffering until you get some serious hypothermia, and that's no place you want to go near.
I looked at my sweat pants and they are 100% polyester. The Sugoi tights are 87% polyester and 13% spandex - so no cotton here.
What's the coldest long distance workout you've ever done? Do you wear two layers of socks too?
Riding in the cold? 4-5 hours. I don't wear two socks. I wear my regular cycling socks and then I wear a shoe cover. More socks aren't necessarily better, especially if they impare circulation. If someone's gonna wear two socks, then one oughta be a thin liner sock with an insulating sock over that.
Longest "workouts" of any sort in the cold? 2-3 weeks at temps anywhere from -20F to freezing or higher. The key is layering properly for any outdoor activity in the cold. With the right layering you can avoid the bulk of too many clothes; you can stay warm without overheating; and you can stay dry.
Riding in the cold? 4-5 hours. I don't wear two socks. I wear my regular cycling socks and then I wear a shoe cover. More socks aren't necessarily better, especially if they impare circulation.
That's why I like to buy winter shoes that are larger. My summer use stuff is fairly tight; I can't put two socks of any thickness on. I am not sure how many people do this, though.
I looked at my sweat pants and they are 100% polyester. The Sugoi tights are 87% polyester and 13% spandex - so no cotton here.
That means they stayed dry because they wick. I can soak a windbreaker through a polyester fleece, wool sweater and polypro base layer, the three of which will feel dry to the touch. Jeans do get soaked unless you take it easy, keep insulation to a minimum, and wear wicking fabrics underneath.
I would like to know if anyone successfully uses one or more base layers under tights. If you're going to screw up your aerodynamics with sweats, there are cheaper pairs of long johns than sugino tights to wear underneath.
Yeah, my aerodynamics totally sucked today, as I was only doing between 12 to 16.5 mph and it wasn't windy. And my HR was high for the speed I was doing. My hr / speed always sucks during winter workouts. Well, I was really motivated to ride today because I was really [censored] that I gained 2.4 lbs the last 2 days, and I didn't overeat much!
Seems like 45 miles in 24F weather is the limit for me, as all my upper body clothes get wet from sweat. My water bottle all froze too! I guess I don't have very good sweat wicking upper clothes except for my fleece.
Hey garagesaleGT - it was 24 to 26F in Chicago today, not 15F. Besides, where do you workout in South Chicago? Me, I'm very lucky to be 3 miles from Lake Shore Drive for the best workout path I've ever known. 1 mile from Humbolt Park for after work workouts.
Hey - I just did a 44.46 mile workout on Lake Shore Drive today - was 24F - felt all warm except for my feet in my Shimano SPD shoes. Maybe I'll use a double layer of socks next time. I proved your theory wrong about sweat in the legs -- when I took off all my clothes at home after the workout my tights and sweat pants weren't wet at all, but my long sleeved cotton shirt, long sleeved fleece sweatshirt - were wet. My coat was a little moist. So it's mostly your upper body that will do the sweating. Starting out my legs didn't feel a bit cold.
Today was my longest ever long distance cold weather ride I have ever done. I've never tried a workout in the teens. Maybe that might be too cold for my feet and gloves, but it was 24F when I worked out today. Total time in the cold probably 3:20 with no warm breaks.
My Sugoi tights were not made for ultra cold weather. And I wouldn't bike in jeans because the pants might get into the crank / chain. Seriously, some tight sweats over some tights will do the trick, as it acts as a great windbreaker.
Yeah - LSD is my favorite bike path for a workout. Great scenery variety and lots of chicks working out in the path too.
I bike from Olive Park by Navy Pier to Brywn Mawr up North -- this is an exact 7 mile lap. My workouts are 4 to 6 laps with a short rest in between because of butt ache. It's rare to get a totally windless workout though.
Hey garagesaleGT - it was 24 to 26F in Chicago today, not 15F. Besides, where do you workout in South Chicago? Me, I'm very lucky to be 3 miles from Lake Shore Drive for the best workout path I've ever known. 1 mile from Humbolt Park for after work workouts.
There's no lake effect by Orland Park where I was riding. My outdoor thermometer and weather.com agreed on the temp. It later warmed up to about 28.
