Trade in value

Javier said:

Can you guys recommend ow I should dress for cold weather riding, say
20-32 degrees F?

I've ridden in that this winter. I bought a bunch of stuff from
Performance, but never really solved the hands issue. Rather than get
specific, I recommend you look at their Web site or get a catalog.

Even ski gloves left my hands cold / numb. My buddy who knows a lot,
used lobster gloves which I'll try next year. Also another buddy uses
regular gloves with a shell over glove which he says works.

Me, I figured when the running water freezes and I'm out there, I'm
cold. Plain and simple. O, BTW, you know you are out there when your
water bottle freezes. Happened to me a dozen times last winter.

I hate cold.

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

Mike,

Thanks as usual for the insight. I'd rather spend 500 bucks on my bike
than on a care repair. The only thing that kills me about my 1200 is
the road buzz I get after about 50 miles. Wonder if Trek sells just the
5200 frame and fork? I can swap out the rest of the parts.

Trek does sell framesets separately, but it's a much better deal to get the
complete bike (I believe the 5200 frameset goes for around $1700, vs $2400
for the complete bike). I wouldn't get the 5200 just for the reduction in
road buzz though; there's alot more to it than that.

For $1700, I'd catch one of those bargain flights to the UK, pick up a
previously ordered Mercian with barber pole stripe, have an eel pie,
and fly back Sunday night full of lager and satisfaction.

I can't keep my fingers warm below 25F if my fingers aren't next to
each other. Lobster gloves are awesome. Plenty of dexterity while
letting your fingers work together to keep warm. Get the AquaNot Zumis.
I still have to pull my thumb in next to my palm every few minutes to
warm it below 20F, but I can sustain for a long time with lobsters.

For skiing, I wear mittens or my lobsters...

-Mike

Paul Cassel said:

Javier said:

Can you guys recommend ow I should dress for cold weather riding, say
20-32 degrees F?

I've ridden in that this winter. I bought a bunch of stuff from
Performance, but never really solved the hands issue. Rather than get
specific, I recommend you look at their Web site or get a catalog.

Even ski gloves left my hands cold / numb. My buddy who knows a lot,
used lobster gloves which I'll try next year. Also another buddy uses
regular gloves with a shell over glove which he says works.

Mittens. I have some $4 mittens that I got from a box-store clearance a
few years ago, and they work well below 20° F. When it gets to low teens
or single digits, put a liner inside the mittens.

The mittens work just fine for STI/Ergo. The only problem I've had was
when riding my 'cross bike (no suspension, 32 mm tyres) down a rocky
descent behind my suspended-MTB-riding buddies. I had the mittens hook
the brake levers a few times when I wanted to release the brakes and
grab the handlebars.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Paul Cassel said:

Javier said:

Can you guys recommend ow I should dress for cold weather riding, say
20-32 degrees F?

I've ridden in that this winter. I bought a bunch of stuff from
Performance, but never really solved the hands issue. Rather than get
specific, I recommend you look at their Web site or get a catalog.

Even ski gloves left my hands cold / numb. My buddy who knows a lot,
used lobster gloves which I'll try next year. Also another buddy uses
regular gloves with a shell over glove which he says works.

Me, I figured when the running water freezes and I'm out there, I'm
cold. Plain and simple. O, BTW, you know you are out there when your
water bottle freezes. Happened to me a dozen times last winter.

I hate cold.

Off-road mostly traveling under 15mph I'm comfortable down to 35 degrees
with shorts, three thin layers up top, short fingered gloves, and no
shoe covers. Colder, or faster off-road terrain and on-road I need a
little more than that.

Coldest I've ridden is 28 degrees and that was only once. Thankfully I
live in SoCal.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

G.T. said:

I'm comfortable down to 35 degrees
with shorts

That can be pretty rough on your knees. Thin skin = no insulation for a
joint that generally works better when warm. I like some loose-kneed
tights or knickers. I do get hot in tights sometimes -- but I'd rather
sweat a little than deal with chronic knee problems (which I'm still
trying to minimize).

-Mike

Mike Reed said:

G.T. said:

I'm comfortable down to 35 degrees
with shorts

That can be pretty rough on your knees. Thin skin = no insulation for a
joint that generally works better when warm.

I keep reading that on a.m-b. and r.b.t. but no one has provided any
citations.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

G.T. said:

Mike Reed said:

G.T. said:

I'm comfortable down to 35 degrees
with shorts

That can be pretty rough on your knees. Thin skin = no insulation for a
joint that generally works better when warm.

I keep reading that on a.m-b. and r.b.t. but no one has provided any
citations.

I can't recall ever reading that on r.b.t., but I don't read every post.
I *have* heard this from another bikie, but he's not an entirely
credible source. I'd like to know if there's any truth to this rumor, too.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Warmer muscles and tendons are looser (more flexible and stretchy).
Muscles and tendons and ligment connect your knee together. If your
kneecap is neutrally attached by flexible and loose connective tissue,
then it will be exerting less pressure on the joint underneath it.

I'm no doctor, but it seems obvious that your knee would work better
warm just like the rest of your body does.

Anyway, if you think about a nonflexible kneecap sliding around on your
knee with a little more pressure than usual, 100 times/minute, it can't
be good for your knee.

Same goes with tights that are too tight in the knee.

Ok, with a 5-minute Google session, I unearthed these:
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2000/01/mm_coldweather.html
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Winter_sports_and_cold_related_injuries?Open

In cycling, the knees are the most exposed, heavily exercised bundles
of connective tissue on the body, so I figure these articles apply to
my theory that keeping knees warm during exercise keeps them healthier.

"Mike Reed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ok, with a 5-minute Google session, I unearthed these:
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2000/01/mm_coldweather.html

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Winter_sports_and_cold_related_injuries?Open

Quoted message said:

"Acclimatise yourself to exercising in colder weather. For example, before
you hit the ski slopes, try training outdoors for a few weeks instead of
inside a warm gymnasium.
Cold muscles, tendons and ligaments are vulnerable to injury. Warm up and
stretch thoroughly before playing your chosen winter sport.
Remember to take cold temperatures into account and spend more time warming
up than usual."

That's the closest I came to finding a warning in all that. And no data.

Quoted message said:

In cycling, the knees are the most exposed,

And internally heated.

Quoted message said:

heavily exercised bundles
of connective tissue on the body, so I figure these articles apply to
my theory that keeping knees warm during exercise keeps them healthier.

Greg

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Mike Reed said:

You might try lowering your tire pressure to 90 in the rear and 85 in
the front. If you go with bigger tires, you can even take it lower than
that. The increase in rolling resistance is pretty minimal, and if you
are riding long miles with other riders, then drafting will minimize it
even more.

At any rate, I'd always recommend front tire pressure be lower than
rear by 5-10 psi.

Do you know how to quote from the articles you reply to?

--
Michael Press

G.T. said:

Quoted message said:

In cycling, the knees are the most exposed,

And internally heated.

Yeah, but they're externally cooled. How do you figure your kneecaps
stay warm behind 1/16" of skin with a 20mph breeze blowing over them,
and no blood flowing through them to warm them?

"Mike Reed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

G.T. said:

Quoted message said:

In cycling, the knees are the most exposed,

And internally heated.

Yeah, but they're externally cooled. How do you figure your kneecaps
stay warm behind 1/16" of skin with a 20mph breeze blowing over them,
and no blood flowing through them to warm them?

I'm not worried about my knee caps. I'm worried about what's under them.
The stuff that's internally heated and protected from the wind by my knee
caps.

Greg

Ok. Wear shorts 🙂

I figure that if it doesn't hurt, it's not hurting you. My knees hurt
if I let them get cold.

On 17 Mar 2006 21:01:30 -0800, "Mike Reed" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Ok. Wear shorts 🙂

I figure that if it doesn't hurt, it's not hurting you. My knees hurt
if I let them get cold.

Mine do too, in fact all my leg muscles feel stiff when exposed to
cold. I go from tights to leg warmers to knee warmers.

Whenever I see joggers/runners out in mid 40sF, wearing shorts, I
wonder about the wisdom of it.

Whatever works for you, that's fine. For me warm muscles are happy
muscles;-)

Life is Good!
Jeff

Javier said:

Can you guys recommend ow I should dress for cold weather riding, say
20-32 degrees F?

I forgot to add my favorite cold weather riding tip, one that I used
today (mid-30s F, but felt colder): use your trainer.

No, I don't mean stay inside for your entire ride. I wouldn't wish that
on my worst enemy. 🙂

Get ready to ride outside with the exception of a few last-minute items.
I leave off the outer wind shell, headgear, and gloves/mittens. Hop on
the trainer (I use rollers, so I can use the same bike that I'm going to
ride outside with minimal fuss). Ride long enough to get good and warm.
When you're just about to break a sweat, or perhaps you've just started
sweating, get off the trainer. Put on those last few articles of
clothing and go ride.

This makes the coldest part of the ride far less uncomfortable. You're
already warmed up, so those first blasts of icy air don't feel so bad.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu