Winter Gear

pgibbo

Hi All,
It feels a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted but a few questions:

What tyres would you recommend for winter cycling?
What PSI would people recommend for wet/icy conditions - I know this can depend on the tyre but is there a general rule of thumb?
Gloves that are good in the wet?
Overshoes that are good in the wet?

The reason I ask is that I was cycling on newish tyres yesterday in the wet. They were pumped to hard IMO and had fcuk all grip too. I cam down hard at a junction that was resurfaced a few weeks ago. My hip is in a jock today. Gloves were also wet through by the end of the spin. Oh, and my left overshoe is ripped to shreds.

The positive was that my cheap Aldi rain jacket seems to be pretty close to 100% waterproof

catweazle

Never mind about your hips, is the bike ok :eek:

pgibbo

catweazle wrote: »

Never mind about your hips, is the bike ok :eek:

You're all heart!!!

Bike is fine thankfully. Brake lever popped in but straightened it out.

tunney

pgibbo wrote: »

Hi All,
It feels a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted but a few questions:

What tyres would you recommend for winter cycling?
What PSI would people recommend for wet/icy conditions - I know this can depend on the tyre but is there a general rule of thumb?
Gloves that are good in the wet?
Overshoes that are good in the wet?

The reason I ask is that I was cycling on newish tyres yesterday in the wet. They were pumped to hard IMO and had fcuk all grip too. I cam down hard at a junction that was resurfaced a few weeks ago. My hip is in a jock today. Gloves were also wet through by the end of the spin. Oh, and my left overshoe is ripped to shreds.

The positive was that my cheap Aldi rain jacket seems to be pretty close to 100% waterproof

Ice?

catweazle

An endura pair of overshoes, cant remember the mm of the neoprone and a pair of Giro Merino socks sorted out the cold feet. The overshoes double up well as being fairly waterproof!

tunney

Tin foil around shoes before the shoe covers

ChickenBalls

Anyone know of any long sleeved jackets cause I'm 6ft 4in and any jacket I buy the arms are never long enough and the cold goes up the sleeve leaving my wrist and half my arm frozen. I haven't purchased a cycling specific jacket mind you wondering if they come with extra arm length? I know the back of them come down lower than a normal jacket.

pgibbo

tunney wrote: »

Ice?

Nope - just wet. Road surface was very slippy

mossym

i bought a pair of slightly used 25mm tyres on here to replace the 23's on my winter bike. haven't changed them over yet but will be this week. wider tyres should offer more grip, plus can run them with less pressure.

my overshoes were great last season, got the Pro Tarmac H20 Road Overshoes for sale on wiggle. Not sure i will get the whole season out of them this year as they have started parting at one of the seams. will check out the recommendations you get. had a look at the rapha overshoes as their stuff tends to be good but as usual the pricing is up there!!

sconhome

P sorry to hear about the spill. I run Continental 4 Seasons at 90psi.

Having spotted these on a customer last week I was well impressed with them these.

Been looking for a local retailler, but no joy. I did get neoprene overshoes in TriBikes las year and they are brilliant. The only thing is something to stop the water coming into the tri shoes from below and a second warmer sockliner in the shoes.

@CW do you go out in the winter? :P

BennyMul

sorry to hear about the spill.
I have put 25mm conti's on the bike for winter, running at 90-100psi.

have an old pair of BBB over shoes, were water proof at the start, and with two light pairs of socks, or if really wet some vasoline around the toes.
have yet to try tin foil.

I bought a pair of specialised lobster golves whcih are really warm and have a lining to keep out the water or some of it,

a nice warm hat to go under the helmet to keep the ears warm.
and clean the tyres after every spin to make sure that no crap from the road gets stuck in there and causes a puncture on the next spin.

mloc123

Turbo

pgibbo

mloc123 wrote: »

Turbo

That's what my wife said too

Worn Out

I sometimes wear a pair of "black" marigold gloves in winter. Waterproof and warm.

catweazle

amphkingwest wrote: »

@CW do you go out in the winter? :P

Only when I am over the limit from the night before and the missus kicks me off the couch to get milk from the shop

Green&Red

I use these overshoes, not altogether water proof but there are like wellies and any water that does get in warms up and while its squelchy its warm

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/bbb-hardwear-shoe-covers/

Any recommendations for a jacket, something warm and water resistant

catweazle

Green&Red wrote: »

Any recommendations for a jacket, something warm and water resistant

There seems to be a Castelli Gabba appreciation group set up over in the cycling forum - they certainly aren't cheap though!

Green&Red

I was looking for a cheaper option

Maybe even a less water more water proof option


I dont know what I want!

pgibbo

I had an Aldi or Lidl rain coat on me at the weekend. It rained for the full 2.5 hours and the jacket kept the rain out.

mossym

pgibbo wrote: »

I had an Aldi or Lidl rain coat on me at the weekend. It rained for the full 2.5 hours and the jacket kept the rain out.

the blue winter jacket one? have one of those. got one of these for winter wear though and really like it..
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-windslam-softshell-jacket/

BTH

Fed up of losing all feeling in my toes every weekend I bought a pair of these earlier in the year. Bought before they got turned canary yellow :eek: I haven't been out in too cold weather so far, but in the rain they will fill up with water, but will keep you nice and toasty. A pain in the ass to dry, but very happy with the purchase so far. Bought them a fraction on the roomy side too, so I can go with an extra pair of socks if it gets properly cold out.

EC1000

BTH wrote: »

but in the rain they will fill up with water, ..... A pain in the ass to dry,

"maintaining excellent breathability to ensure feet are always dry and warm"

Are you saying this bit is false?!

sconhome

EC1000 wrote: »

"maintaining excellent breathability to ensure feet are always dry and warm"

Are you saying this bit is false?!

When you've drainpipe legs the water is going to fill your boots

BTH

EC1000 wrote: »

"maintaining excellent breathability to ensure feet are always dry and warm"

Are you saying this bit is false?!

Defo keep you warm, but nothing will keep you dry. Rain will not get in through the shoe, but will run down your leg and into the shoes. Not much you can do about that, and drain holes in the sole will leave you freezing, so at least you'll stay warm if a little damp.

Briando

Definitely find the Neoprene gloves/overshoes the best kit for the rain, Endura and Altura both do them.

But you will get wet feet from the front wheel throwing water onto your legs if you are riding in the rain without mudguards, get either SKS Raceblades or Crud RoadRacer Mk2 which are easy to put on and take off as needed.

mossym

went mountain biking this evening with lights, up one of the local hills which is a forestry with fire roads

usually in winter i wear one of two pairs of wool socks i have from my snowboarding days. have never had cold feet with them. Couldn;t find either pair tonight, so wore a normal pair of socks. while the rest of me was toasty, my feet were so cold. two lumps of ice would have been less pain. going to get more of those socks .

good news is my new BBB winter gloves were toasty.