Cooler weather riding gear?

What are people wearing now that the days have gotten colder, shorter, and wetter?

I don't commute, so any time out in the rain is going to be a personal choice, but I'll also choose to stay inside on shitty days.

A rain jacket from Mavic and the likes looks to be over-kill for all but the heaviest downpours here. I also won't or don't do pants on a bike either.

I rode last winter, including those few weeks of cold in early December in Pearl Pro4 Thermal Knickers, a Cima Coppi jersey, with a poly Under Armour shirt underneath.

Base layers: Craft always

Bottoms (from cold to coldest): Thermal bibs w/leg warmers, thermal knickers w/leg warmers, thermal windfront knickers w/ leg warmers, thermal windfront tights (actually too warm, roads tend to be icy at the temps I would wear it)

Tops: Thermal jersey w/wind vest, thermal jersey w/Windtex thermal vest, thermal jersey w/Windtex jacket. New this year: Castelli Mortirolo Due jacket

Sometimes I will throw on arm warmers on top of the base layer but beneath the thermal jersey. Defeet Armskins are the warmest for this.

I am changing my winter riding strategy this year, to focus on volume outside and quality indoors (TrainerRoad). When the rain lets up, I'll try to get my long rides in without worrying about intensity (intervals).

If you don't already wear it, try Merino wool for warm layers [HTML_REMOVED] socks. Still warm when wet and it breathes.

Yeah, I have a bunch of Merino stuff, although most of it is for skiing/boarding so is looser fitting than my road stuff.

FYI, Giro has some nice Merino wool socks, I have a few pairs of the seasonal and winter merino socks

Gloves: Defeet Dura, Defeet Dura Wool (beyond that I'm typically not riding)

For really cold temps, dress as if you are going out cross country skiing or snowshoeing.

Last winter we rode fat bikes in Pemberton at -15. Keeping your water from freezing is a challenge.

I'm likely going a few degrees below zero, and that is it. During last years cold time I was still riding gloveless

Eff it, I'll make Booms day and get more Rapha

Wore the Mortirolo Due tonight for an evening ride. 10 degrees, Craft thermal long sleeve layer underneath. The jacket was warm enough that I had to open the front zip partway and the chest zips. Very impressed so far.

I really like Merino underwear on colder rides.

For gloves (I hate cold fingers), I got myself a pair of Specialized Elements gloves last fall, and I like them for riding around the 5 deg C mark.

EDIT: Just checked their website, and they have apparently "overhauled"/redesigned their line of cold weather gloves. The new Element looks completely different from the model I own.

When it's zero degrees, I wear ski gloves.

Good wool socks and good booties. Feet will stay warm for an hour.

For your body, layering with waterproof jacket. The seems at wrists, neck and waist need to be tight.

Skull cap.

Those cotton SARS masks Chinese people like to wear are actually really good for keeping your face cozy at below zero temps.

That's surprising. I would have thought that they'd ice up.

That's surprising. I would have thought that they'd ice up.

If it's cold enough they will. I used to run to school in Winnipeg and at -30C we wore neck tubes over the nose and toque on top. We would get an icicle form around our noses and mouths from breath condensing and freezing on the exterior of the neck tube. non issue though.