How cold is to cold to ride

Chris Cannon

Good morning all,

I was driving in this morning and noticed that it was the first morning with ice on the grass and cars. So I started to wonder.

What do you consider to cold to ride to work in?

Secondly what type of gear do you wear to ride to work?

Lastly does your commute time average any differently with the change in temp?

rule62

2...layers...no.

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garage sale GT

I am not a serious roadie and never go for max speed.

I have not yet found a lower temperature limit for bicycling. Last winter I did a 22 mile trip in 5-10 degrees, and it was quite windy. I was comfortable, too.

I prefer to use a mild pace of 12-15 MPH.

The real limit is when the snow plows push mounds of dense, icy, compacted snow right where you need to ride.

Other than that, it's all about your equipment. I prefer to use a slow but steady pace and outfit myself with wicking long johns, mitts, scarf, winter boots (no clipless in icy conditions for me), and a balaclava with a heat exchanger for your breath. A conventional helmet is quite warm if you block the vents and wear a hat which prevents air circulation underneath.

You have to carry enough backup clothing to be able to walk it. You also need to try stuff close to home until you know what works.

Don't forget some people hold MTB races in the Alaskan winter, such as the "IditaBike". The hot setup is apparently to wear fibers which keep you warm even when wet, and to cover it all with an impermeable suit.

Has anyone experienced any equipment failures directly traceable to cold? I know some materials get very brittle in cold.

Strid

One day (it was below freezing that day) I took off from home as any other day, and when I reached the first intersection (about 1½ km from home) I naturally pulled the brake to see if any cars were heading in my direction. Unfortunately the front brake had dirt in it and and probably some water too sp it had frozen over night. I scared the hell out of me, luckily I had a rear brake that worked that day. Naturally, I gave the things a good clean when I got home.

I only not take the bike if its either storming or too slippery to drive safely. My drive is about 2x 12 km. I just wear what I'm going to wear for the rest of that day. Jeans, hoodie etc. If it's raining or cold I wear a gore-tex jacket and bicycle gloves.
They salt everything around here, so usually I can ride the bike in any weather. I wouldn't say that my time differs much winter to summer. Its the same stretch I have to go and same bike and such. Only difference is what I'm wearing.

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BIKES: Jensen flatbar commuter;Scott Speedster S6

garage sale GT

Thanks strid but I am referring to the embrittlement of materials due to cold. I know some plastics will crack like glass when it's cold and some alloys get noticeably stiffer and less tough.

garage sale GT

BTW I got a Cadillac AV-8 just for winter riding. They were blowing them out on Amazon. It comes with drum brakes front and rear and an 8-speed internal gear hub. Needs fenders though.

NickDavid

when your legs literally fall off.... otherwise, keep riding.

Strid

Sorry, I apart from different part that freeze up, I've never witnessed stuff like that, personally. Except from cooling stuff with liquid nitrogen of course. But it rarely gets below -10 celcius around -20 a couple of days a year if we're unlucky. I don't think you'll find many bike parts (if any) that get really fragile at, say, -10 C to -20 C. Your worst problem is water getting into bearings and such and then freeze.

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BIKES: Jensen flatbar commuter;Scott Speedster S6

rule62

Yeah, in all seriousness, below freezing definitely can come with some issues due to ice, on the road or on building up the bike. I have had some issues with batteries and electronic gear, especially lights, that showed up when it got down into the single digits. And something like changing a tire can be dangerous if you aren't careful to protect yourself against hypothermia, or frostbite.

Beyond that, what I have heard from my Canuck friends is that temps have to get significantly down into the minuses before you might see any weird part failure issues.

YMMV.

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Strid

I second! I've had electric lights die out after 5 minutes because the cheap batteries couldn't cope with the cold (or possibly it was even the light bulbs, who knows?). That was about just below freezing.

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BIKES: Jensen flatbar commuter;Scott Speedster S6

garage sale GT

They should make more lights like this model I got from Sportsman's Guide. It has four AA's in a box which goes in your (warm) pocket, then you can clip the light to your helmet or the bars and run the wire up under your shirt. The lens is no good though, lights a small area enough to blind you.

One thing's for sure though, you have to have enough stuff to protect you from frostbite, when you're wet and sweaty, and your bike takes a crap and you have to walk.

cPritch67

55 degrees for us in So Cal.

Just kidding...... I'll occasionally road trip for rides in the Sierra's and I wonder about the 30's temps damaging my carbon frame. I know it's not hurting it but I tend to worry about my bike like I do my 2 year old.

Doug_W

My limit is -20 C , anything below that its too cold on lungs and to keep warm need too many layers that slow down ride so overall just take too long to get to work. In the - teens C its not to bad. Wear bike shorts under bike pants to keep ass from freezing. two long slieved shirts under jacket , thick wool socks , neporene booties, heavy gloves, glasses , and a neck wool thing over head covering chin . Antything lower than -20 more layers woould be needed so not worth it , I'll take the bus.

garage sale GT

Try those breath warming face masks like road crews wear. The one from Psolar breathes freely enough for riding, and in 10 degree weather I found it too effective and had to poke my nose out the bottom of the eye hole.