Depressing thread i know but seeing as we seem to have skipped summer I’m going to get in early and be prepared for crap weather. Looking for some trousers, gloves, a long sleeve warm base layer and some kind of warm over shoe for my spds.

Trousers and gloves don’t have to be waterproof as I don’t really ride in heavy rain, but would be good if they were some kind of material that doesn’t soak it all up like a sponge & dries quickly. Have some POC flow shorts that have this sort of material and have been dry ish when caught out in the rain! Wind breaker material might be a good idea for both these as the roads i ride tend to be open and windy!

For the overshoes i need something that will actually keep my feet warm/dry as my circulation is poor and the first things to go numb are feet and hands!

Budget under £50 per item really as I’m not made of money and find a lot of bike branded stuff is way too expensive! If i can get some of the stuff from Blacks then that’s a bonus as theres one a 5min walk away from work.

Start off with some army goretex trousers and jacket you can get both for £50 from ebay, I cut the trousers off to shorts as I get quite hot. I use Howies LS merino base layers and they are nice and warm but for really cold rides I have a thin Dakine fleece as a mid layer.

To be honest the howies base layers are so warm that when I wore the skiing with just my jacket over the top I was too hot.

Morning bump 🙂

Oh and for the overshoes, Endura MT500 good? There are certainly enough good reviews on CRC! Do they size up accurately? Says on the size chart I’d need a Large for size 10 shoes (mine are specialized BG mtb shoes).

I personally wouldnt bother with trousers, I tried some and they were a pain, bib tights with shorts over the top for me. Maybe the gortex army trousers cut off if you dont like mudgaurds. (I just use Crud mudgaurd & catcher.

Millions of base layers to choose from, Merino is my favorite, and cheap, at on one, they have winter gloves there too.

I don’t mind riding in trousers, usually ride in trackies in the winter but they get soaked if you accidentally ride through a puddle or get caught in the rain.. so long as they tighten round the ankle then I never have problems with thme catching on the chainrings.

tom if you can stand riding in wet trackies, then your quite mad, try a cheap pair of proper cycling bib tights, you wont look back.

If you more DH you might look the odd one out, but buy the merino and winter gloves from On One and it will leave you cash for some decent riding trousers.

Oh yeah I like overshoes, its another cost save over winter shoes in my opinion, make sure they are velcro jobs, zips are rubbish for offroad.

It does all depend on if your doing a 1-2 hour blast or an all day ride as to what levels of comfort you find right.

R U commuting? Lidls might be your friend. They’ve got gilets, gloves, trousers, bib-tights and cycling trousers instore at the moment. The gel gloves don’t look too bad. The gilets are pretty good if you want something warm and windproof that doesen’t need to roll up small and fit in a jersey pocket.

I hardly bother with overshoes nowerdays except for long road rides in cold, freezing conditions – Sealskins are much less faff. If there’s not much room left in your SPDs then a thin pair should do the job without compressing your tootsies and further hampering your poor circulation.

Also, check out DHB jerseys & stuff on Wiggle. I got some cheap Bib 3/4 tights off there the other week and they’re crackin’

HTH

Tom,

I’ve tried a number of waterproof shorts and find them all a bit, ‘boil in the bag’ so tend to just use my normal riding shorts all year. thermal bibs underneath

For base layers I’ve tried a number of Merino and I have to say I don’t think its worth the huge premium you pay over synthetic base layers. It does keep you warm and doesn’t smell but what they don’t tell you is that it stays wet and take forever to dry. My favourite base for cold weather is TNF warm. Keeps you really toastie, wicks well and dries quickly. The long sleeve zip neck is on sale at Go Outdoors for £12.99 in store

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/warm-l-s-zip-neck-p159264

Are there any waterproof lycra shorts which would go under baggies? Just hate the soggy nappy effect when my padded pants get wet, not fussed about wet shorts.

Not commuting but want to make my morning or evening (depending on shift) 30 mins-an hour “fitness” road rides more comfortable as numb hands/feet after about 10 minutes isn’t fun. Mostly road so bib tights wouldn’t be out of place really but might get a few odd looks on the odd post-work DH ride 0_0 I had considered leg warmers/tights under shorts though, didn’t know if they were any good.

Thanks for the suggestions 🙂

altura do some shorts where just the backside panel is waterproof, so less boil in the bag. Both normal and 3/4 length last time I saw.

And you can try an AssSaver, which are cheap.

Tried some wooly booly socks the other day, which some people swear by for wet feet.

what they don’t tell you is that it stays wet and take forever to dry.

I have never had this problem with Merino.