Do they work as a winter cycling jacket ?

If so which one do you have & what if anything do you ever wear with it ?

My current system is a pertex 100 fleece, a waterproof light shell (so all in a bit like a buffalo) & then I wear something else over the fleece if the weather is grim. From a tight summer cycling shirt to something heavier. It works but I have always wonderred about them.

I suspect they are a bit like Orange 5s, if you get my drift.

Depends when you ride.

Rarely wear mine in daylight hours.

A 5.30 commute in -10 or below then its a godsend.

ive an active shirt

I’ve had a couple of the years. The traditional style ones are mega warm, it would need to be -5 before I’d ride in it. The main advantage of them is they dry very quickly even after complete immersion. So sort of like the warmth of a light down jacket but suitable for getting wet. I either wore it on its own or with a light base layer. The idea is that you use the multitude of zips to adjust the warmth rather than swap layers.

I also had one of their lighter jackets that just had a light fleecey layer on the inside rather than the usual pile type stuff. It was excellent for winter biking. If it was kept proofed it was near as waterproof and very breathable.

Got the Montane extreme smock which is same/similar sa the heavy duty Buffalo’s. Put it on after I finish riding but imagine it would be too hot to pedal in. Might be OK in cold conditions (snow) at a slow/ steady pace.

@trail_rat – a good 50% of riding is at night, plenty in the wet lancashire gloom, either commuting 1.5 hrs each way or just a fun night ride (2-3 hours)

can’t say -10 happens a lot but wet certainly does.

A further comment on my current system – It is great for a 2 hour ride but a grim 3 hour ride & I am in need of something more. Especially if a stop is required.

Pertex cycle jacket (fleece lined and crotch strap one)

Unless absolutely freezing always had to open side zips as too hot, on 1st use wore it on a cold day with a t and nearly melted,fab when wet as can nearly twirl fleece dry

If the snow was thick and deep and even it would go on but I mainly wear layers as they are more flexible

Edit: my cold tolerance is much higher than average, in the wet I could neatly dry mine with overhead manual spin but it does mean you’re temporarily topless……….

I have three!

Two traditional ones: one for MTBing in sub-zero conditions, and one for best (aka standing in the park with the boys).
Completely the business in cold, mucky weather. I normally wear a light merino-t underneath but will go nekkid if the weather is particularly grim.

Have an active one for commuting in when not raining. I commute in work clothes and the pit zips keep me cool.

The Rab Vapour Rise stretch tops are similar to the lighter weight buffalo jackets but imo are a better fit. Also very widely available to try on. I use mine from autumn until spring, with a light shell layer for very wet conditions.

I find Paramo stuff works really well for deep winter – sub-zero – mountain biking. Full-weight pile-Pertex – the Montane Extreme is better cut than Buffalo ime – is very warm and tends to be restrictive.

Rab Vapour-rise is good in cool and dry, but not waterproof, which is where Paramo scores plus points. I tend to wear Paramo when it gets really cold and Rab VR Lite Alpine when it’s milder and, as above, and chuck a shell on if it really hammers down.

Everyone varies though, but Paramo’s the closest thing I’ve found to a do it all solution in really cold conditions. For me it’s overkill at temps much above freezing and Buffalo and similar would just be too warm and too restrictive on the move.

I once wore my Buffalo Special 6 shirt in a -5c snowy ride in the Peaks and almost immediately had to take it off. Boil in a bag, and this was before any real climbing had started.
I now use it post ride/paddle.

It has to be really cold for the normal Buffalo tops to work when riding – or you run very cold or not be pedalling hard. I think I’ve only worn mine in the snow on the bike! Though it was great for commuting, I guess the effort is lower and wind chill higher on the road. I keep thinking one of the lightweight Buffalo tops would be great for winter but my one or two base layers with or without soft shell combo works very well.

Paramo is great but needs keeping reasonably clean – if the liner gets too dirty it sucks water in rather than pumping it out!

Mine only comes out when the temp. drops below -10. It’s far too hot for me otherwise (that’s an Active Shirt). It probably gets used for Cycling a couple of times a year. More often it’s just for walking when it’s too nasty to wear a down-jacket.

@BadlywiredDog – How’s the Vapour Rise at the back when you are leant forward? Buffalo used to do a bike shirt that had a longer back so you didn’t get exposed flesh at the jacket/trouser junction.

I’ve both Buffalo and Paramo jackets (I’ve got Paramo salopettes as well), great pieces of kit but a bit warm for me biking.

Had a buffalo jacket 20 years ago (still got the sleeping bag). I used to wear it hiking in Scotland in winter. So bloody hot I’d have the side flaps wide open even in the sleet! Might be good for downhills…

@Whitestone they still do the bike version.

I definitely run hot so I reckon it would be of limited use.

I’ll look but think I might be best sticking to traditional layers.

@BadlywiredDog – How’s the Vapour Rise at the back when you are leant forward?

Fine for me, I’m talking the VR-lite Alpine btw, but it’ll vary depending on your size and proportions obviously. I didn’t get the top primarily for biking, but it works pretty well and you can, if you really want to, wear the hood under a bike lid.

I like Vapour-rise because it’s more breathable thanks to a wind-resistant rather than a completely windproof outer, which means you can wear it equally well as a mid-layer if things get gnarly, but there are plenty of 100% windproof alternatives out there – Marmot DriClime etc.

I also reckon Polartec Alpha would work well in really cold conditions, effectively it’s a slightly under the radar shelled fleece.

I bought a Buffalo Teclite last year for winter cycling and it has been my go-to item of clothing for everything ever since. I thought it would just be a cold weather jacket but I’ve worn it all year, even on summer evenings.

After a lot of research I concluded most people go for the Special 6 or Mountain shirts and then say they are too warm most of the time so never use them for active stuff. The Teclite has all the same features and ventilation but is much lighter and has a thinner fleece layer.

It’s great on the bike when it’s below 10 degrees, worn against the skin. For sub zero I add a merino baselayer.

Paramo stuff is similar but more expensive. The Paramo front pocket/vent situation isn’t as useful (you can’t use the handwarmer pocket without opening the cooling vents!) and the ‘waterproof’ aspect is no different to a Buffalo that’s been treated with Nikwax.

The Montane Extreme jacket is far too warm to ride in and very heavy, but would be fantastic if you were stuck on a mountain side in a blizzard!

I run cold so the Special 6 is awesome for me.
Still got the one I was issued with and a newer one from 2009 complete with hood and trousers.
Yes – its bloody warm but that doesn’t bother me as I’m lucky I deal with being hot well.
Plus theres nothing like the feel of that pile against your skin 😉
Hard shell over them when it gets really nasty.