I wear a skullcap, shimano ‘winter’ boots with warm socks, merino base layer, thick jersey and windproof jacket and still get cold especially in the chest, head and feet. Eventually I feel chilled to the core and take ages to warm up again once home.
Any suggestions for very warm, windproof clothing and boots?

Mavic Inferno

http://road.cc/content/review/135604-mavic-inferno-jacket

seems to be on sale in various locations.

Pies, more pies. Stop being a skinny race whippet. Eat more Cake too!

Head = wear a hat

IME feet dont do much when you cycle so can get cold I use Lakes and Wolly Boolies never been freezing but I have been uncomfortable

Core = more clothes

IMHO if its winter and below -5 it wont be comfortable and you will just get to hot when you go uphill/ put in effort

Road or Mounain?

Skullcap under the helmet, some kind of scarf (I use buffs), and a heavy gillet.

Edit: just saw you already use a skullcap. Maybe get a heavier one, or you can use the buff I mentioned to cover all of the lower part of the head too.

sub zero riding? do you live in scandanavia?
it has hardly been sub zero much of late has it?

my normal riding shoes, Point 6 hiking socks, DH trousers, liners, smelly Helly, thin jacket, Buff, helmet, normal gloves (although I will admit that I could sometimes do with warmer gloves but control > heat as long as it’s bearable)

Mountain…
Bib tights, seal skins, knee shin armour, Gore windstopper shirt, top, over shorts, jacket and windproof gloves. Toasty warm

I wear a cap rather than a skull cap as I don’t like having my ears covered.

On last mondays commute the temp was -7 in the morning – I was wearing a cotton cap, buff round my neck, shimano winter boots, rapha winter socks, three quarter roubaix tights, gore waterproof shorts, skins baselayer, long sleeved jersey and rapha socftshell. And specialized sub zero two part winter gloves.

I was warm as toast on my 20 mile ride.

I’m a fan of layering rather than super insulated jackets on the top for both road and MTB riding in the cold: LS Baselayer, SS jersey, Gillet/vest, Shell jacket, none of them thick layers but together they trap plenty of heat around your core and you can open zips, remove a layer if you start to boil…

Roubaix lined Bibs coupled with roubaix lined leg warmers on the Road bike, regular bibs with Roubaix lined leg warmers under baggies on the MTB (sorry I are a fashion victim)…

Well fitted shoes (not too tight) with regular socks and overshoes are fine for me, but if its wet I will tend to tie plastic bags over my shoes, underneath the overshoes I’ve also actually found wait for it…. clingfilm reasonably effective as an extra heat trapping layer/water barrier lately, a bodge I know but quite an effective one IME…

But yeah, ride for long enough and you will get cold no matter what…

In addition to the above: Potty helmet or one of those fancy ones with the extra shell that blocks up the vents. I have a protec skate helmet and its lovely in really cold but too hot for xc otherwise.
Plenty of wiggle room for toes? I have some winter boots which leave my feet slightly warmer with my not-thickest socks because the thickest ones make my boots that little bit too tight i think.
Blood cools down on the way down your shins/calves to your feet when its really cold, again with the same boots and socks i notice real difference between 3/4, full tights and tights with windproof panels but much more so on the road where windchill seems to make much more if a difference than at xc bimble or twidlling round the woods speeds. Baggies over whatever else your are wearing attracts divided opinions on here it seems but i find definite warmer nads/arse especially on the road. (Awaits knock on door from roadie police)
Finally, little steel thermos of coffee for half way round. Probably makes more of a ‘spiritual’ difference than a physiological one!

I use the dhb Vaeon Roubaix bibs with baggies over the top to keep the wind off. Toasty.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-vaeon-roubaix-padded-34-bib-tight/ (also available in full length)

I see they also have Vaeon Zero which are supposed to be even warmer:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-vaeon-zero-padded-bib-tight/

Water/windproof your helmet.

OK, it’s in Spanish – but it’s not exactly hard to understand what he’s up to:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MegCpZVvotA[/video]

Plenty of layers with a windproof on top for me. Winter boots and gloves and a buff under my helmet. Don’t squeeze such thick socks into your shoes that your feet feel squashed. Neoprene cuffs I made to seal the tops of my boots help.

Finally. A few swigs of something strong from a hipflask really does help keep the blood flowing to your extremities.

That lot kept riding fun at minus five last Thursday and I am a skinny xc whippet.

Road or Mounain?

Enduro, 29er or Fat Bike? 😆

What jacket have you got? Is it just a thin windbreaker?
As suggested above – a proper hat is the way to go too. I’ve got Sealskinz Belgian cap, very warm and covers a lot of my big head. Plus it’s wind proof.

Do you wear buff over your face?

Thanks for the replies so far. To answer some of your questions.
I’m a mountain biker and no skinny whippet, 5’11” and about 14.5 stone. The windproof I use is a waterproof shell and I use a thick buff.

Multiple buffs – one for the head and one for the face/neck.
Buffalo jacket (with merino T underneath).

Legs – tights with Gore waterproof trousers.

Merino socks

Shimano or Specialized winterboots, but make sure they’re not too tight and there’s wriggle room.

Specialized Lobster Gloves.

Have ridden around at -15C in the above and been very toasty. (Just a snow storm on top of the local hill yesterday so didn’t bother with the full works)

I’ve been doing quite a lot of sub-zero biking these past couple of winters.

ON the feet it’s either mid-weight Sealskinz or nice, thick “walking” socks with a pair of Salomon snowshoe-ing boots. These are insulated, waterproof and have a good sole for trudging through snow. I might wear a pair of ankle gaiters over these if the snow is going to be deep enough to warrant it.

Endura Stealth bib-tights are warm and (almost completely) waterproof. I used to have the waist-tight version but these gave up after 5 years of use and the bibs add a bit of body-warmth too. They’re not padded, so any thin padded liners underneath.

A base-layer of some sort – either a Ground Effect Submerino – with a short-sleeved cycling shirt over the top, or a thin Rab short-sleeved base layer with a thicker (maybe Gore Thermo) long-sleeved jersey over the top.

A waterproof or windproof jacket. I got a really cheap Dare2B job out of Halfords last winter that seems to do the trick, or a slightly-more-expensive Endura Convert.

Hands are taken care of with a thin pair of Endura summer gloves and a set of Hotpog Pogies (the very cheap ones).

A skull cap (Aldi) or buff under a less-vented helmet does for my head.

I don’t think I’m winning any style awards…

I’ll usually pack a Montane Prism insulated jacket with me in the event I’m forced to stop for any time.

The windproof I use is a waterproof shell and I use a thick buff.

Make sure the windproof is sufficiently close-fitting (though not tight), and not flapping around, particularly at speed.

Oh – I forget to add – a beard.

Seriously.

Rapha winter cap, buff, cheap decathlon ski base layer, long sleeved jersey to suit, Altura night vision jacket, winter bib tights, Humvee 3/4s, Costco merino trail socks, Shimano winter boots with Aldi thermal insoles, Aldi winter gloves sized up with cheap decathlon glove liners. Has worked in minus 5 commutes for me.

My cold as you get in the UK outfit is:
Normal MTB or road shoes with toe caps and thick overshoes. A pair of merino socks finish my feet.
Decathlon 700 membrane bib tights, knee warmers underneath if it’s really cold.
Thermal baselayer (UnderArmour or Nike, not merino), winter jersey (Lusso Breath 2 is my favourite), wind proof gillet. Occasionally I’ll use a second jersey in place of the gillet, I have an old Planet-X job that is a bit big so fits the bill perfectly.
Thermal cap with ear covers and a normal helmet, clear lens glasses.
Gloves, Aldi or Decathlon, silk liners underneath when it’s really cold.

Job done, toasty Lunge.

you’ve not talked about leg covering – if you are wearing shorts this is your fail, a pair of tights and baggies over them

I discovered by accident using a cycling cap and putting a buff over it is a total win as you can still get the helmet over but have layers with a peak and ear warmers (my castelli belgian cap doesn’t fit under my helmet for some reason…)

My Scandinavian winter gear is not that far off, but I tend to naturally be pretty warm too (or is it really cool, I’d assume the smaller the temp. differential the less you’d notice?). From the head down: helmet, Spec. windproof skullcap, buff, merino ‘brynje’ base, light jersey (optional), softshell w/windproof front, Planet X softshell gloves, bibtights, baggies, kneepads (optional), medium-weight Sealskinz, AM41 shoes. That does me to about -10ish as long as I’m moving. And a nice big beard, of course. I reckon that’s where most of my terrible power lies.

For road…
Cap and a Gore headband thing under the helmet.
Craft lobster gloves and glove liners
Neoprene overshoes, normal riding shoes, woollie boollie long socks.
Thicker winter bib shorts under long bib tights.
Rapha merino winter base (over a non merino short sleeve base if really cold.)
Then some combination of jersey and jacket, or a thick winter jersey and maybe a gillet if the jacket or jersey aren’t windproof.
Sometimes a buff too.

Just go for layers really and add various combinations till it feels about right. If you ride enough in the winter you’ll get a feel for what’s about right.

Fleece lined buff, craft base layer, jersey and softshell up top.

Merino socks, five:ten/am41, knee pads and shorts.

Pedal faster to stay warm.

Do you wear buff over your face?

I usually pull it over my face up to my nose if my face starts to get cold but only usually keep it there for about a minute as it soon warms you up.

Rab Generator Smock with an old Howies Merino top underneath, a pair of 661 storm watch ancient gloves, not waterproof but super super warm ( think they have primal oft in too). On my head a beard…seriously does make a difference, either a buff or Halo bandana under the helmet. Funkier 3/4s bibs under Atura Attack full length waterproofs, bridgedale XL sized loose top merino walking socks ( the blue ones), and Lake 303 boots (wide fit). Waterproof jacket in pack just in case.