here is a list of what works and what dont work for winter.

Works.

mudguards, puncture proof tyres, good soft shell jackets, wool socks, Columbia fairbanks boots, walking gaiters if wearing trousers, three quarter shorts, cheap ski gloves, good leather walking boots in extreme shyte weather, keela trousers.

Dont work

five 10 winter boots or shoes, expensive waterproofs, fleece jackets, expensive WATERPROOF gloves and socks, disco slippers.

you may or may not agree.

you don’t need glasses.

You do if you’re a contact lens wearer.

Also, in a frustrating twist – waxing chains and singlespeed don’t go that well together as a freshly waxed chain elongates quite a lot over the first ride or two as the wax gets displaced, and SS needs a manual readjustment to take up the slack.

Happily SS also uses BMX chains which are really cheap, and the system doesn’t get clogged up with oily messy gunk from wet lube so it doesn’t matter anyway.

I’ve got the winter version and it’s really just an extremely DWR softshell.

Ahh I don’t think they did a winter version when I got mine.

This thread really just goes to show that what works is different for everyone. I definitely want glasses when I ride, and I’m happy with a couple of layers, good waterproof jacket (I don’t sweat much), water resistant trousers, 2 pairs of socks, and normal riding shoes. If it’s negative temps then I have an ancient pair of endura cordura gloves I wear too, otherwise standard Briskers. I also hate having a rear mudguard, getting on and off the bike is hard enough for me already.

I found last year that winter riding was awesome. A lot of this was because I spent most of the winter in Spain.

Currently in Finale and will be cruising down the Boot to Sicily. Should be just about bearable in the winter sun.

Having said that I recently bought a pair of riding trousers for a sloppy day in the bike park. Not having pads that are covered in filth at the end of the day was worth the cost of the trousers.

Also have a pair of winter 5:10s that are well insulated and kinda waterproof and a pair of thin snowboard gloves if it is cold out.

Bit of a change of subject, but dry frosty rides or rides in the snow can be amazing.  They could be some of my favourite rides.  Night rides in the snow are also fantastic.

Yep. Love those rides when you come home with the bike lathered in snow, it melts off and the bike is shiny clean. 

@ton

Columbia fairbanks boots

do you use the omni-heat ones? You made me look, and I must admit that those + gaiters look immensely good.

Some great advice here everyone. Tempted to try some gaiters after these recs. Also another fairbanks omni-heat owner here- have been really pleased with mine over the years particularly when it’s properly cold. Grip can be a bit slippy in proper mud but they’re so warm and waterproof. I think the only water ingress I’ve had is when I was carrying the bike through a stream and it went over the boot top, but even wading through I was fine.

“ best thing for winter riding is more rain. the sloppier teh trails the better and the more sideways you can get. the sticky, drying-out mud is just grim.”

This is so true! I love properly wet winter rides, where the mud just washes off the tyres.

My other things I love for winter are big front mudguards so I can see where I’m going, proper tyres (Hillbilly T9 is my fav front tyre, I’m not so fussy about the back), and either going singlespeed hardtail or full-fat full-bounce ebike. Both have their place and both make more sense to me than unpowered geared bikes.

Dunno if it’s something odd about my Bizango, but I have a Mucky nutz large front mudguard and still end up covered from ankle to chest. Admittedly it keeps shizzle out of my eyes (along with glasses to stop me crying (I’m old) 😂), but the combination of mudguard, downtube angle and shape, means I’m splattered every ride. I’ve even had to invest in capped bottles.

Old school crown mounted mudguards. They’re cheap, light, easy to fit, they work great, they’re less ridiculous looking than the crown-mounted ones, and work better than all but the really massive ones, they can never clog or pick up a stick… .Topeak Shockboard is still great kit, the mounting hardware is terrible but god gave us cable ties. For me, crown-mount is for little all-year-round mudguards, crown mount is for actual weather.

These don’t work with all bikes and they look terrible, but, they’re good…

Win Wing 2 Gravel Black Dot

Fits most of my bikes (but wouldn’t fit the Orange, and sits a long way out on anything 26er or 650b. Basically if it has something thta looks like a hardtail’s seat stay it’ll probably work). They go on and off in seconds which is a big bonus, and though they’re small, they cover the really important bits.

big_scot_nanny
Full Member

do you use the omni-heat ones? You made me look, and I must admit that those + gaiters look immensely good.

I am not Ton, but, I have these too and they are my favourite winter riding shoes. VERY warm though, I just got them out of storage, I can’t wear them til it’s proper cold.