Polartec Alpha Direct over Brynje mesh baselayer. The problem with a lot of Lycra-type stuff is that it contains a fair bit of elastane for stretch, basically rubber, which means it can get cold and clammy.

Bamboo – viscose – is nice and soft, but like a sponge. Merino wool holds moderate amounts of moisture kind of in suspension quite well, but there’s a crucial point where it gets overwhelmed and turns into a non-wicking, soggy, mess.

Alpha Direct is brilliant stuff, like a sort of lighter, latter-day Buffalo pile, but lighter and a lot less bulky. It’s siliconised, I think, so doesn’t really hold moisture, but wicks and dries very quickly, so you don’t get cold and clammy. Rapha and Wiggle and a few other people using it for bike stuff, but there’s loads of outdoor versions out there in various weights.

Around Zero

Ice Breaker Base
Normal summer short sleeve cycling jersey
Castelli Arm warmers (work better than just a long sleeved jersey)
Motane Pertex Gillet
Buff on head (no hair)
Endura Windchill > Chiba Pro Glove
Woolie Boolies
Shimano MW7
Assos Winter Bibs

Below Zero

Ice Breaker Base
Normal summer short sleeve cycling jersey
Castelli Arm warmers (work better than just a long sleeved jersey)
Motane Pertex Long sleeve lightweight
Woolie Boolies
Buff on head (no hair) – Buff on neck
Chiba Pro Glove > Sealskin Mittons
Lake MXZ303
Assos Winter Bibs

I find only my extremities suffer really, and don’t like being over hot at all. Would sooner warm – ie. dress cool to start with.

Polartec alpha really is good stuff. This morning my windshirt was slightly damp inside but my layers were dry, including my polartec alpha gilet (rapha brevet insulated one). In hindsight I was warm enough to have been able to take my windshirt off, just couldn’t be bothered to stop

Primaloft gilets don’t breathe particularly well, but they are good insulators. The decathlon one sizes up a bit small when i tried it on, medium in most brands but large was a better fit in that.

The Rapha insulated gilet is quite thin though, and it wouldn’t stand a crash very well. I use it on the road only. I use a rab strata vest or adidas terrex skyclimb gilet off road these days

In practice though, I’m spending 6-10 hours a week on the bike outside (moving quite slowly) so I end up rotating kit quite a lot. I find a buff really helps when it’s cold

EDIT – I forgot about my Brynje layer. It’s excellent, really works well. It looks completely ridiculous though. Had a funny restaurant visit in Chamonix wearing it – restaurant was boiling but couldn’t take my jacket off for fear of scaring all the customers!

Casual riding and commuting, T-shirt and Jeans, Boots, Jumper(wool), Waterproof jacket, Light weight Down jacket windstopper(thin, no hood) Down gloves, windstopper helmet liner, backpack, get too hot? down jacket is packed down into bag.

Polartec Alpha Direct is brilliant stuff, like a sort of lighter, latter-day Buffalo pile,

Will have a look for some of that. Another thing I swear by is pile-lined kit but there aren’t many options for cycling. Specialized make a good one (edit, it’s Alpha lined) and Rab VapourRise is like a lightweight Buffalo. Buffalo/Montane Extreme jackets are a bit too hot for riding, or for all but the sort of Scottish winter weather that I’ve never ridden in.

Crane vest
Crane winter bib
Crane poly top (first edition)
Lidl zip up fleece.
Galvin Green gortex jacket shell.
Leopard skin print neck warmer.

Ordinary Socks
Waterproof socks.

Crane SPD shoes.

and keep riding 🙂

From bottom up…..
Sponge
Jam
Sponge
Cream
Sponge
Icing

I forgot about my Brynje layer. It’s excellent, really works well. It looks completely ridiculous though. Had a funny restaurant visit in Chamonix wearing it – restaurant was boiling but couldn’t take my jacket off for fear of scaring all the customers!

Is yours the black “Eurotrash Gay Nightclub” look or the white “Gammon In A Deckchair On Blackpool Beach With A Knotted Hanky On The Head” look?

I went Gammon

I was out on Monday and the temperature started off at -3C in the morning and rose by 5C to 2C in the afternoon. It wasn’t very windy so I got away with this:

Top layers:
Brynje Super Thermo base layer – This thing is a dream, it works like magic. That old sweaty, cold feeling you get from merino and synthetic base layers is no longer a problem.
LS Helly Hansen base layer
LS Synthetic riding top
Rab VR Lite Alpine – I had this on for the first climb out of the car but I was soon far too hot and it went in the bag. It is a really good combination of being wind proof enough, slightly warm and wicks sweat away. The micropile liner means you never really feel wet in it.

Bottom layers:
Winter weight warm bib tights – Santini ones. These have quite a high from and so work as a bit of a fleecy mid layer.
Standard summer weight riding shorts – Morvello.
Baa baa wool socks.
Freerider EPS

0 to -5ish: synthetic l/s baselayer (most often HH), some roubaix-ish Decathlon softshell from their running range (mesh back, like their cheapest cycling one but better cut), bibs and RF Agent shorts, kneewarmers or pads, cheap XC-skiing socks and Teva Links or Mavic Crossmax something-or-other if on SPDs.

-5 to -15ish: same as above but add a brynje underneath and some tights.

Never overheat and rarely freeze (the exception mostly being longer, faster transports between trails). If I know I’ll be stopping for longer periods I’ll take a packable Lundhags primaloft jacket in my pack. It’s honestly taken me years to work it out but this combination works best for me. If I wear any more while riding I boil over very quickly.

basically rubber, which means it can get cold and clammy.

oh yeah…when you actually point it out…It makes perfect sense!

I’m genuinely impressed with the level of thought that loads of you put into this, there loads of good inspiration for kit. I’m normally base layer (whichever doesn’t smell too bad) gilet or warm mid layer, and then a shell. I seriously need to up my game!

“Is yours the black “Eurotrash Gay Nightclub” look”

That’s the one. I even self-dub myself with a comical regional British accent whilst looking like I’m speaking German.

Have you tried any other Paramo stuff? I ride in the Velez smock with a thermal baselayer and it keeps me toasty. Depending on temperature I interchange thickness of the baselayer.

You’re cold because of the bamboo.

I bought some in Oz, and they were great there, but back here in our cold damp climate I quickly found they’re worse than cotton.

I generally wear an IceBreaker merino base layer and a Buffalo Pertex 6 when it’s cold.
If it gets really cold, then it’s time for the Brynje mesh Super Thermos as base layers.
If it’s really really cold, then I use the version with the windproof lining, but that’s usually too hot for most days of winter.

I also reckon it’s important to keep your feet and lower part of your legs well insulated because that’s where spray hits and sucks out the heat.

And pogies on the bars to look after your hands mean you don’t need bulky gloves.

Not a fan of bamboo or merino, stay damp and get cold.

Up top – cheapest Decathlon long sleeved ski base layer, Rapha Brevet jersey, Fat Lad at the Back Gaffer jacket

Legs – Fat Lad at the Back Roubaix bib tights, Polaris AM baggies

Aldi ski socks with silk and Scott Heater boots, regular cycling cap and Buff, Aldi winter cycling gloves.

Have kept me warm on dry -4 commutes so far this winter.

When riding at -20C and below for 5 days in the Finnish arctic I was wearing a pair of X-Bionic bike tights and base layer under some Craft XC ski-pants and jacket – windproof front, fleece-backed. I’d add a Polartec Alpha gilet for when it got colder. Only when I stopped did I put on a big jacket. I tried merino – holds too much moisture / doesn’t wick – much prefer synthetics. Too many layers just leads to sweat build-up. Never got on with Paramo in those conditions – just expensive flappy nylon. For UK where it tends to be damper, down to zero I’ll wear a good base layer and a Gore soft-shell that has lots of ventilation.
Recently acquired a long-sleeved running top made from Alpha with Pertex on the front which is amazing warm for it’s relative lack of bulk – did a 3.5 hours run which included snow, hail and rain and I was still dry and warm when I finished – temperature was 3-4C.

If you have various types of base layers, there’s a simple test.

Weigh each of them dry, wet them, let them drain for a couple of minutes on a hanger, and weigh them again. Then after 10 minutes. You could work out the relative %s, but for me it’s the quantity of water retained, the less the better.

For me the Byrnje wins. It not only feels the driest after that, but definitely contains less water.

I suspect merino needs very breathable or absorbent upper layers to work effectively.

Endurance thermal base layer or a merino wool equivalent. Need to stay dry as possible. Next layer is usually a winter jwrseybwith windproof outer coating. And then a guletbto make sure. If seriously cold I wear a hard shell winter rain jacket over that. I also add a buff round the neck and a skull cap. Double gloves too; merino liners and sealskins. Bottom layer is Rapha bib 3/4 with merino thick socks. Shoes are sidi defroster winter boots. Can also add neoprinte booties.

I find you need some space in gloves and socks but must also stay as dry as possible on the base layers. Don’t go as hard too.

Can’t stand merino stuff ..I’m too hairy for that to be comfortable..
Synthetic Rab base layer
Long sleeved cycling top ( morvelo / Fox ) *
MT500 jacket…

Also a fan of Woolie Boolie socks
Pearl Izumi ” leggings ”

* On yesterday’s ride for the first time ever I wore a thin Craghoppers fleece ..but it was -10c at home ( -6c at the start of the ride ) ..it didn’t feel too hot in the snowy conditions ..
I’m also one of the lucky few whose hands & feet never get overly cold ..Fox gloves & Woolie Boolies get me through most conditions hot or cold ..
I’m a big fan of Morvelo tops & their padded shorts too…( very comfy )

I tend to run hot. Rode yesterday in Calderdale (plenty of up and down) and it was around minus 5 when we set off at 8:30, I think. Apart from extremities I was fine with just an Endura Baa Merino base and Gore Active Shell jacket – very comfy so long as we were moving or off the bike for shortish breaks. Fingertips got cold a few times (I had on some Black Diamond £20 gloves) and I couldn’t feel my feet after around an hour, which is par for the course to be honest (I was wearing cheap and nasty On One merino mix socks and Five Tens). Madison Zenith shorts and knees pads. I wouldn’t change anything apart from maybe some beefier gloves next time.

“Never got on with Paramo in those conditions – just expensive flappy nylon.”

All Paramo is polyester, not nylon. Thankfully some of their new stuff isn’t flappy either! I’m a big fan of my Enduro Windproof for MTBing, handles a huge range of conditions and only needs a full waterproof in very wet and cold weather.

Polartec Alpha looks great – Buffalo shirts always worked brilliantly in the worst weather but it’s too damn hot for MTBing except when it’s well below zero and a bit short of shoulder room and arm length. And I’ve come to the conclusion that separating the layers works well for MTBing especially when you’re in and out of the woods (so very different levels of windchill) and working so much harder at times. Like a long climb through the woods up the side of a valley in the lee of the wind followed by a flat-ish pedal across the tops out in the open, huge difference in heat generated and heat loss.

In the snow last night I was in a Brynje mesh base layer, short-sleeve polyester base layer over that, Paramo Enduro fleece and then matching windproof. Not 100% convinced by the fleece – it works really well until it gets saturated but then holds a lot of moisture and dries slower than other less dense mid-layers.

Well, thanks to the recommendations of about half the people on this thread have just ordered me a Brynje mesh base layer, (in eurotrash black)

Went out this morning for a ride on the fat bike in the snow, temp was about -2C. Wore roubaix thermal bibs, long sleeved thermal top, Gore Windstopper jacket, a pair of Bridgedale wool mix socks, a buff (free with MBR mag) and a thin pair of gloves. Was a bit cool at first as the start was a downhill section of road to get to the BWs but after that I was fine.