Too cold for Zwift workouts…

Gloves though. Indoors. Why?

^^^ simples, the Wattbike hoods get slippery with sweaty hands, plus some owners have had sweat ingress and water damage to the batteries inside the hoods, gloves avoid that issue.

Ah. I’m just using normal bike with bar tape (no handlebar electrics to worry about). I’ve seen the damage that sweat can do to aluminium bars though (mine are carbon).

Gloves though. Indoors. Why?

I’ll admit to having started off rides in my unheated garage in gloves. Then taking them off.

I’m with the OP on this one, once it drops below about 4C dressing up and keeping cool on the turbo gets difficult.

I end up sat there in bib shorts, covered in sweat, but absolutely freezing cold.  Can’t put layers on because then it just gets really hot and sweaty really quickly, can’t turn the fan up because that’s too cold, can’t close the door because that gets muggy in a matter of minutes,

It’s not the same as just going for a ride outside at all.  Riding outside even in minus doubel disgits i

My hypothesis is it’s because what you really want from clothing is comfortable microclimate where you skin is somewhere between 15-22C and dry.   On the road you can do that by wearing layers and ventilating then.  On the turbo you’re stuck with either too hot and can’t ventilate, or skin temperatures that equal the air temp which are both equally uncomfortable.

The only thing that kind of works fort me is baggy tracksuit* bottoms and a long sleeved MTB top.  Enough to actually keep the cold air off the skin but ventilated enough to let the heat escape.

As illustrated by this sort of problem:

Usually need gloves on throughout but feet can get pretty cold.

If your hands and feet get cold it’s a sign that the temperature in your core and limbs is dropping and the body is restricting blood supply, which is obviously inefficient for training.  You want to keep your arms and legs warmer so the blood keeps pumping through them which takes heat out to your hands.  Keep your arms and legs warm and your hands and feet will be comfortable.

*not the jersey / fleecy /insulated kind, the really thin / stretchy / breathable type “DOMYOS Men’s Breathable Regular Fitness Bottoms” from decathlon kind.

Maybe some folk are over-fanning too. For comfort, I’ve found that a small fan at head height has much the same effect as an industrial fan hitting my whole body, but without the consequential over-cooling effect.

@tinas,  glad it’s not just me.. 🙂

Maybe some folk are over-fanning too. For comfort, I’ve found that a small fan at head height has much the same effect as an industrial fan hitting my whole body, but without the consequential over-cooling effect.

This.  Kinda makes sense, windchill etc.   Just use layers and common sense, it isn’t rocket science.

When it gets cold I wear a long sleeved thin jersey and if I’m not racing I move the fan so it’s not blowing directly on me, but still sucking in outside air.  You need oxygen in there.

I’m really glad I mountain bike, commute (on a mountain bike) or go to the gym (to lift weights). I’ve ridden a road bike a few times and it seeemed quite boring and terrifying (due to traffic). And a static bike is just hell, almost as bad a treadmill and far worse than a rowing machine.

I think you’re all mad! ?

My ‘setup’ is I go outside whatever the weather.

I use two different fans. Both remote controlled though. One of those Vacmaster jobbies, and one weak tower fan.

When it’s cold (<5c), I just use the weak fan for some minimal air flow. I use Trainer Road, so it’s all interval work. I only want to fan for the interval/hard bits, so use the remote and turn it off on the rests between.

No heater, that’s crazy! Layers, you quickly warm up and can lose layers.

I also use an old pair gloves, to stop some of the sweat, they do catch a lot of it.

Re. riding outside whatever the weather. I used to be that mindset too. But now I have my bike setup on a proper direct drive trainer, it’s so easy to just kit up, jump on, get some work done. Feels satisfying. Then weekends are for longer social rides.

I set mine up this year with a Vacmaster at handlebar height directly below the TV, literally about 4 feet in front of my face it’s bloody freezing when the temperature drops!

Used to get cold toes with my old floor fan hitting my legs, but with the air now moving over my upper half I haven’t felt the need to reach for the oversocks.

I think you’re all mad! ?

It has advantages.  Racing makes me try far harder than I ever would outside, and consequently is great for fitness.  Racing in real life is a lot more demanding than on Zwift because it takes longer and takes more out of you whilst not reaching the same peak intensity.   I can race twice a week on Zwift, I can’t do that in real life even if there were races available, which there aren’t.  It’s more like a super high intensity workout with better motivation than intervals.

It’s also far less faff to deal with than slogging away outside in the rain and dark on weekday evenings.  On the weekends, it’s a lot harder to mentally sustain for longer low intensity rides but again there are advantages – I rode indoors on Friday evening and on Saturday, not sure many people got miles in outside.

@iainc The real reason we warmed up quickly was due to riding in Watopia in the balmy South Pacific. Had we been doing the Muckle Yin….

Maybe some folk are over-fanning too. For comfort, I’ve found that a small fan at head height has much the same effect as an industrial fan hitting my whole body, but without the consequential over-cooling effect.

Works to a point, in winter I put the fan in the doorway to just waft air into the shed.  It doesn’t help though when the sheds heading to zero though.

I suspect the people who don’t see the problem at all are those who’s Turbo’s are setup in garages, conservatories etc where the air might be “cold” but you don’t go out to the bike and find the water bottle frozen cold, it’s still a few degrees above ambient.

Mines in the ‘summerhouse’, which is wood so I put a fair amount of effort into making sure there’s no condensation during / after exercise. With the doors open it’s basically training outside, but with a roof to keep the rain off. Layering just doesn’t really work, it’s just one thin breathable layer to keep some warm but ventilating air against your skin that makes it comfortable.

Previously I had it setup in the conservatory and never had an issue as the room just warmed up around you as you worked.

I had a much more pleasurable experience with tonight’s session. Air in garage was 3.2 deg c, and I did a solid hour – some Zwift Base Camp and a Z2/3 ride. Went with Ronhill tracksters over bib shorts, slightly thicker mtb socks, an Endura Baabaa long sleeved top, and for the first 5 mins or so, a beanie and a zip up fleece.

I shed the fleece and hat and after a few efforts the fan was on low from around 15 mins. Not much exposed skin, and temp felt pretty decent throughout, long finger gloves also. Fan was off a few times on easy and cool down sections, and when I finished the air temp was up to 5.1 degrees.

I’d much rather be outside, but unfortunately it’s cold, dark and crap for doing long intervals.

I also don’t fancy having an accident on a quiet lane and lying in the road for hours before I’m found…

I’m convinced that for me I’d have to move continents to find it cold enough. Last year I was doing Zwift in the spare room with door closed, window open fully to the midwinter evening with two fans blowing it at me, and I still go blind from sweat. My kit weighs like 2Kg more when I take it off afterwards I’m sure.