With winter on the way I'm needing to turn my attention towards some clothing to handle OUR winters. This will be my first time riding (road) and have no idea on the best solution to keep warm.
I doubt I'll ride into the 30's but the mid to high 40's sounds like the lowest I'll go. I recently bought a Assos Airblock vest but I'm looking for arm and leg protection. Long sleeve jersey/tights too much? or just go with leg/arm warmers?
I hate to buy a whole new set of clothes for winter seeing our winters are rather short but I'd hate to be uncomfortable riding in the cold. If you do have any recomendation can you please mention the manufacturer that you prefer, I'm trying not to make this a hit or miss type of thing considering the cost of some of this stuff ( I treated myself with the Assos :D plus it was on sale)
Your help is appreciated.

Here in Fort Worth, if it gets too cold for shorts and a jersey, I'll use tights and add (depending on the need) a polypro top or bottom under the jersey or tights. If needed, I use full fingered polypro glove liners. Colder than that...I stay home.

I use tights, baselayer and gloves along with multilayered clothing depending on the conditions. Sometimes I use a light windbreaker type jacket but that really depends on the day. This summer, I bought some of the Sidi Winter Freeze shoes for days that most people with half a brain would avoid but I haven't used them yet so I don't know how well I like them. I figures I would buy them off-season so I wouldn't hosed once it started getting cold in other parts of the country.

As for gloves, I use neoprene. Your hands get wet and stay wet but I have yet to encounter any discomfort because of it and my hands don't get cold. Probably not the recommendation of most but I have used them without fail.

I have enjoyed riding at night during the winter months last winter and will continue to do so this year.

I ride north of dallas and yes the winters are short but good quality gear is a must. The upside is that your gear will last longer due to less use. I do not like being cold and wet so I recommend Pearl Izumi for tights and jackets. You can save some money buying at Performancebike.com. They will allow you to return if the fit is not right. There is a Pearl store in Ft Worth. To be safe just buy gloves, socks, skullcaps from PerformanceBike.


With winter on the way I'm needing to turn my attention towards some clothing to handle OUR winters. This will be my first time riding (road) and have no idea on the best solution to keep warm.
I doubt I'll ride into the 30's but the mid to high 40's sounds like the lowest I'll go. I recently bought a Assos Airblock vest but I'm looking for arm and leg protection. Long sleeve jersey/tights too much? or just go with leg/arm warmers?
I hate to buy a whole new set of clothes for winter seeing our winters are rather short but I'd hate to be uncomfortable riding in the cold. If you do have any recomendation can you please mention the manufacturer that you prefer, I'm trying not to make this a hit or miss type of thing considering the cost of some of this stuff ( I treated myself with the Assos :D plus it was on sale)
Your help is appreciated.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm still supprised how much of a difference the price of a short sleeved jersey is compared to a long sleeved jersey. Hopefully Performance will come out with a 20% coupon soon.
Thanks again.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm still supprised how much of a difference the price of a short sleeved jersey is compared to a long sleeved jersey. Hopefully Performance will come out with a 20% coupon soon.
Thanks again.

I've not really found much need for LS jerseys. I use LS base layers under regular jerseys most of the year. When it's too cold for that, I wear a PI jacket that works really well.

Best winter stuff I bought last year was leg warmers and arm warmers. Combine those with a wind vest and regular summer stuff, and you can get through most of the year in North Texas. Thicker tights and a good jacket can cover the rest. Balaclava for commuting when it's extra cold, and a pair of Performance winter gloves, and I've been set. Going to get a set of shoe covers this year - even with wool socks, my feet still get cold.

All these are pretty good recommendations. I tend to generate a lot of heat when I start riding, 3 to 5 miles into it. I ALWAYS start out a little chillier than comfortable so I don't have to remove layers later. I have 1 pair of tights for the 35 degree to 45 or so; knickers for 45 to 55 or so. 1 LS jersey for the 35 to 45 that I wear with a Craft baselayer. I wear a LS baselayer with a regular jersey at 45 to 55 degrees. I don't do the jacket thing because it gets uncomfortable after riding 30 miles or so. Everyone is different but I am planning a ride, and I feel slightly uncomfortable at the start, I KNOW I will be fine. That's my rule of thumb. In Dallas, a pair of tights and knickers and LS jersey should last a LONG time. Baselayers too.

A quick funny story, I was at the Ride for the Roses in Austin last weekend. The morning of the ride, it was a little, umm, fresh is what I would call it. Not chilly or even crisp, but just at that point of almost needing a little something more than SS jersey and bibshorts. Well, a lot of people I saw were bundled up! It was like they were going to a football game in Wisconsin in December! Well, those same folks were leaving their layers at the rest stops and even the side of the road.

My $0.02.

I've not really found much need for LS jerseys. I use LS base layers under regular jerseys most of the year. When it's too cold for that, I wear a PI jacket that works really well.

Best winter stuff I bought last year was leg warmers and arm warmers. Combine those with a wind vest and regular summer stuff, and you can get through most of the year in North Texas. Thicker tights and a good jacket can cover the rest. Balaclava for commuting when it's extra cold, and a pair of Performance winter gloves, and I've been set. Going to get a set of shoe covers this year - even with wool socks, my feet still get cold.

633 has it pegged. A regular jersey with a sleeveless base layer, arm and leg warmers and a vest is plenty. The two vests I have are perfect, a Garneau Atmos vest for cool temps ($35), and a insulated Windtex Schwinn vest I picked up for $20 or so. Almost all my winter stuff came from longscycle.com. Buy it when it's on sale and you will get good stuff at good prices.

For your feet, get some Smartwool or DeFeet wool socks and a pair of Windtex overshoes.

For your head, any kind of helmet liner that keeps the wind off will work fine.

For gloves, I have a pair of Thinsulate glove liners I got at WalMart for $3 to go along with a pair of Manzella Windtex gloves from Nasbar/Performance for <$20. Longscycle has DeFeet winter gloves that go over your regular gloves that work well.

This stuff works well into the 30's. If it's sunny, it works even better.

If you want to really go crazy and ride below freezing or when it's both cold and wet, get a pair of tights or two and a couple of long sleeve jerseys and a jacket. Maybe a mock turtleneck, polypro base layer. Go to any outdoor store, a la Bass Pro or Academy, and look in the camping / hunting section. They have the polypro stuff cheap and it works great.

Faced with the prospects of riding in the dark or near dark for <1hr I'm just gonna stick to the trainer and do inside rolling and some running outside also I'm trying to get caught up on the last couple of sopranos seasons I've missed so that will keep me entertained.

I'm just too scared to ride with a headlamp. The roads near WRL are just horrible. It would give me 0 enjoyment if all I was thinking about was whether I'd not see some dead animal in the road until it came up the wheel and smacked me in the face.

I'll save my clothing money for better stuff in the summer and ride mid-day on weekends outside. I hate the winter.

meh