Winter riding gear?

[KsStreak]

When it drops below 45* do you hang it up or do you gear up? If you gear up, what do you wear? I went on an SCRC run yesterday, it was 34 when I left the house. With a FF helmet, face mask, lj's, sweatshirt, leather jacket w/thermal-liner, and First gear winter overpants I was fine for the most part. My hands froze. I've got 2 pair of winter riding gloves and niether did worth a crap. I've got a cheaper pair of TourMaster gauntlets, all kinds of air gets in through the seams and they're so dang puffy I can't get a comfy grip on my bars and my hands fall asleep. I've also got a pair of off-brand, lined, deerskin gauntlets, probably the most comfy pair of gloves I've got, but they're useless for warmth below 45 degrees(found that out yesterday) Any suggestions? Even though I live in northeast Kansas, I do not winterize my bikes, if it's decent out and the roads are clear, I'm riding.

Boots...my feet froze, lol! All I have are Carolina Linesmens boots, not a winter boot at all. Any suggestions on good ones that won't break the bank and will keep my feet warm?

[mwmalotte]

I don't ever park the bike for the winter. There may be some stretches where I don't ride but around here, there's always a chance a nice day will surface.

For winter gear, I have a FF helmet, balaclava and chaps. I'll normally wear long johns under my jeans and a thermal hoodie under my leather jacket. I haven't had any issues with cold feet ($25 Brahma boots from Wally World) and my gauntlets seem to do a decent job.

Now, I've done very little long distance running when it's cold so maybe the boots and gauntlets wouldn't cut it on the highway very long.

I'm seriously considering getting some engine guard chaps - from what I understand, they really cut down the cold on your legs and feet.

[mwmalotte]

Hmmm... duplicate post. Wonky internet...

[KsStreak]

For short hops, what I have is good enough, problem is runs like yesterday aren't short hops, I totalled 340 miles for the day with half of those being below 45 degrees.

I would consider putting engine guards and chaps on my 900, but I don't want them on my MS. I am trying to put a shield on my 900, but that's for another thread

I wish I could get away with wearing wally-world boots, but I've messed up my feet pretty good working on concrete and standing for the vast majority of my life(plantar fasciitis)if I wear cheap boots with poor insoles the pain is unbearable, so I end up spending alot of $$ on boots and insoles.

[wyldstreak]

Coldest I've ridden in is 37F, if I remember right. Froze my lugnuts on a 7 mile ride into work. Had the same problem with gloves as Rob described, and legs were chilled, arms - wasn't terrible, but wasn't comfortable. That day, I only had on chaps, my wool socks, WallyWorld boots(gotta admit, really comfortable, surprisingly enough), LS shirt and undershirt under my leather jacket & a gaiter. Had on my open face helmet w/shield if I remember right.

Went on Lt. Dan's ride this weekend, started out at 30f, but by the time we rode, was up into the high 50's. Had longies, top & bottom, jeans, chaps, Tshirt, leather jacket, wool socks, tube socks & the boots, was very comfortable. Oh, gloves and half-hat too.

I'm like Mike, I'll ride year long if at all possible. Think I need to add a balaclava and the glove thing, and maybe a FF or the like, and should be good to go down to the 30's, maybe 40's. Layers are the key, just haven't figured the layers out quite yet.

[mwmalotte]

Once you go with a balaclava, you'll never go back - even with a FF. The FF is great to keep the icy wind off your nose, lips, mustache (if'n ya have one), etc but it doesn't do squat for the neck. The balaclava handles that very nicely.

As far as the gloves go, if you don't have a pair of gauntlets, I can't recommend them enough. Having the gloves fit over the outsides of your sleeves all but eliminates those cold drafts in that area.

[jerrysea]

for your hands on a long ride. You will need to either get heated gloves or some kind of wind blocker . They have something called rhino hands or something it looks like a wind sock that fits over your handle bars and you put your hands in. Electric grips may be of some help also. I use a silk glove liner in the winter. It keeps the sweat away from my hands and they will stay warm longer. When it gets into the 30s and stay there that is when the heated gloves really will keep you hands warm. I have timberland boots that I bought at a factory outlet. Paid under $80. I wear thick wool blend socks. I dont have any problem with my feet getting cold. I have not gone on any rides in the winter, when temps stay in the 30s of more then about 60 or 70 miles.

[KsStreak]

A local dealer recommended the rhino hands things, I had a set on a bike years ago, yup, they're warm, but if you're in a wreck your hands are basically trapped. I found out the hard way, after they surgically reconstructed my hand with pins and screws I swore I'd never use those things again.

[mwmalotte]

I think you might be talking about Hippo Hands:

http://www.hippohands.com/

I thought they looked very warm... not a good idea?

[KsStreak]

Yup, that's the ones, they are very warm. I just happened to have a freak deal happen to me while using them years ago. IMHO, I would not use them in city traffic, things happen so fast in a panic situation, it's difficult/near impossible to get your hands free and I was basically trapped to the bike, not a good thing in rush hour traffic in a huge city(13.5 million people). For out of town riding/touring they're fine and one would probably never have an issue with them. They are very warm, I used them down to around 25 degrees with only a light pair of gloves inside and my hands never got cold. I should add that the ones I used were not the ones in the link, mine were the same thing, just Korean made, 20 years ago.