Whats the coldest you've ever ridden in?

[Flywheel]

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One trick to help even without external heating pads is to over-wrap the abdomen and the head. The body will try to maintain these parts of your body in a very narrow temperature range to maintain proper organ function, and if they start to overheat the body compensates by sending more blood flow to your extremities (hands, feet) so they can act like radiators to dispel the excess heat. The increased blood flow to the extremities will take body heat to them as well.

That one trick is pretty limited though. Tried it for a bit last fall since I was too lazy to plug in the heated gloves. With a textile jacket, liner, heated vest + scooter (much better frontal wind protection than any bike) at up to 60km/h commute, it wasn't too uncomfortable on the gloved hands at 10C. Under that, forget it, fingers start cold burning on a 30 minute route with lots of stop-lights.

 

[-JERICHO-]

Around +8 It feels colder when you are on the highway.. I don't go out in weather colder than this because my tires get squirrely on me..

 

[conundrum]

With the right gear, you can find riding pleasurable to well well below zero. Admittedly, if you can't have fun without getting a knee down, well, yeah.

I admit, a -24c commute in jeans and long johns gets old in about 20 minutes. But with heated gloves, heated jacket liner, jeans and long johns, commuting at -16c is totally joyous.

As I said, yes I could invest in heated gear, but that doesn't change the salt and brine dumped on the roads, nor the loss of traction when someone in a car spins out or does something stupid in front of you. Riding is already risky, and imo winter/extreme cold makes it both not fun and also much less safe.

 

[TeeJay]

This is my first season and I couldn't wait to ride.... I took my bike course a few weekends ago in Markham, it was snowing.

 

[RedDogDarren]

This is my first season and I couldn't wait to ride.... I took my bike course a few weekends ago in Markham, it was snowing.

Trial by fire, best way to learn. That was your personal motorcycle boot camp.

 

[Baggsy]

I ride for pleasure, and being cold is not pleasing to me. When I commuted, it needed to be over four degrees celsius with a high of ten. Maybe short spurts in a parking lot or in an Emergency. It's not worth the risk or discomfort to me, for the most part.

 

[sevet]

This is my first season and I couldn't wait to ride.... I took my bike course a few weekends ago in Markham, it was snowing.

It snowed when I did my course earlier this year too, good times

 

[kiley]

Back in 2013 3 of us rode down to The Smokies.
We spent the night in Findlay OH
Next morning we woke up and bikes we covered in snow
32f - 0c
Interstate all the way down.
Nobody had heated gear
We only stopped once and that was in Dayton for the last Tim Hortons.
Thank god the sun was out.
This year I had to do a cool ride to Philly
Purchased a Heated vest before i left.
Greatest invention ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TiburonJA]

It was 0 but felt like -2 with windchill and I guess felt a lot colder while actually riding.

Had heavy duty socks on, 2 pairs of long johns under my jeans, 2 thermal long sleeve shirts with a sweater and a jacket, that thing to wrap around my neck while riding and winter mittens. I don't really remember feeling cold at all but it just took the fun out of riding so there really was no point.

Rode home last night and it wasn't too enjoyable but during the day it was like 9 and it was great. Optimal of course is like a nice 20

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