For winter socks, I went into Tesco and bought a pack of socks that are for active use such as hiking. They didn't cost much to buy, but were a little bit more though than the other cheaper socks that they sell. They work really well when I'm out riding in the cold. So perhaps you could have a look there when you visit the supermarket next time, when you do your food shop.
The best hand protection I've found for winter cycling is pogies. They fit on your handlebars and create a protected microclimate for your hands. No need to wear bulky winter gloves. They may look a bit daft, but they work wonders. I got mine from bikeiowa here in the US, but you can get them from hotpog back home.
I love the Bike Iowa pogies. They do not have the sturdier neoprene structure of the heavy duty brands, which makes them great for travel, storage, and quick on/off if you don't need them all the time, depending on where you live.
Still being made. But will stop.They've stocked up on the material. But starting to rise on ebay. Got the insulated one for £100 On eBay!!! Amazingly warm piece
I’ve tried lots of gloves & Dissent 133 are by far the best I’ve tried. It’s a layering system so you have base, mid, wind & waterproof layers which you can mix & match as required. Socks I like Defeet Woolie Boolie merino socks.
Hi Katie, whatever gloves you wear they will always be immensely improved by wearing liner gloves, the very best are silk gloves, if you can find them, but I currently have a pair of Decathlon dayglo running gloves. This keeps your hands warm and makes you gloves much easier to take off, with no risk of pulling out the linings, making it very hard to get them back on. I learnt this ice climbing in temperatures down to -15C and it works equally well on the bike.
I have Gore Wear gore-tex infinium thermo split gloves, great at -10 celsius, works with touchscreens nicely as well, comes with fluorecent yellow colour option for visibility.
I love the Castelli Gavia 3 layer rain jacket. It's visible. It's very packable. It's SO breathable. You can wear a hydration vest or backpack. I never touched my shakedry since I bought the Gavia. Socks: Castelli Bandito Merino Socken. Thin but warm. Gloves: Gore Infinium Split (lobster with 1-1-3) with thin Roeckl Merino undergloves. Toasty hands even around -5°C!
Woollen mittens (hand knitted by my mother in law) are the warmest by far. She made me several pairs, so I sometimes wear 2 pairs on very cold day. I have Reynauds and these are so warm.
Couldn't find my normal cycling gloves one day and I was late for catching the train, I just grabbed a pair of woollen gloves and put my gardening gloves over them.. was fine for -2C with a nasty north wind, and better than my cycling gloves !
I like showers pass gloves 🧤 I have worn them in very cold temps and always keep me warm and are snug enough to wear thicker over gloves. For socks I wear DeFeet Woolie Boolies and they are durable and keep the feet toasty.
Belaga crew length wool socks. Great for riding, walking, and hiking. Craft makes a mitten that has gloves under them and they convert to half fingered gloves when it gets warmer. They also fit electric or chemical warmers.
Katie, for winter gloves, I use the SealSkinz Solo Merino wool glove liners (biketiresdirect) under Fox mountain bike/dirt bike gloves or whatever winter outer glove you use. You can use merino wool socks to help keep your feet warm. Under the helmet, I wear a Rock Bros Thermal lined skull cap (Amazon). This can be worn over/under the balaclave/neck gaiter or by itself under your helmet. In really cold weather try wearing a ski helmet with ear protection and ski googles. I always wear at least sunglasses in winter to protect and seal in the body heat around the eyes. You have some really fancy clothing, that is lovely. When I was doing my doctoral degree in chilly Boston I purchased a jacket with wind/snow repellant shell and sweatshirt lining that I wear over another sweatshirt and shirt and keeps me nice and warm. In the icy NY State/Mass. winters speed is not an issue, so it works!
I agree that hands are difficult to keep warm. I have used expensive lobster style gloves, downhill ski gloves, etc. Pogies are used in Canada and Alaska where it's really cold. They.attach to the bike handlebar on drop bar and flat bar bikes, then you use thinner gloves inside the Pogies.
I’ve tried endless bib shorts over the years and nothing compares to rapha for fit, quality, feel and how long the pad lasts. They are also my go to thermal bib tights for winter, although they are so warm I rarely get to wear them as Bournemouth is always pretty warm
Anything with GoreTex Infinium is great for windproof and rain protection with breathability. Sportful Fiandre is best value range in my opinion as you can pick up cheap in sales. For socks I use merino wool as they stay toasty even when damp and also have merino base layer.
From Iowa and last year my boyfriend and I bought some Bike Iowa’s pogie lites. They are like bar mitts but lightweight so if you hands do get warm you can take them out and still hold onto your handlebars outside of the pogie lites. My favorite cold weather purchase so far.
I also love the bib tights from Rapha, they’re warm and the magnet at the back really works well. The only only thing is that the windproof fabric is a little stiff. I love the micro puff hoodie too, but rather for breaks. When riding in the cold, I prefer my castelli Alpha ROS jacket: It’s incredibly warm and has a brilliant ventilation that prevents you from overheating. It’s expensive but I got it discounted with a Strava code. IT took me a really long time, but finally I found some really warm knee-high socks without animal content: CEP Ski thermo socks. With an inseam of 85 cm I‘m wearing the men’s socks, because they’re longer. For gloves, I can recommend Castelli Espresso GT Glove, they are incredibly warm. In size S the men’s model perfectly fits my long and skinny fingers, but I suppose they are too long for an average woman‘s hand. But they have a women’s specific version, too.
Only gloves I've found to work in anything below -5 are Endura Primaloft SL. Been riding for 10 years and nothing before them has come close to keeping my hands as warm. If you wanted to go to the extreme then pairing them with a silk glove liner works wonders too!
I have two different shakedry jackets, one with infinium so its really warm and one without. I think it's the worlds best rain jacket. I've done a 200km race with extreme rain all the way. Totally dry. All the other riders were cold and wet. Epic piece of kit. They still make some of the versions of shakedry jackets, but they don't make the warm one anymore, sadly. I wrote to Gore to see if I could buy a spare of the warm ones and they were all out of stock and they didn't produce it anymore. It will be a sad day if it breaks at some point.
Defeet Woolie Boolie. Stupendous winter sock. Also Rapha winter sock (not proteam). Rapha deep winter gloves or Galibier deep winter. Assos glove outer layer. A lobster claw that goes over the gloves. Shakedry jackets still being made but the material isnt. A few miles of material have been stockpiled. The insulated shakedry is stupidly warm. You can wear a summer jersey under it.
Jackets, I use a dazzling orange (be safe be seen), jacket I got from Halfords years ago, weather proof and not too hot, though I must confess I avoid rain whenever possible😊Totally with you regarding headwear, I wear a thin fleece beanie under my helmet, keeps the lugs warm 😊
We hear ya's Katie; freezing temps can be hazardous to one's health! Those clothing types last a long time too. Have to see where you're going without blinding oncoming traffic. Been only traveling around by bicycle only so, it's good to find out about gear etc. Thank you
ive tried about 10 jackets as I run hot and the discovery of the gore wear endure was a revelation it's extremely breathable as I run very hot it's a bit big so I put it in my barrel bag rather than jersey pocket. also socks I use a thin pair and then some 1000 mile walking socks so thats 3 very thin layers they worked a treat in the -5 temps we had recently.
Good luck with the winter ride! It’ll be a while before my bike sees the great outdoors … wind chill temps falling to -40C this weekend! Thank goodness for Zwift!
Hi there, I always wear Le Passion Merino socks. Soft and very comfortable they always keep me snug and warm. £20 at the moment but I'm sure you can get them a bit cheaper in the sale. Great content by the way! D
I know gloves are a very personal choice, but I find Le Col’s Hors Categorie Deep Winter gloves are superb. They’re expensive, but regularly have offers, new customer discounts, or even free with new customer referrals.
I think I have them, I get sweaty hands in them it's amazing to be that warm in the winter until after the café stop and you have to put dry hands into damp gloves. Although I always still chose them over other winter gloves.
My favourite winter cycling gloves are from Galibier CC. They have the Barrier Deep Winter glove. They keep my hands warm & toasty. Not too expensive either.
Good thermal kit is expensive but it does last you a few seasons. My next thermal jersey/jacket will be the the two way zip type. Micro puffer jackets are like a cyclists bestie. I have two lights on the back just incase.
Look up the Jack Frost Gloves of Bontrager. I got these last year and have enjoyed them on 20F cold rides. I've tried soooo many and these are perfect. They even have top side zippers to either vent or for hand warmers. If I go colder then that I have some Dakine Mittens I use.
Bontrager Velocis gloves. I have the mitten version (thumb and index fingers are individually separate). Very warm gloves. Never felt a chill. Unfortunately I misplaced them somewhere over Christmas.
My hands get hot quickly, so I just have an old pair of fleece Berghaus gloves that are thin but warm enough. Socks-wise, I wear some hiking socks. I wear MTB shoes so they’re a bit roomier to accommodate a thicker sock. Always struggle to find things that aren’t wool. I got some Yedge ones off Amazon, which are largely cotton, but find them reasonably warm for a ride of a couple of hours.
+1 on the pogies (aka bar mitts). I use them when the temperature is at or around 0c/32f. (caveat, I've only used them with flat or "alt" bars, I know there are drop bar versions available, but haven't used them myself). For feet, that's always seems to be trickier to keep warm. Currently the best I've found that works for me is wool hunting socks from the department store, sometimes with a thin compression sock underneath (thinking is that the compression sock should help with blood flow to the foot, and keep things a bit warmer)
Pogies is something I want to try, although I'm just about managing with lobsters and liner gloves. As for feet, try ski heated socks. Game changer, and not cycling exclusive, unlike shoes/overshoes. Also, when it is 0 or below, I find winter tights are not warm enough for a Z2 ride, which then means frozen feet. I've started wearing ski trousers which keep all the cold away and mean the sock batteries last a lot longer (I can keep them on a lower setting). It's like a puffer jacket for the legs! And they are really cheap second hand. It does bring the speed down, but it's all about comfort and enjoying the outdoors whilst training.
I bought the rapha pro team gore-tex at black friday, it will maybe replace the shake-dry - I am dry as a bone inside and you don't need as many layers as if you are wearing a thermo-jersey
Thank you for another interesting video Katie! Good to see you. Btw I have Patagonia MicroPuff hoodie as well and its lovely, also I bought that GripGrab Balaclava based on your recommendation few years ago :)
Katie, what is really, really cold in the UK? In Montreal today, with the windchill, on a bike it was -38C. That's not a typo! Fortunately, I only did a 20 minute ride to the gym! I do, however highly recommend heated socks!
Now that you have all of your winter gear organized, come to Virginia, USA! (I'll keep suggesting it until it happens - but I'm not sure what I would do if it does other than panic!)
I find that with warm waterproof cycling shoes that also cover the ankles I don't need specifically warm socks at all. However I never really experience temperatures below -5°C so for really cold weather these might not be enough.
When you speak about winter what temperature outside do you mean? Is it below or above 0 C? Because in my place today is -5 C, and it looks like you need a different clothing for temperatures +5 and -5 C.
Trouble is one set of Rapha kit isn't enough, needs to be one on, and one in the wash. I do 4 rides a week even in winter and am perfectly warm enough in reasonbly priced kit especially on 'fast' club rides. Trick is to buy winter kit in the summer.
I must be the most budget cyclist around , I just wear 2 layers on top and the same leggings I've had for a year now 😅 and if it's really cold I will put on a balaclava.
Thank you Katie, your advice is alway an insite... Warmth is so important, what kind of socks are warm? Like the bike in the background with mud guards👍😊... You look so great in everything❤... Thanks for all your winter care... Do you use chapstick or cream for your face against the cold?
You would be amazed how much cold you can put up with with the right kit, especially things like heated socks or ski trousers (and studded tyres for the ice)
first: I have realized in my long cycling life that not all parts of the winter kit must be bike-specific (bibs, shoes of course, jacket), and you must pay the high price anyway, for the real quality or partly for "the brand"; but gloves, socks and many other are MUCH less expensive if they don't boast their bike-purpose... and, second: basically speaking, cycling is not made for winter, there are other activities that you can do outdoor or indoor to keep fit. (Not to mention cyclo-cross that would be the best, but too hard for most of us, me first)
You're only a few minutes away, and typically I'm busy with other riding Saturday for charity stuff. Enjoy! Oh - just discovered the Galibier Deep Winter gloves. Cheap and fantastic for up North in the weather
Too bad they don't have the pro team base layer for men, I would really like something with a built-in neck piece like that. Supposedly in America we call that a neck gator? That's what I'm told at least some people call it that here in the US
