In awesome beautiful Pittsburgh winters I never even looked at overshoes. For commuting or mountain biking it’s winter shoes or GTFO. Maybe too bulky for fast road-type riding but that’s not my jam anyway.
I have a pair of the Mavic boots and they are super warm (fat sock is good down to about zero) and priced competitively. Just be sure to try them on with big socks. My xc Mavic shoes are 45 and the boots are 48.[/quote]
I’m potentially interested in winter shoes, but wonder if anyone has used them for road riding/training? That’s what I need something for - my long, often wet winter training rides, so boots and flat pedals, or mtb shoes won’t do it.[/quote]
Could just put spd pedals (or whatever your non-road bike uses) on your road bike in the winter and buy one pair of winter shoes. I don’t know what your bike stable looks like though.
I’m looking for the best winter clothing strategy - and I sweat a lot.
Last weekend I did a loooong ride in cold fall weather - it was single-digit centigrade, I held out well with a Showers Pass rain coat, jersey/bibs, and light wool arm warmers/leggings and shoe covers - but I think we’re getting too cold for that now.
What complicates it is although I’ve lost a bunch of weight and continue losing - the pants I bought just as I moved to Stockholm are basically falling off - I’m still too big for almost all cycling gear. You just don’t have the wide variety of clothing vendors in Sweden as you have in the 'states. I’m considering getting some custom clothing made.
So, I guess I’m looking for:
Basic clothing strategy for a prodigious sweater in freezing conditions
I bet your jacket (eVent, right?) will suit you well with the right layers underneath. Yes get some damn winter shoes or even regular boots and platforms cuz you’re in SWEDEN, MAN (alternatively, take up XC skiing because that is 1000000000x funner than cycling in the winter).
Get some lobster claw gloves and make sure that they’re not too small. Luckily you’re in the right part of the world to easily find those: http://yoko.fi/products/ywg-40-lobster/
I think the only answer for heavy sweat + cold conditions is layers of wool, hopefully enough to wick the sweat away without getting cold. I’d start there for upper body. Same for shoes… winter boots + wood wool socks.
edit: swing and a miss.
This is the thing I want to work on this year. Last year, baselayer + 2 merino wool sweaters + wind jacket kept me warm, but I was still pretty sweaty. That’s not the end of the world, but I feel like maybe I could set it up so I wouldn’t sweat? I worry that without the wind layer that I’d get too cold but I guess it’s worth a shot.
The vest or on of those windproof bib thingies is my idea of what to do about windy times. A warm core keeps your extremities warm, and you ventilate easily. Avoid the sweat lodge that is full rain gear.
I will try, but my knee joints are shit. Two surgeries on the left knee, lots of cartilage missing and loose cruciate. Tendon damage on the right. Right ankle isn’t that great either due to tennis injuries and hyperextensions. But yeah, I’ll give it a try.
That said, this is the kind of cycling I have in mind:
I’m pretty sure XC skiing is as low impact as cycling as long as you don’t bust your ass in some strange way. Man I’d totally do some fat bike racing. Not thinking about getting hurt falling means a lot of room for yolo.
The forearms and shoulders could both be from water entering the openings of your jacket. I’ve ridden mine in some nasty stuff but don’t remember the last time I did two hours of hard rain. At that point I DGAF what is wet and what isn’t though. You could get something more nylon-like but it would probably be far less pleasant to be in.
