Cycling in winter can be grim, heading out for long rides on grey cold days is not easy. It can be made a lot harder if you make any of these 7 winter cycling mistakes! Manon and Conor run through the most common mistakes cyclists make in the cold months and how to avoid them, from overdressing to forgetting your cycling overshoes!
00:00 Intro
00:26 Underdressing for a bike ride
01:25 Overdressing for a bike ride
02:27 Forgetting to drink
03:05 Thin cycling gloves
03:50 No cycling overshoes
04:46 No mudguards
05:48 Bicycle puncture repairs
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Have you made any of these winter cycling mistakes? 🥶
Let us know in the comments below 💬
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50 Comments
What winter cycling mistakes have you made? 🥶
Well the first one is surely cycling without mudguards, as you show in your thumbnail 🤡
Glove tip: you can layer with thin inner gloves that can be worn underneath other gloves and it works great.
Seeing the exhaust emissions from the vehicle filming Connor in the cold, points out a bit of hypocrisy at GCN.
The statement GCN are making is We want a “GREEN” World, but won’t even use electric vehicles or SEV’s to record our YouTube Videos.
I honestly just moved 100% indoors with the trainer.
Cover up the front vents of the helmet or wear a windproof hat underneath. Few things are less uncomfortable that that concentrated cold jet of air hitting your head.
Im riding to work on Saturday, -35C 😂
If your riding shoes are the sort that have vents in the sole, overshoes will add nothing below about 6 C. Feet and hands are the tricky part. I solved them with skiing gloves with merino undergloves and winter riding boots plus doubling up on merino socks. Also…wear a rain top whether or not it is raining. The holy trinity of winter wear is lycra, merino and goretex. All hail!
Another common mistake is not covering the ventilation holes on certain Fizik models. They have vents on the sole just around the cleat pads and at least with my overshoes, these are still exposed and you can literally feel the cold air creeping in – make sure you cover them up with some tape.
Like the ass saver mudguard on conners bike ,any idea on the name and where to buy one from ? Ta
Ass saver if you're on your own, full guard if there's someone going to be behind you. Also, buy things like buffs, gloves and little hats (for between your head and your helmet) at outdoor sports stores in the sales and save for next Winter, you don't pay the "cycling premium" that way.
Y'all ever heard of a backpack? 😂😢
I struggle to find overshoes large enough 😢
As someone whose body runs hot and who lives in Australia, the idea of wearing so much feels odd. A water app with reminders helps with water consumption. Mudguards are awesome!!!
What are those mudguards shown in minute 5?🤔
I’ve had gloves from both La Passione and Endura and both pairs have become unstitched after only a few months.
The best thing I found for winter weather is a snood. It traps the heat from your breath and so you'll never breath in cold air
I have gloves from thin liners to full on ski mitts, about 5 pairs that get mixed and matched to the temp/weather. Mitts are always warmer than gloves. Oh and do wash your gloves, they will get sweaty and smelly.
One of those skull cap things the go under your helmet, absolutely essential when it gets below 5°. Especially if you’re lacking in the hair department 😅
I take a dry base layer in a plastic bag that I change into at the cafe stop. That way I don’t get cold on the ride home. A bagged base layer is very small and easily fits in your back pocket.
Cold feet? Wind chill? Done forget that your feet are moving faster than the rest of your body, creating additional wind chill!!!!
Step 1 Buy a plane ticket. step 2. leave britain
Guilty as charged: 🤨 Forgetting to charge your lights. With shorter days and overall less sunlight, you will have them on more hours in winter, batteries will be running out more frequently.
Good points. Winter weather has finally come to my part of Canada – highs of –30C by the weekend – and there's no staying warm. Problem-solving, I've figured out why I'm not so enthused about ebikes. I'm old and brittle and have balance issues, so I don't need to go faster. I need to go warmer. Where's the ebike w heated seat and handlebar (and pedals) and something nice to keep the wind off? Know any industry insiders you could set working on this?
You forgot some of the most important "Keep Warm" emergency gear: In cold wet weather you can use plastic bags on hands/feet to stay warmer. Plastic bags under your jersey front to keep the wind off works well. I use a square of bubble wrap that covers my chest whenever it gets really chilly. Works great, CHEAP
Great video, thanks!!
Still can’t believe you guys ride bikes in winter without a decent full set of mudguards (fenders), a good set will keep your feet, legs and a**e dry, also the people you cycle with will be most appreciative.
You do not need to drink every 20 minutes in winter – unless you're that thirsty – in which case you should look at your pre-ride hydration.
It's not summer anymore. I'm nowhere near as thirsty as when I'm sweating in heat and humidity. If I drink every 20 minutes I have to stop and pee – and that's a big deal in the cold -not to mention it just sucks the life out of any momentum I have.
So no, in the cold, drink when you're thirsty. That's what the experts recommend.
So…how many bibs layered 😂
I try to use winter thermal bibs but they sure are pricey.
Come to Canada for real winter weather. I’m 74 outdoors my whole life. I ride feeling a slight chill. Wool and cotton work for me. I support farmer in coveralls. Scientists wearing lab coats working for be petroleum companies producing garments for the corporations.
Moved to Minneapolis 2 years ago, getting used to winter riding. Winter riding here means 10 to 0 degree F (-12 to -20 C). In order of importance are: 1) proper gloves, 2) good foot covering, and 3) layers to prevent from sweating. Was 20F (-7F) today all the commuter riders were still out.
panniers full of alternate layers of clothing (your sweaty clothes won't dry out sufficiently to keep you warm, even after 8 hours), flat pedals, boots, a scarf, mitts, not gloves, and a cell phone- you don't want to change your tire at minus 20 If all that seems too much, you might want to Zwift instead
You’ll have to toughen up a little 😂
Grab yourself a BARGAIN and decent spec 1st road bike or winter bike spare. Yesterday I ordered a NEW 2022 Giant Contend 1, rim bike from Winstanley Bikes of Wigan. With 40% off the RRP I've paid just £599, normally £999. I spoke to staff on phone who said its on its way from the warehouse. Equipped with Shimano Sora 50/34 and 11-34 cassette, Sora levers and Tektro rim brakes. At around 9.5kg I think whilst this is clearly a starter road bike, it represents superb value for money and receives good reviews. I have no affiliation with Winstanleys, check availability over phone.
in Brazil we dont have "cold winter" kkk as europe or USA.. I never did these mistakes kkk
My approach to clothing depends on temperature. The breakdown below is not precise (as anyone, I kind of judge it by the day) but it's probably what I end up wearing 90% of the time.
16 degrees C and above:
– Head: Helmet
– Upper body: Summer base layer + summer jersey (short or long sleeves) + optional light jacket + optional rain jacket
– Legs: Short bibs
– Feet: Regular socks + shoes
– Hands: Short gloves
14-16 degrees C:
– Head: Helmet
– Upper body: Spring/autumn base layer + long-sleeve jacket + light jacket or gilet/vest or rain jacket
– Legs: Short bibs
– Feet: Regular socks + shoes
– Hands: Regular gloves
10-14 degrees C:
– Head: Helmet
– Upper body: Spring/autumn base layer + thin optional layer + waterproof spring/autumn jacket
– Legs: Long spring/autumn bibs
– Feet: Merino socks + regular shoes + optional overshoes (10-13C)
– Hands: Long gloves
5-10 degrees C:
– Head: Helmet with winter hat/cap underneath
– Upper body: Winter base layer + waterproof winter jacket, no layer in between
– Legs: Long winter bibs
– Feet: Merino socks + winter boots
– Hands: Neoprene-type gloves
0-5 degrees C:
– Head: Helmet with winter hat/cap underneath
– Upper body: Winter base layer + waterproof deep winter jacket, no layer in between
– Legs: Long winter bibs + optional windproof rain trousers (e.g. 3/4 length)
– Feet: Merino socks + winter boots
– Hands: Deep winter gloves
Below 0 degrees C:
– Head: Helmet with winter hat/cap underneath
– Upper body: Winter base layer + winter mid layer + waterproof deep winter jacket
– Legs: Long winter bibs + windproof rain trousers (e.g. 3/4 length)
– Feet: Merino socks + winter boots (will get cold eventually though)
– Hands: Deep winter gloves + optional liners
Overshoes have a very limited range in which they do anything for me (mainly because of their open sole), so it's mostly between regular summer shoes and winter boots.
I also find that the fit of the winter boots has a huge impact. Those fancy Fizik Tempo Arctica GTX are way too narrow for me (resulting in reduced blood flow = cold feet), while the Lake CX146 don't look as nice but suit wider feet better and therefore don't mess with blood flow so much.
Great advice all, Manon – what gloves are you wearing? Winters in Idaho – USA get cold and i have not found a good winter glove yet.
Mistake #1: Not buying a smart trainer.
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I live in Florida…whats this winter you speak of? Is that the new tik tok trend
I'd say you left out an enormously significant one indeed. If there's ever a time to ditch the plastic bike hats, for something a lot more comfortable and useful, it's wintertime! Knit caps, skull caps, or watch caps of whatever sort, keep your head and ears warm and comfortable. For whatever you want to argue for the positives with bike specific helmets, the positives of a watch cap outweighs that. I know you people dig the rubber booties, but I see that as fluff for the most part. I think your feet are the last things on a bike ride to get cold. I'm certain that you have more puddles and mud in that countryside compared to here, but I tend to just avoid that stuff. For the road tires, if they're good enough for the warmer months, yet it's dry enough for riding, I see little value in swapping them out. If there's snow and ice and we're talking about a hybrid bike or a city style bike, and you have disk brakes on it, yeah that's different and if you have accumulations that stay, you're going to want to go for at least a dirt tire for the front. For a road bike, that just wouldn't apply. The road bike would just stay parked with that.
It would be interesting if GCN looked at whether riding in the cold has any health or fitness negatives or positives. Riding in the UK today it was 2c but felt -5c and after about 45 minutes i couldn't feel my feet. Wearing mountain bike style flat trainers on my road bike. Kinda feels like that part can't be good.
For me the main problem during winter rides it’s breathing cold air… It ends up every year with some illnesses connected to that! When I can I try not to breathe directly but using a tube layer that covers my neck and mouth and nose! I don’t like it but it works!
I haven't been back to the UK in years but here in Beijing, we have cold snaps of -15 to -20, which I really wouldn't wish on my worst enemy! I'm not really a fan of warming up – both at the gym and on the bike, but when it becomes so cold, the lethargy in your legs is truly tangible! I'm probably gonna sound like a whack job when I say this but altering your hand position to ensure that your fingertips aren't exposed to the wind, or as much as practicably possible.
i have my own inbuilt timer to let me know when to drink… i get thirsty
simple dont go out in the winter
I have a chart with temperature on one side and clothing on the other. Takes some experimenting at first but now I'm almost never under- or overdressed.
It's really important to WRITE it down. 😀
My best tip?? move from the UK to Australia ! not many days here where I get cold nowadays
"Unfamiliar with a Russian winter? I ride my bike to work daily through snowdrifts and icy roads, fueling both my physical and mental energy. Watch a video capturing the toughest day of my 2023/2024 commute: https://youtu.be/bNTSzMUMxTk
I use Google sheets. One for mtn.biking. One for road. Detailed charts of what I've worn in certain conditions. And how it worked. That way I'm guessing as much.