Close Menu
    Finland

    Simple and affordable ways to ride a bike through winter with stuff you already own



    Fat-biking has inspired a whole industry of winter-specific gear and clothing to make your cold rides more comfortable. And much of this stuff is great. If you can afford it, you should use it. But the bike industry also has a tendency to make cycling more technical and complicated than it needs to be. For practical, everyday, happy urban cycling and bike commuting, I’ve found you don’t need a whole lot of specialized gear. So in this video, I’m offering you some alternatives to winter-cycling-specific gear so that you can enjoy year-round riding more simply and affordably, or at least make do until you can afford that specialized gear.

    0:00 Introduction
    0:35 Use a studded tire, not a fat bike
    1:48 Use a tuque (beanie), not a winter-specific bike helmet
    3:53 Use regular winter boots, not clip-in winter cycling shoes
    5:39 Use thermal underwear, not winter cycling kit
    7:19 Use mittens, not pogies
    8:42 Bonus tip

    #cycling #bike #commuting

    My winter bike: https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/continuumonyx?avad=291725_e337a7f15

    Looking for good merino wool base layers? https://bit.ly/3xXkbEd

    Buy my book Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling: https://rmbooks.com/book/frostbike/

    I don’t really do proper product reviews, but here are some products that I’ve tried on this channel that I like. (Of course you don’t need anything fancy to ride a bike, other than a bike, but these are Amazon affiliate links, and I get paid a small commission if you buy them 😉)

    • Cliq Smart Bike Light (nice rear brake light): https://amzn.to/39lfqwo
    • RedShift Acrlight Smart LED Pedals (clever lights for your pedals): https://amzn.to/3NL1Npg
    • Aftershokz Titanium bone-conducting headphones (if you want to listen while you ride): https://amzn.to/3e9Tofa
    • JBL CLip 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker (for your party-pace group rides): https://amzn.to/3pcMLPm
    • Crane Bicycle Bell (the ding is sublime): https://amzn.to/3OwfZCu
    • Bicycle Cargo Net (why did it take so long for me to buy one of these?): https://amzn.to/31s1Ovu
    • Vaude Cover II Rain Poncho (for higher-end, try Cleverhood or People’s Poncho): https://amzn.to/3jLkift
    • Kryptonite U-Lock (your bike is going to get stolen eventually, sigh, but at least make it hard): https://amzn.to/3tPWcGi
    • Peak Design phone case (the one I use, paired with the Peak Design phone mount): https://amzn.to/3HGM0FU

    Follow me!
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/tombabin
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tom_babin
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tombabin

    Share.
    View 31 Comments

    31 Comments

    4. Claudio Claudio on

      The only special thing I bought for winter are gloves witch reflect. I like be seen when I sit on my e-bike. Once I was driving my car and I saw somebody who wanted turn left, it was an ugly evening, he wore this gloves. They reflected so good that I decided to buy them in a bike store for myself.

    5. Daniel Holman on

      Thanks for your timely vid on “Winter CYcling”. I’am a long time bicycle rider but this is the first year that I plan to ride a lot in the winter and I was just starting to wonder how I was going to accomplish this. That’s an especially good tip about using studded tires in the snow. A lot of folks had good comments as well. Thanks everyone. I’am feeling a lot more confident now. Om!

    6. thomascray on

      Just spent over 3 hours mountain biking yesterday in below freezing weather. Your tips are great except for one – cotton should NEVER be warn against your skin in winter – it gets wet and gets cold – it does not wick moisture away and trap heat the way merino wool does. Also, a money-saving tip – buy ATV poagies instead of cycling pogies – you'll save a ton! Cheers!

    7. Air Pex! on

      I bought rockbros barmits of amazon for just 25eur, it's not actually the expensive option. Last winter I used several different gloves/mittens and didn't really like it too much. I also just ordered the same tires for just 24eur each.
      Another really annoying thing last winter was snow in the eyes. I'm thinking of borrowing skiing goggles to try them out when it snows.

    9. Ilmari Mujunen on

      For those not caring about fashion, cover the ventilation holes of your helmet. Covering even just the front ones makes a difference, and covering it all with plastic bag prevents them completely from doing what they are designed to do in most helmets, directing airflow to your head. Looks ugly tho, but is fast and cheap fix to get you trough that scaringly cold winter day.

    10. Lunasmoke Zim on

      Depending on where you live, I would recommend 2 studded tires. If you can afford it, please get two. Good winter socks for sure. Compression clothing is awesome in really cold weather. It's skin tight and can be worn under anything. About $40 for a shirt and bottoms.

    11. James MacGlashan on

      Rain cover for your helmet! I put a rain cover on my helmet at the start of freezing weather and it slows the heat loss up top and blocks cold wind and keeps snow out of the event holes. The cover stays on all winter normally.

    13. fibercamel1337 on

      For a warm helmet, you can also go for a ski helmet. For cycling a warm one is special and costs extra. So skiing this is just a regular product and can be cheaper. Especially off-season.

    14. virkelie2 on

      I purchased a Head Radar Ski Helmet – because it has an integrated visor and it was on sale. But now everyone is telling me it is not safe to use a ski helmet for cycling – though no one could tell me why.
      I did write to Head, asking them whether I could use their ski helmet for cycling – they said no (again, no reason provided). Maybe Head only said no for legal reasons?

    16. Stanley Tolle on

      If it is snowing goggles help out allot. The ski helmet with fitting for goggles seems like a very good idea. Maybe I should get one instead of continuing to use my bike helmet for my back country skiing.

    18. lampjerulez on

      Everyone in the netherlands is like… why are you guys overcomplicating these things XD
      just hop on the bike and go XD

      but yeah maybe our bikes are made of rock or something, because we have rain 90% of the year and we just leave our bikes in that rain and they will still last years.
      so if you want a decent bike, look for a dutch made one

    19. Patryk Pudlo on

      And my tip number 1- buy a ski or ski board jacket! Those are way cheaper than cycling winter clothes and are probably well better for winter riding, plus you can normally buy ski sports gear on sales around the Christmas ( here in UK anyways) . Yes proper skiing jacket with useful pockets, good length to cover your back goes a long way!

    21. Melaine Kerfaou on

      Decathlon has waterproof/windproof mitten-shaped over-gloves which cost close to nothing and provide superpowers to your regular gloves. I took these on a winter trip to Iceland and although I wasn't cycling, the 70mph/-5C winds were a good stress-test.
      Now everytime it's supposed to rain or get really cold in winter, for my everyday bike commute,I just add them on top of my ok-gloves and my fingers never get wet or cold.

    23. Cloud 9 on

      A 'out of the box' idea would also be to check Motorcycle gear. My balaclava I use for motorcycling has wind blocker tech and is fleece lined with antibacterial lining. I bought it for $10 on sale and it allows me to ride my motorcycle in 30deg without problems so I can imagine it being pretty nice on a bicycle. They also have really good battery operated heated glove liners that are thin and discrete but pack a lot of warmth.
      My boots are Forma Adventure Lows. They aren't the cheapest but that's a relative term. $260 is cheap to some but for me that was a punch in the gut – but well worth it as they are the best boots I've ever owned in my life.
      Merino Wool base layers are also exceptional and I am completely sold on them. Can be very expensive but money well spent.

    27. Comrade Misner on

      Here's a tip for having to deal with wet and cold in a pinch. Wrap your feet in a plastic bag, tie the bag around your ankles, and then put them inside your shoes. This works even if your feet are already soaked and it is very cold out to insulate your feet.

    28. Paper Drone on

      Your video is so interesting, the whole world should be able to listen. Could.you please talk a bit slower, articulate more al that non-native English speakers could also understand, then write the references of the products ? Like the vaf ? Waff ? Waffe No idea how you spell it 🙂 Thank you 🤗

    31. Don Fraser on

      Great tips, I ride all year, in Michigan, 1000 miles is a average winter for me, on gravel, and fat bikes, I love the Bar Mitts, I can wear summer gloves all winter and shift/brake on the trails easily, or gravel roads, balacava for sure, merino wool yes, Red Wing Shoes have some of the longest lasting, warmest merino wool socks out there, I wear Specialized Demo downhill pants with different temperature long johns under them depending on the weather, they stretch, are waterproof, and very comfortable, not cheap, but they last a long time. FOR TIRES I have ridden on Specialized Sawtooth 700×42 tires front, and rear for many years, I think they are made from OCTOPI, cuz' they grip like studded tires, they are cheap, tubeless ready, $30.. amazing tires on snowpacked roads.. good for all year riding. For the upper body, layer with thin wicking shirts, I like MX jerseys, they are cheap, wicking, look great, you can find orange, to be seen during hunting seasons, anytime being seen is one of bikers best defences, some MX jerseys even have sewn in elbow pads, on sale for $30 or less anytime of year, over the shirts I wear a wind breaker. Happy Trails 😉 !!!

    Leave A Reply