Article on Cold Weather Riding

[Bob Loblaw]

Here's an interesting article (http://singletrack.competitor.com/2011/12/bikes-tech/snow-riding-dressing-the-part_27570) on how to keep warm while riding in very cold temps.

This makes sense to me although it sounds like it could be somewhat uncomfortable:

"The buzz-word is ‘vapor barrier’ and the concept is simple, if counterintuitive: wear water-proof clothing next to the skin and keep the sweat in next to the skin instead of allowing it to evaporate."

BL

[gdw]

Vapor barriers work well. Lots of riders have been using them for years, those plastic bags you slip over your liner sock when the weather starts getting cold, but aren't aware of it. Here's another good article:
http://www.andrewskurka.com/advice/technique/vaporbarrierliners.php

[rice rocket]

http://singletrack.competitor.com/files/2011/12/aa-2-660x437.jpg

:eek:

[Bob Loblaw]

I'd never heard the term before, but someone I met on a ride recently told me she puts plastic baggies under her socks for this exact reason. I am going to start experimenting with this. I would probably opt to put the vapor barrier over a base layer to mitigate any greasy stifling sensation on the skin.

ETA: Also maybe this will help my HRM strap pick up my heart rate more consistently, if what little sweat there is on my chest can't evaporate.

BL

Vapor barriers work well. Lots of riders have been using them for years, those plastic bags you slip over your liner sock when the weather starts getting cold, but aren't aware of it. Here's another good article:
http://www.andrewskurka.com/advice/technique/vaporbarrierliners.php

[spiderman]

under my sachs warsaw jacket -- which got soaked in a nice rain
i wore my best rain jacket!
perfect combination...
felt like i could have stayed on the bike 48 hours!

[rwsaunders]

When we were kids, we wore these type of boots in the Winter, into which we would slide our shoes. To make it easy to get the shoes in and out of the boots, we would place the shoe in a plastic bread wrapper. Beyond making it easy to insert and remove the shoe, it kept your foot pretty warm.

[Merlmabase]

While there are some decent tips in there, the article strikes me as a bit hokey, and typical of advice articles that exxagerate the problems with the Old Way and downplay those of the New Way.

Cycling isn't the only outdoor activity to deal with wind-chill. Any cold-weather gear is designed to deal with the possibility of wind. That's why there are windbreakers.

Vapor barriers are nothing new either. Wetsuits and drysuits are vapor barriers, and work just fine if you don't mind being a slippery mess when you take them off. They're less practical if, say, you're riding your bike to work in the morning.

The old plastic bag trick works well, and many winter cyclists I know opt for neoprene socks is cold weather, often to compensate for poorly insulated clipless shoes. But we're talking about a part of your body that isn't going to sweat much either way.

It’s an indisputable fact that the body is going to sweat during physical exertion and clothing is going to get wet. It’s when this sweat is wicked off the surrounding clothing that body temperature drops.

Imagine standing in 50-degree weather and being perfectly comfortable and then standing in 50-degree weather after just getting out of a pool and freezing. The concept is the same.

Instead of allowing the sweat to saturate insulating layers, vapor barrier clothing prevents the sweat from evaporating, thereby preventing evaporative cooling on the body.

Now this is just BS. Yes, water cools you off when it evaporates by absorbing heat energy around it to change state. That's exactly why wicking layers work so well - they pull moisture away from your skin before it begins to evaporate and cool you down.

The only way your insulating layers are going to get "saturated" is if you're ridiculously over-dressed, or you've got an impermeable outer shell (or a "waterproof-breathable" shell, which work poorly at freezing temps) preventing that moisture from escaping.

I've ridden almost daily through two Montreal winters which regularly hit -13 of your Fahrenheits. A cheap polyester baselayer with a wool or fleece sweater and windproof shell works beautifully. Pass on the snake oil.

[gdw]

Actually it's a pretty good general article for snow bikers. Vapor barriers might not be the best choice for commuting to work or riding the road for a couple hours with your friends but seem to be popular with some of the folks who do weekend bikepacking trips or brave events like the Arrowhead 135 or Iditarace. Mike Curiak has certainly been successful using them in his shoe system.