Chicago Bike Routes
What Bike Gear Do I Wear During Winter?
12/30/2023
When I first started biking around Chicagoland, I did it mostly in nice, warm weather. Once the cold weather months came around, I had to stop riding becuase I didn't know how to deal with the low temperatures. It was disappointing to think that I wouldn't be able to get around on my bike until warm weather returned months in the future.
Back in 2021, I decided that I would try to bike year-round and now I'm biking through my third winter. Sometimes it can still be a bit challenging to bike in the cold, but for me it beats having to stop biking for months at a time until more accomodating weather arrives.
Checking out a bike lane on a snowy November day in Chicagoland
Cold weather can be dangerous and different people are going to have different preferences for what riding conditions are acceptable to them, so I don't recommend rushing into cold weather bike riding. Even though I frequently bike commute and ride for leisure during winter, there are still days when I choose not to because the weather is too severe. One thing that I did learn over time was what winter gear to wear so that I could be reasonably comfortable riding in the cold when I choose to do so. This is only what works for me and won't necessarily work for others. Still, it might help others brainstorm.
Below is an image of some of the items that I often wear during the winter. This is not an exhaustive display of everything that I wear (for example, I did not display shirts or footwear), but it shows some of my common pieces. I discuss my favorite items below.
Some of my cold weather biking gear
1. Head & Face Covering: It can feel very windy on a bike and that sort of forced convection can really make someone's face and neck chilly. I usually wear a balaclava that covers my neck and lower half of my face. My helmet covers the top of my head.
2. Arm Sleeves: I like to wear arm sleeves that cover my arms, wrists, and palms. I could have bought some, but I ended up making some out of tube socks (I just cut holes for my fingers). These really help keep my wrists warm.
3. Gloves: Gloves are a must-have for me in cold weather. I wear heavy duty mittens with liner gloves underneath. I like mittens because they feel warmer than 5-fingered gloves, but mittens can make it harder to use handlebars and brakes, so caution should be taken if they are chosen.
4. Pants: I wear sweatpants. If I need another layer, I wear running tights underneath.
5. Footwear: I wear tube socks and running shoes. Sometimes I wear an additional pair of short socks on top of my tube socks.
6. Jacket: I usually focus on bundling up my extremities and find that my core doesn't usually get very cold. As a result, I often wear a light running jacket and a long sleeve shirt (or several shirts) underneath. I also like to wear a yellow reflective vest for visibility.
And that's most of what I wear during my cold weather rides. For me, I have found that my gear often does the trick especially if the temperature is as least as high as the upper 20s or low 30s Fahrenheit and there is not too much of a headwind. My rides can be as long as 1 or 1.5 hours. If conditions are more severe, it might be best to rethink what gear is appropriate or leave biking for another day.
