Frozen Chosen...

Discussion in 'USA - Mountain' started by Igrok, Nov 13, 2018.

  1. Igrok

    Igrok New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2018
    Messages:
    176
    Likes Received:
    84
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Does anyone else ride when its below 50? And what's your cutoff?
     
  2. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2007
    Messages:
    6,120
    Likes Received:
    853
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Desert Southwest
    70* :Redface: Sorry, wish I could help out. Talk to Randy, he is the Iron Butt Crazy Man of foul weather riding, hopefully he will chime in and give you something you can work with.
     
  3. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2006
    Messages:
    9,838
    Likes Received:
    743
    Trophy Points:
    128
    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Map
    Rode to work and back (16 miles) on a sunny day @19 F. once and now ride alot in winter at 40 or a bit less.

    ( i never claimed to be "normal". :chicken:)
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2018
  4. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2008
    Messages:
    2,245
    Likes Received:
    270
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Platte City, MO
    Map
    When I was young and poor, I rode as much as possible even when it was awful weather. The coldest I can
    remember was under 20° F. I was working 3rd shift and had to scrape frost off the Vetter Quicksilver fairing
    I had on my 1980 Suzuki GS1000G when I left in the morning. I only had to go about 6 miles, but it was still
    very cold. Balaclava and chaps cold. LOL

    Now I don't voluntarily ride if the temps drop under 60° F.

    Edited for spelling.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2020
  5. OZ VFR

    OZ VFR Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2013
    Messages:
    1,176
    Likes Received:
    385
    Trophy Points:
    128
    Location:
    Old Toongabbie, Australia
    Map
    I’m fine around 50*F. Heated grips are the best for that.
    And I don’t actually wear that much under the leathers.
    Not often that I wear my winter gloves either, I can’t feel what I’m doing with them.
    By mid morning it is usually over 65*F here even mid winter
     
  6. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2007
    Messages:
    6,120
    Likes Received:
    853
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Desert Southwest
    OK, I admit it, by the standards set by you gentleman, so far....yeah, I'm a complete sissy (This is a family site now, not exactly the word I was thinking.) I guess it stems from my younger, formative years, where I only had a moto, no car, and would ride miles in the Bay Area winters with Glad trash bag rainsuits, just to get a snuggle in with my best gal. I made an internal pact with myself that I would never be in that position of "having" to ride in foul weather once I could afford not to, it has stuck with me to this day.
     
  7. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2011
    Messages:
    6,479
    Likes Received:
    949
    Trophy Points:
    143
    Location:
    Anaheim, Ca.
    I’ll ride pretty much as long as I can stand the temperature! I’m half joking, unless it’s a full on storm, high winds, heavy rain, I.e. just too dangerous do be out in general (admittingly, not too much of that here in So Cal) I’ll just put on the appropriate riding gear. I’ll admit that I probably have more gear than sense but I feel I have the right gear for just about any occasion I’ll want to ride in.

    Most of the time, as I commute by motorcycle, I’ll have one of my textile setups on (jacket & pants) with the appropriate under garments underneath. Usually I’m good down to upper 40’s with long sleeve and leggings and possibly jacket/pant liners in. My hands suffer the most but only if it’s for long periods of time and if I’m not using glove liners. If/when the temperatures drop below mid 40’s I do have electric gear I can use but in all honesty, I haven’t used them that much, even when the temps were pretty low.

    The coldest I’ve ridden in has been in the mid to upper 20’s and that was for short stints and with my Leathers on, as these were weekend rides. And one time in my winter textile jacket and pants (sans liner) for a few hours with a light snow fall. For the most part I was not really feeling cold or bothered by it. Again, it was really my hands where I felt it get a bit too much at times. Stopping and warming them up every now and then was how dealt with it.

    I found that if not using an active heating solution, layering works well but finding a thin well insulating garment is a little tricky. Some of my favorite layers came from Champion sportswear that I found at Target. I have a mock turtleneck that does a great job of keeping the chill away. Another is a Dainese undergarment that is made with something they call windstopper fabric. It has a mix of breathable sections with the windstopper in the areas where the jacket and pants have their stretch panel sections. This mostly applies to my Leathers but it works well with two of my textile jackets which have a lot of venting.

    Not sure if any of this is useful to you or if you were looking more for a Q and A with a cold weather rider. Either way, hope this was helpful to some extent.
     
  8. Igrok

    Igrok New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2018
    Messages:
    176
    Likes Received:
    84
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Gear definitely helps! I rode to work this morning and the thermometer was hovering around 32f here, snow on the ground, and a cold wind. There's still snow and ice on the backstreets, so I had to pick a different way to work this morning to avoid the slippage.

    I was more curious than anything. I think my cutoff is going to be 45f. Its just not fun anymore below that.
     
  9. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

    Country:
    Canada
    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2007
    Messages:
    13,741
    Likes Received:
    1,557
    Trophy Points:
    158
    Location:
    Chilliwack, BC Canada
    Map
    -10 C. That works out to 14 F. That was cold, but still ridable if equipped with the right clothing. After the hour commute, my fingertips and toe tips were cold, but not freezing. My forehead was cold so I had to reduce the freeway speed. Not much you can wear beneath a well fitting helmet that will offer a lot of warming insulation. Rode in rain and wind lots and got caught in a heavy dropping of snow once. That was not nice at all, you should understand. That was not on purpose. No mention of snow in the forecast that morning.

    I do have heated gear but any riding in temps above freezing, you can get by with just a cheap rain suit over top of three season suits. The rain suit will trap your own body heat inside. I think the rain suit is the best piece of gear you can have for warmth in colder weather.

    I don't have heated grips. I use winter gortex gloves. Yes they are more bulky than regular gloves, but you will get used to them in short order if you just give yourself a little time. Naturally they are probably a bit of a hinderance if you are going to seriously carve up the canyons.

    I won't ride in that anymore though. I did while I was commuting to something called work. Don't do that anymore. But if I knew it was going to get much lower than -10 C, I would probably take the truck to work. That is pretty much my limit I think.
     
  10. RllwJoe

    RllwJoe Insider

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2017
    Messages:
    1,116
    Likes Received:
    315
    Trophy Points:
    128
    Location:
    Western Lower Peninsula, Michigan
    Map
    A week and a half ago I started out with an air temp around 40F. First curve, I felt both tires sliding. Took it much slower than normal following until I was sure that the tires had warmed up. Still I'm not going to "push it" when the air and road surface temp is below 50F. That being said, I have often ridden in low 30F weather, but only in dry conditions. No grip heaters, I wear my snowmobile gloves when it's below 45F.
     
  11. Diving Pete

    Diving Pete Member

    Country:
    United Kingdom
    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2016
    Messages:
    1,969
    Likes Received:
    548
    Trophy Points:
    143
    Location:
    London
    Map
    That was me yesterday!

    I was like, ok need a little more heat in these...lol
     
  12. Igrok

    Igrok New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2018
    Messages:
    176
    Likes Received:
    84
    Trophy Points:
    28
    I rode in this morning; 34 F. The roads were dry and I gave a bit for the tires to warm up before pushing the tires. Supposed to hit 59 F today, woot woot!
     
  13. zer0focus

    zer0focus New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2018
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Yeah, I’ll ride down to 10F if there’s no ice on the road. Gore Windstopper layers make all the difference in the world, as do my pair of heated gloves. Polar Buff around my neck.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    Allyance likes this.
  14. bk94si

    bk94si Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2018
    Messages:
    297
    Likes Received:
    72
    Trophy Points:
    58
    I ride down to about freezing, occasionally under.
     
  15. VFR4David

    VFR4David New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2020
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Castle Rock, Colorado
    Map
    I'll ride down to about 20f.
    Heated gear helps, but eventually cold air in the helmet does me in.
    Past 2 days of snow has melted off, might go for a lil ride here in a bit.
     
  16. zombie

    zombie New Member

    Country:
    Canada
    Joined:
    Jul 29, 2012
    Messages:
    602
    Likes Received:
    90
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    Guelph Ontario
    I used to ride when it was a little lower than freezing but then they started using the liquid brine on the roads around here. They say that it isn't slippery but I disagree in a big way. I've been out and hit the roads that have been sprayed and I don't like it. I have a car to commute in and when it's cold I'd rather just take the car.
     
  17. fink

    fink Member

    Country:
    United Kingdom
    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2013
    Messages:
    1,590
    Likes Received:
    457
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Ardnamurchan Penninsula, Scotland
    Map
    Spend a lot of my time commuting this time of year . Below 50f , in fact manly around 40f or below 50 miles each way
     
Related Topics

Share This Page