i started combining two of my activities. snow skiing and riding. ski gear works great on bike trips. still gonna need something for the rain though. ski gear is water resistant or water repellent, but it wont handle a downpour. the gloves, the liners, the under pants and shirts, and the masks when necessary.... other than that, under armour or poly pro still works fine. but i also built my latest bike with a Corbin heated dual touring seat, and heated hand grips.......

ride safe, cause they are all trying to kill you,
corb

 

No offense to the Under Armour fans, but if it's actually cold UA ColdGear isn't even remotely in the same league with the poly pros and it costs about 3-5 times more.

 

The thing with polypropylene is it's an open cell fiber and it retains body odors forever. Patagonia's "Capoline" is a closed cell fiber which does not hold scents. It might not be windproof, but I was toasty riding to work in 26F Tuesday morning.
Gore has a new windstopper material that is good stuff. I have an OR- Outdoor Research Balaclava that has the windstopper in it and it's the bomb man!

 

If I could only find something for my finger tips without having to wire up. I can keep everything else comfortable with leather and layers.

 

I use no electrics and ride all winter here in Mass. This is what I use on my hands. They are US Air Force extreme cold weather mitts. Pictured left to right is: (1) The gauntleted mitt outer shell. The upper mitt is made out of leather. The gauntlet is nylon. It has a wool material on the backhand useful for wiping faceshield if needed. (2) The gauntleted wool insert. I never use this as it has made my hands sweat in 10 degree weather and is a bit too bulky for the controls. (3) US Navy wool gloves. These are what I wear on the inside of the shell. I have a few different pairs with ranging thicknesses. I keep several in the bag in case they get wet from sweat otherwise.

I think I paid about 20 bucks for the gauntlets/inserts some years ago. The wool gloves are only a few bucks per pair. All purchased at surplus store. There are a couple versionsof these mitts. Don't get pair with cotton gauntlet. Get nylon.

 

Gator Skins.. I agree with whoever said that are over hyped.. they are ok.. and personally, I like them better for spring and summer and not so much for winter. My personal take with the Gator Skins is.. I wear the top with a long sleeve T in the spring and fall.. when it's too cold for just a t and not cold enough for a jacket. I also like the GS's for days when its chilly enough to start off with a light weight leather or jacket.. but when it's not needed to finish the day.. The GS's under a long sleeve t or under a light sweat shirt works great for me.



When it gets really cold though, I skip the Gater Skin's and go with a base layer of UA cold gear compression.. pants and top. They have some insulation value but the main reason is they really do "transport" sweat and moisture off the body extremely well, or at least they do for me. ( on that subject, **** has some new stuff coming out that's supposed to be great for that and cheaper than UA ) Next I wear a layer of polar tech fleece "ECWCS" ( middle weight ) thermals.. again top and bottom.. They have excellent insulation value and heat retention.. and combined with the UA, I get moisture transport and warmth, without bulk or restriction. For my legs then.. I just wear jeans and chaps.. and if it's wet, I'll wear Harley gortex pack light rain pants. And for a jacket, or top, I wear a Harley FXRG Leather with the winter liner.. It's heavy.. but that's the only downside. The FXRG Leather is waterproof and very very warm. For the really cold days, I have two zip tops from Eastern Mountain Sports.. I forget what they call the material, they are light, and add nicely to the over insulation and heat retention under the leather. This is "set up" has been good for riding in the cold down to 30 degrees or so.. colder than that.. I'm not pretty much not going out.. I work outside all year round so I get.. at least a little acclimated to the cold but don't misunderstand either.. I do ride in the cold occasionally, but I don't ride every day all winter long.. it's more like every couple weeks and only when there's no snow, ice, salt and whatever on the roads.. we do a Christmas day ride and New Year's day ride, conditions permitting, and occasionally I'll ride to work just to listen to the comments.. But I'm not by any means a cold weather riding expert so my apologies if I sound like one.. just putting out there what works for me.. The rest is.. first gear winter gauntlets with liners, gortex / thinsulated boots with good quality boot socks like smart wool or UA, a Harley balaclava with a heavy fleece neck gaiter and usually, a half helmet with a pull down shield like the HJC or Scorpion.. Hope this helps and if not.. sorry for the long post..

Cheers

mavrick

 

very cool, i have never seen them before. one of my close friends used to put a snowmobile "L" shaped cover over his controls, and then run his hands through them. i tried them, and holy smokes! those things made my hands sweat! i still use the snowski gloves, and have never had an issue with being cold, same concept you have, just different parts.

ride safe, cause they are all trying to kill you ,
corb

 

I have one of the Schampa 'skinny' tops. Its the cat's ***! Nice and warm. Combine that with the 'skinny' bottoms and I bet you could ride in the 20's.

http://www.schampa.com/product_p/skaba01.htm

 

just a heads up on the Gator Skins.. GS is supposedly in the process of adding a fleece lined top/jacket to their line as well as a lined balaclava.. According to the rep, they'll be available soon and definitely by Feb.. for whatever it's worth..

Cheers

mavrick

 

The Army issued me some winter gloves that might have been good for riding last year - part leather, gauntlet style, etc. If I hadn't traded them to a British guy for a field jacket, I'd be set right now. Still haven't found a use for my cool British field jacket.