Success on 7 deg F motorized bicycle work commute!

Well done! Positive proof that motor bicycling is possible in cold weather conditions.

You're a lot tougher than me, BlueGoat. It was above freezing here and I felt like a popsicle on my short errand to the drug store.

Sure can i remember back in the mid 70's me and a friend took a ride on my snowmobile over to a friends house visited for a while and when i got home my wife was giving me a bad time. She said it was -43 F ,but we were behind the windshield and didn't really notice. It was a couple mile ride,i am sure we would have been done in if it were any further or longer.
We had a -20 F yesterday and close to that today. With the modern day outer were you can do a lot outside in these temps. A lot of construction workers are outside all day untill it get down to -20 F
The worst thing i had to do was ride on the outside of box car at the papper mill i worked at from the south yard to the plant. Not a hole lot of speed but right out in the open. Face and hands are the the worst of the for cold..............Curt

I've been commuting on my motorized bicycle for a couple weeks in 20°f weather. Broke an axle on car so I had no choice (fixed car last night). As OP said, its all about the prep.
I owned nothing but bikes/motorcycles in my twenties, no cars. Its a bit extreme, but i rode enduros all thru the Indiana winters, it beats walking anyday.

Now that i have commuted in cars for decades, i forgot how fun/satisfying it is to take on Mother Natures challenges. I might continue to commute on bike when possible.

The key to cold weather riding is the clothing. Multiple layers, topped with a wind/water resistant layer and you can generally keep from getting too cold. Unfortunately I have some (arthritis) problems with my hands and knees so if they get too cold I'm pretty much screwed for the next couple of hours after getting inside. Currently looking for new gloves, the stitching between and around the fingers has given up on the ones I wore through last winter, so they're no longer wind or waterproof.

When I lived back in southern Ontario where the winters are harsher, there was a trick I used to use on the really bad nights.. When you're getting ready to go, pull a couple of plastic grocery store type bags over your feet (over regular socks, of course). Smooth/wrap them to your feet, and pull on a pair of grey wool socks, then put on your boots. It doesn't matter how wet and slushy it is if the bags have no holes. Your boots might ship water, but your feet won't get wet from it.

I often say no one may know the whole secret to happiness, but I'll share the piece I carry: Warm, dry feet. If your feet are cold and wet, no matter what you do you'll be miserable until that changes (whether you realise it or not).

use anti antiperspirant spray on your feet . so they don't sweat and get cold! and any were else you may sweat. .

pleaaaaase post a pick of the gloves you are using !!! i have -20 deg gloves and my fingers still freeeze up after about 5 miles at 30 mph ! what are you usng for gloves ????

the whole rest of my body is fine lol i put on my military issue thermals aka the waffle gear and then layer acordingly but there seems to be no glove on the earth to stop my fingers from freezing ! lol

by the way its about 5-7 degrees right now !

ohh i saw your post on the bar mitts, nice job is that all you use ? can you post your glove and hand system ? pics i mean close ups !

any way i was going to order a set of snowmobiel hand fairings and heated grips then i noticed like all typical snowmobiel sht it was wayy over priced like out of the question to much lol though about getting some scrap pieces of lexan plastic from my work and using a heat gun forming 12 x 12 in sheets into hand fairings / guards and clamping them onto my bike, could even ruff em up and paint em with vht platicoat paint. i think that would solve the problem of the wind chilled hands at 30mph i hope any one done this ?

lol at the milk jug ones on the bike ! great idea though

i would just make little clear windshields out of molded lexan held on with a bar and a clamp

I used to make my own all the time when I lived up north. They work just as well as the expensive ones.

bluegoatwoods said:

Reluctantly, I'm thinking that though it might be possible to ride this thing through anything that winter gives me, that may be in theory only. It might not be practical and it might not be safe enough.

Click to expand...

Safe? Practical? I dunno about that as such is relative, it can only be judged by the rider... but "possible" is a definite. I'm on my forth year of all season commuting and I've found somewhat oddly - I'm in some ways better off the worse the weather is as whenever it's snowing and accumulating on the roads not only is there better, more predictable traction but I end up passing traffic as they creep along in their heated 4WDs lol

I'm a strong advocate of "minimalist" gear even in such conditions, perhaps more so in the crusty frozen stuff as while being warm is of course important, while riding on such treacherous and unpredictable surfaces immediate dexterity & flexibility is of paramount importance. It just wont do to obscure peripheral vision with gommy goggles, twenty pound block boots for feet while you're blocking approaching traffic sounds with the fuzzy earmuffs, so bundled up you look like the stay-puft marshmallow man and can't even swing a leg over the bike...

...that'll getcha every time. That's when that little patch of ice will flip ya, hands still on the bars and feet on the pedals 'cause ya couldn't move lol

It's tough though I'll admit, most winter gear isn't designed with ninja moves in mind but there's some basic solutions that are often unmentioned, even overlooked. First & most obvious is ofc "layers" - which we've all heard a million times. The difference being is usually they mean to remove some when you get too warm (sweat = wet = cold death) whereas here you'll want to start with the least you can get away with and only adding more if you have to.

What I usually do is no more than very light hiking boots with maybe two pairs of socks, two pairs of jeans (one oversized) or jeans & thermals, T shirt w/a flannel button down over it and a loose fleece or sweatshirt. Then over that I've just my normal light but lined jacket, which is more of a nylon (waterproof) windbreaker then what anyone would think of as winter gear and for gloves I've no more than a very supple pair of essentially driving gloves, a thin downy liner with very soft thin leather outers as I've got to have my fingers, brake play gets decidedly important on ice and if you can't feel the levers you're in for problems.

Then again, if you're frostbit you're not going to feel anything anyway so to "kick it to the next level" (distance and/or extreme cold) I do no more than add my summer rain gear to the above - I might do the bread bag over my socks thing (very warm BTW) but it's usually just my plastic pants over the above, the same old jacket I always wear as it's waterproof/windproof anyway and for the fingers I'll wear a pair of heavy, unlined work gloves (waterproofed w/spray) over my lighter driving gloves...

...and that's it really. I know it doesn't sound like enough but it's proved more than sufficient for my needs for years now. I've tried a bunch of variations like snowmobile gauntlets & snow pants, work boots & parkas and they're just dangerous, TBH I didn't even find it was any warmer than what I usually run but it was seriously cumbersome, the only advantage might be the extra padding when you hit the ground lol

Insulation doesn't help if the windchill can get through - stop the wind and you'll need far less gear then ya think


Nothing special, just an average December week 'round these parts for example... at least it isn't stormy;