2Wheeltips

I was shopping around, and was wondering if UnderArmour or similar products would work good in cold weather riding.

Hi, jc20936! I recently purchased some UnderArmour garments and I have to say that they are very good extra insulation for riding on colder weather (I was out on the bike this morning). However, I was able to endure about 45 minutes of riding on the bike in 50-ish degree weather before I was still cold (from the cold air hitting the base of my helmet and freezing my neck. Also, my hands tend to be very susceptible to the cold and they were getting cold (no UnderArmour on my hands). So, my advice is this: know your own limits and be prepared to call it a day when you feel yourself getting cold. The parts of you that may get cold may NOT be the parts of you covered by UnderArmour so, if cold weather riding is your thing, you may still need something else like heated gloves, grips, or more. I hope that this information helps!

They work very very well! I wear an underarmour "coldgear" compression top and pants.

I wear a underarmour fleect shirt over the compression top and I wear jeans over the compression pants. The above keeps me warm down to 45 degrees.

I will post links to the products when I get a chance.

When rode in Korea it was freezing and hands, feet and body stayed cold, and tried everything to keep warm in terms of clothes and gloves. Lived in Hawaii and did not need cold weather riding gear, but moved to Michigan and purchased gerbins heating liner pants, liner jacket, gloves, and shoe inserts and I tell you, I am riding in the low 30,s at 60mph and feel toasted. Glad that I can regulate the heat. Wear a neck gator to keep the neck warm. It snowed a little today, so I parked it until the streets can dry up, no black ice, and will be on it again if nothing but riding around the block to get my fix.

One thing to add is the need for a scarf or something to keep the wind from getting underneath your jacket. No amount of clothing will work if you have 35 degree wind blowing on your skin.

I have been riding with unheated gear - Draggin' Jeans, Olympia winter jacket with liner, Joe Rocket Nitrogen gloves (men's) and I can ride in low-40's for about a half-hour until I feel chilled and my finger tips are cold. I have Underarmor base layers and I guess I will get them on if I need to ride longer - I definintely like them when skiing :). I have noticed a definite chill on the neck in those temps tho, and I definitely recommend a neck gator or balaclava.
My next major cold gear purchase will be British Motorworks winter gloves, which have gotten really good reviews at WebBikeWorld.

GrrlX,

I would check out snow mobile gloves too. They are cheaper and some have slots for the hand warmer pouches. A good pair will cost $25 bucks. Even top of the line snow mobile or ski gloves can be had a a reasonable price.

Just my 2 pesos.

Just found these on another bike site, and altho they're a little expensive including the shipping, they look well made and seem to solve a wind induced cold hand problem.

http://www.hippohands.com/Hippo%20Hands.htm

I saw a guy on an fjr 1300 using the hippo hands. Definitely an extreme weather (like 20F and below) type of riding gear. Not something you would use on a 35F - 40F degree day.

I had a snowmobile suit I bought when I lived up in cold NJ, and now that I'm down here in cold Florida, I thought I'd try it out today, under my new First Gear TPG jacket. It all fit well, I weas able to get the jacket on over the suit and was actually pretty comfortable. It was about 40 when I went out for a 1/2 hr ride at about 60mph to test it out and it works great! Absolutely no wind came in, and with a scarf on, not even up my neck into the helmet. At that temp and speed, it calculates to a wind-chill of about 25 degrees and I was very warm. I'm sure this combination easily could have accomodated another 20 degrees lower temperature. A snowmobile suit is a lot cheaper than motorcycle gear I'm sure, and if you don't want to go for a one piece full suit, at least investigate snowmobile pants to keep your lower body warm. If only they were armored, they would be perfect, or you can get separate knee/hip armor to wear underneath if you want.
The other thing is, that when you have this all on, if you were to hit the ground, being so padded, you would probably bounce. And the colors, if you want, are nice too, to attract attention.

For cold weather riding - check those tire pressures

While we're on the subject of cold weather, I thought I'd add this here:

For those of you braving the cold and frigid wind chills with all your heated gear and multiple layers on, don't forget to check your tire pressures as the temp drops. You may be riding on 20# or less when the temps drop down to the 40's or below and although you may think a softer tire will grip the cold road surface better, that's not the case. It also may lead to wiggly steering with the front tire low, breakouts of the rear, and will lead to earlier wear. Most bikes run about 29-30# for the front 32-33# for the rear - check your owner's manual, and fill up as necessary.

i went out for a ride 2 weeks ago on a cold day. the bike was indeed dancing around and it took a while before I felt comfortable dipping the bike tight into curves. It felt like I was riding on a tire with little tread. I can only imagine what would have happened if I was on a bike with sport tires.......