Question about winter riding

[MattJ1983]

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Get warm gear, especially gloves. I commuted until early December last year, and started up again in March this year. I still rode a few times in January, but didn't commute. You have no idea just how cold -5*C is when you add a 130km/h wind chill factor. I wore gauntlets, and even tried snowboarding gloves, in the end I had to give in to the cold. My commute is almost an hour each way at highway speeds.

I rode when there was no snow on the road all last winter. The gloves are a major thing I found that i needed to improve, then helmet, then pants.
My current winter gloves are Joe Rocket Nitrogen, water "proof" and warm, with a little bit of a gauntlet also. I went to the Bike show in February, a trip maybe 75 minutes long and had to stop twice to warm my hands; i was on the 403 for most of it and i think it was -10. I'm looking to get Gerbing T5 heated gloves this year.

My helmet is an Icon Alliance. Amazing in the summer, but not fantastic last winter. It has a lot of venting and an anti-fog that doesn't last too long. I'm trying to find an inexpensive replacement with a pinlock.

If you can tough it out in the negatives with the gear you have, then go for it. There's a potential for a number of clear days with plowed streets.

 

[MacDoc]

Fogging is an issue - fought it when I left Toronto - misty rain and 10 degrees and mines a 3/4 Bell so good airflow....not fun and I had cat crap equivalent on the visor.

I won't go much below 4 degrees by choice tho my ballistic jacket along with polyester long johns does a good job but I'm way more protected than most.
WHen I had the narrower screen hands were an issue but not anymore.

Cheap and stupid looking is hippo hands - they do work. They have been around forever - hell had a pair in the 70s on my 305 Superhawk I rode all winter.

The above are extreme version.

Here is the original - out of St. Catharines which is where I went to school

http://www.hippohands.com

 

[miker313]

If $344 is going to break the bank for you, you might have picked up the wrong hobby

It wont break the bank for me, but as a student who pays for tuition, books and other expenses it is a big thought process whether to spend 344$. I do have a 300$ helmet and lots of gear because I had made a budget for myself long ago which included the gear and the insurance starting in April.

Ive gotten some good responses, so thanks to everyone! I will look into asking to start Oct 1 and most likely might want to start riding a bit this year. Cold weather doesn't bother me too much, and I dont want to just look at my bike for the next 6 months

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