Review: dhb Merino Hat M_200
dhb– which make a lot of products that solve practical cycling problems- make a Merino wool beanie (aka “skullcap”) that will keep your head warm even when bucketing down freezing rain. I wear this with my Specialized “Mode” helmet and it works a treat. Highly recommended.
Review: dhb Merino Wool Leg Warmers:
These dhb Merino Wool Leg Warmers are thin but being Merino wool will keep your legs warm even in wet weather. You put these on first, and then pull your cycle shorts up over them. They’re excellent and make winter cycling very comfortable.
I’m 5’9″ and bought size “medium” and these fit well.
Review: dhb Toe Cover Overshoes:
Cycling with frozen feet takes all the joy out of it. And for reasons previously stated elsewhere on this site, cycling clipped-in with cycle shoes is not really ideal for road cycling a Penny-Farthing. So if you’re like me and cyycle with trainers, the Mesh lets all the cold air through! But these are dhb Toe Cover Overshoes solve this problem really well
The good: dhb Toe Cover Overshoes are made of neoprene which will keep your feet warm even when wet. But they’re also sturdy and hold up to bear claw pedals which shred thin nylon gators. I bought them on sale for £8/pair, but I’d have paid anything to avoid cycling an hour+ home with frozen feet. So far I’ve used these on cycling in -6C and my feet are toasty. You could kkeep a pair in a waist pouch and you’ve always got a solution to cold feet.
The bad: There is a downside. When making an emergency dismount on a cold winter night cycling my 50″ Penny-Farthing down a dark country road when my flashlight totally died (not the Olight!), one Toe Cover caught on my mount peg and ripped off my foot. I thought that my shoelace snagged on a mount peg, but it was the Toe Cover- which was NOT damaged. I’ve had the toe cover snag a few further times. So place your foot on top of the mount peg and pick it straight up to avoid this problem. They’re great kit, but just be aware they can catch on your pegs and interfere with a dismount.
Sizing: My shoe size 10 UK (I tell women that I’m a size 16 🤫) running shoe and the L/XL size dhb Toe Cover Overshoes fit these quite well.
Gloves/Mittens:
Don’t bother with standard gloves; they’re pointless cycling when when it’s freezing. I’ve found there’s really only (2) practical options for keeping your hands warm cycling in the dead of winter:
Option 1: Neoprene GLOVES will keep your hands warm even when wet. I wore these when high altitude skydiving from 30,000 feet. And the atmosphere is f*cking brutal up there. Just avoid the cheap neoprene gardening gloves; they fall apart after a few cycles.
Option 2: Wool MITTENS are the warmest option and like neoprene gloves will keep your hands warm even when wet. I bought a (8) pairs of Swedish Army surplus wool mittens for the silly price of £2/pair. OK, they smelled a bit musty on arrival, but it disappeared after a wash. And these have a HUGE benefit over gloves: the trigger-finger hole. which allows you to quickly use your mobile phone without removing the mitten. The Swedish know about operating in crazy cold temperatures. If they issue these mittens to their soldiers, that is the ultimate endorsement of their worth. I’m currently using these wool mittens for winter cycling with my PF. I can operate the rear calliper brake on my PF and activate the my Blinxi helmet turn signals wearing them, so no material issues with dexterity from my experience cycling with these.
I bought mine from Militarymart.co.uk. My experience of them is they’re a good vendor: you give them a few quid, they send you stuff.
Snood
Get something to wrap around your neck. A snood is pretty flexible and you can pull up around your chin. They’re cheap and you can find a gazillion of them on various outdoors sites