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I'm at 3 layers top/bottom with a head/neck pull over (thin but warm) and its only in the mid-40's. I almost feel like and look the michelin man. I'd like to ride down to the upper 30's but since all the roads are at least 55 mph, it gets cold quick.

What do you do at these temps? Pack it away or pack more on?

I'm at long johns/sweats/jeans, I think I need a barrier type on the outside like rain pants maybe? On top I have t-shirt. sweat shirt, hooded sweat shirt, leather coat, and winter coat with winter gloves. On my noogin I have a head/neck thin pull over and helment which is fine. Its my legs that feel most of the cold at this time.

At 40 degrees I wear leather coat gloves and jeans. Not cold enough for leather pants.

When it gets cold out I wear a pair of long johns instead of my shorts, (athletic shorts ) under my riding pants.

Long sleeved t-shirt and a heated vest show up under the jacket. If it's a long ride, I'll zip in the rain liner for a barrier to keep the heat in as much as to keep the cold out.

I have a couple of different pairs of winter gloves. I can't wear the warmest for long as they cause pain from too much fabric between the fingers, so when I start to feel too much pain I swap them with my not so warm gloves.

I think I'm going to look for a heated mitten (3 finger style glove) so I don't have that "fabric" problem...

Shiver.

Seriously though, layers are the way to go. When it's cold I'll wear jeans and a t-shirt, then a sweatshirt, with overpants and my Kilimanjaro jacket over the top. I've got big puffy winter riding gloves to keep my hands warmish. If it's real cold I have a face/chin mask that goes on under my helmet.
Of all the things I've tried, I think overpants made the biggest difference by themselves, they go a long ways toward keeping you warm.

Buy an electric heated vest if you're riding in the 30s. It keeps your body core warm. Aside form that, it keeps you pumping warm blood to your extremities so it keeps you generally warmer overall. You will also fatique less as your body won't be using as much energy to keep you warm.

I also layer up with a North Face base layer with fleece over that. Great stuff - if you seal up, it keeps you nice and toasty, if you open up some venting you can cool odwn quickly so it works for a wise variety of temps.

For me it's all about the windproof outer layer. I was up to 4 layers on top and freezing on my commute earlier in the month when it was still in the 40s. Friday I switched out the top two layers for my fancy ski jacket and I was fine riding in to work at 31 degrees.

I do also wear the electric gloves when it's below 50, and they make a world of difference.

Snowmobiling gloves, thermal underwear, full face helmet, and a not-so-vented jacket, works great!
Wrider

For me:

Wool socks - Riding boots
Jeans - Waterproof/windproof overpants
t-shirt, turtleneck,electric vest - riding jacket with liner
Insulated waterproof/windproof gloves
skullcap - full face helmet

If it's really cold (below freezing), I'll wear a polypro balaclava under my helmet.

I've ridden comfortably in -5C in this gear.

flw wrote:I'm at 3 layers top/bottom with a head/neck pull over (thin but warm) and its only in the mid-40's. I almost feel like and look the michelin man. I'd like to ride down to the upper 30's but since all the roads are at least 55 mph, it gets cold quick.

What do you do at these temps? Pack it away or pack more on?

I'm at long johns/sweats/jeans, I think I need a barrier type on the outside like rain pants maybe? On top I have t-shirt. sweat shirt, hooded sweat shirt, leather coat, and winter coat with winter gloves. On my noogin I have a head/neck thin pull over and helment which is fine. Its my legs that feel most of the cold at this time.

I wear much of what you describe but I also wear a thick cover alls over every thing else. I commute 25 mles to work it gets cold if not covered up well.

Today I tried the usual but with a cheap plastic rain pants under my jeans but on top of the other layers. It worked very well.

The thin head/neck pull over I have is nice because I don't feel like my head is being crushed by my helment.

With my winter gloves they do keep the hand warm but I do get that irration from the material between my fingers. If it becomes a real problem I can always switch to mitten syle.

My regular Army boots wth a extra pair of thick white socks do just fine for my feet and ankles.

With all the layers its always a challenge to be sure that all overlap each other.