Winter riding gear

[Aaron]

Few months ago, I did a multi day ride covering 3500km, on my 2022 Tmax, in Australia.

Temps were between 12'c to about 30'c

I have Alpinestars textile pants (Yokohama), and Alpinestars gore-tex Jacket (Ketchum)

The jacket and pants are about 1 size too big for me (they are size large, and they probably should be size medium - as they seem a little bit loose on me). I did zip the pants to the jacket each day.

When the temps were about 12'c to about 20'c, I had a band of cold air circulating around my waist. It was really uncomfortable, as the rest of my body was fine, but my my waist would seem to stay cold.

It seemed like the fat on each side of my waist would get cold, and stay cold. (I'm 5'10 tall and weigh around 78kg)

I had a spare tie down strap, so I used it to go around my waist, to try and tighten my jacket in the waist area, so the air would stop circulating around it. It kind of worked, but I still got some annoying cold air in there.

Just wondering what others have used on long distances to stay comfortable. My jacket and pants are from the Alpinestars "touring" range. Would gear from their "road" range be better ? (maybe more tighter fitting around the waist)

Maybe it's because of the way I sit on my Tmax, with my feet forward. Maybe the "touring" range of gear is suited more for sitting up on an Adventure style bike...

Im going to have to get some new "better fitting" gear soon, so just want some idea's

thanks Aaron

[MrGrumpy]

Haven't had that particular problem, and anyway, 12C counts as Summer in NE England!!! But I find that the footboards on 2017+ Tmaxs are quite narrow, so my knees get more wind. I normally wear kevlar-lined jeans or in summer, single layer kevlar woven jeans. The later aren't as much cooller in summer as you might think. I have a variety of jeans which vary signifincantly from the pretty cool to the pretty warm. For winter, I usually have conventional biker textile jacket.
For longer journeys I find jackets that are windproof very important. I have this lovely & pretty expensive Richa leather/textile mix jacket that has several linings (thermal, wind) that can be removed. But without the thermal lining the wind just goes through it - even on a hot day on a dual carriageway you can feel cold. So on a long trip I just get colder and colder. Whilst I've a ventilated leather jacket which is great for summer, I've just bought a (cheap) leather jacket for Spring/Autumn.

[Waldorf]

I, too, have a triple-layer Richa jacket but in the rare occasions I take a long trip in very cold weather I don a waterproof kagoul over it to make sure of keeping the wind out.
I wear my usual Draggin' Jeans but with thermal long-johns underneath and again, waterproof overtrousers for keeping the wind chill at bay.
I wear a Buff under my crash helmet, dual-purpose in keeping both my head and neck warm.

I follow the rule of wearing several thinner layers rather than just one or two thick ones.

[knight2]

Aaron, if you want to stay warm your riding gear should be a snug fit. As someone pointed out 12 degrees is summer weather around here . What I do if it gets cold is to put a one piece waterproof suit over the top. I have one that is lined and a snug fit, it holds everything in place and keeps me warm even at two degrees. I haven't tested it any colder. I think the brand name is Richa and it cost less than £40. Might be worth a try, another plus is you'll stay dry if it rains. By the way it has elasticated cuffs so no drafts.

[Aaron]

Thanks for the ideas.

The 12'c to 30'c ride I did was in December 2022 in Australia, so it is a warmer time of the year. (today and yesterday got to 34'c in my home town)

I don't ride much in winter here, but winter in my part of Australia varies from about 5'c to about 14'c, so we do get some colder riding weather.

Reason my jacket and pants are a size too big, is I used my riding pants to pull over my work pants (back when I use to commute to work), so I got a size bigger to fit over my daily work clothes. But I don't commute anymore, so maybe time to try on some better sized gear (proper fitting)

Aaron

[Funkycowie]

Definitely proper fiting gear is the way to go and heated grips. I have ridden in -5C during my commute to work on my NC750x and the only part of me that got cold was the very tips of my finger tips. I am surprised you get chill on a TMax MK4, my old MK3 gave me lots of protection vs my NC, I do miss it in winter for that reason.

[Aaron]

Definitely proper fiting gear is the way to go and heated grips. I have ridden in -5C during my commute to work on my NC750x and the only part of me that got cold was the very tips of my finger tips. I am surprised you get chill on a TMax MK4, my old MK3 gave me lots of protection vs my NC, I do miss it in winter for that reason.

I need to update my info, I do now have the 2022 Tmax Tech Max (heated seat and grips)

Ill try on better fitting gear.

Aaron

[MrGrumpy]

I am surprised you get chill on a TMax MK4, my old MK3 gave me lots of protection vs my NC, I do miss it in winter for that reason.

Recent Tmaxs are a little less protective - your legs get more wind as you can't get them inboard as much as on old ones. Progress backwards as usual!

[Stephen]

I wear a onesie type garment underneath my riding gear,keeps one warm in the cold weather and cool in the warmer weather,Bargin mad Martyn from the X9 forum found them a few years ago,i brought a couple of pairs £25.00,the story goes the guy who made/sold them was in the rag trade,so sold them at cost to bikers,when he retired he didn’t want to sell the recipe on to someone who probably wouldn’t follow his ideas,unsure if its a true tale or not……any way i brought another couple of pairs,one still in the wrapper,excellent piece of kit…..

Steve

[Dave Weller]

On this site many years ago, 'Austrian army mountain fleace trousers' were recommended, I use mine often, they have side full length zips for easy removal.
The Oxford Mondial Jacket is good when coupled with a fleace Hi-Vis.