Love it or hate it, there’s one sure-fire way that you can make cycling in winter more enjoyable: dress properly.
If you have the right winter cycling clothing then you’ll be more likely to have the motivation to head out in cold weather, giving you the base fitness to lay the foundations for a successful summer.
However, get it wrong and you’ll soon find yourself wet and cold, and more inclined to spend the weekends in the warmth of your front room than out on the road.
Winter cycling clothing can be pricey - but high quality kit can keep you going for several seasons. Fortunately we've tested a wide range of gear designed to keep you dry and warm, from bib tights to jackets and more - and we've selected some of our favourites here to help you compile an effective winter wardrobe. Here are the key pieces you shouldn't be without...
The Quick List
Bib tights
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Best all-rounder
1. Rapha Classic Bib Tights
Best all-rounder
Warm without restricting movement with a quality pad to further comfort in cold weather. Reflective details.
Using both outer and inner layers, it's breathable but still water resistant, and warm enough to wear with just a base layer even when it's close to freezing.
Rapha's Classic Bib Tights are use a stretchy Thermoroubaix fleece fabric, that's deceptively warm despite feeling quite thin. The design and the cut of the bibs also adds to this warmth - they finish high at both the front and the rear, ensuring that your midriff is kept toasty.
The comfortable straps however offer some ventilation should you start to overheat courtesy of a lightweight mesh fabric. The length of the straps are just right, avoiding any pulling on the shoulders. The legs use grippers rather than zips and feature a nice reflective detail. There are no seams on the leg either, so they don't rub when your flexing and extending your legs during a ride.
All cycling shorts and tights are only as good as their pad, and here it's nice and comfortable despite initially feeling a little bulky. However, once seated our reviewer found it unnoticeable.
As for temperature recommendations, the luxurious fleece-backed material makes them ideal when the mercury drops towards zero but perhaps a little too hot in anything over 50F or 10c - however our reviewer did test them out during a day warmer still and while found them a little too much, was never uncomfortably hot.
Fabric: AirFlex Thermo on front panels. Nano Flex 3G on rear
Wind/ Water proofing: Windproofing on leg fronts. Water repellent on rear
Chamois: KISS Air2
Temperature range: -2C to 6C
Sizes: Mens XS - 3XL
Colour: Black
Reasons to buy
+
Windproof legs are excellent
+
Good quality chamois/seat pad
+
Well made with quality materials
+
Sizing and fit is race oriented
Reasons to avoid
-
Sizing and fit could be a bit too race oriented for some
Designed as a cheaper version of Castelli's top-tier bib tights, the Castelli Entrata Wind Bib Tights are well made with quality materials, that do a great job of keeping you warm and dry on long winter training rides. They're not budget, but they are a truly excellent option in the mid range of the bib tight market.
Windproof and stretchy, the AirFlex fabric used on the front panels is highly effective, and doesn’t mess with the comfy, close race fit. On other tights, heavy weatherproofing can very negatively impact the comfort.
The Nano Flex 3G water repellent fabric on the rear leg panels helps keep the road spray off, and the reflective ankle stripes work well for riding in low light conditions.
Alongside your tights, your jacket is an important piece of winter cycling clothing to get right. The bad news is that you’re not going to be able to buy one jacket for all conditions.
If you just need a light additional layer, a cycling gilet is a piece of kit which acts as a barrier against the worst of the wind without causing you to overheat. A light windshell or waterproof is a good option for slightly mild and wet conditions - most are packable, so if the weather turns out to be better than expected you can stash it in your back pocket.
However for the most part you’re going to be looking for a well-insulated jacket with good windproofing. This will keep you comfortable through most conditions, and even if you do get wet, it should still be able to keep you warm.
Breathability could also come into the equation, but this might only really be a factor if you’re throwing some intensity into your winter training.
Le Col's Pro Jacket II is designed for winter conditions. It's a substantial garment, that blends heavy duty wind and waterproof panels on the front and back, with breathable side panels.
The main panels use a Polartec fabric that works - this jacket really does keep out the wind while also repelling rain. In temperatures as low as 0 C or 32 F, when worn with a good baselayer it felt plenty warm. In fact, during review we called on the full length zip to help regulate our body temperature when we began to get a little too warm. We also rode through through some heavy downpours but they didn't manage to penetrate the jacket's outer layer.
A race cut means the Le Col jacket fits pretty snuggly but was never restrictive, with the length at the back and the arms ideal. Other notable details include a waterproof zip pocket and an easy-to-see reflective strips on both arms and the rear pockets.
Wind / Waterproof: Water column rating of at least 10,000mm
Sizes: XS-XL
Colours: Fluro Yellow, Lolly Red, Black
Reasons to buy
+
Very warm
+
Great fit
+
Clever double sleeve design
Reasons to avoid
-
No zipped pocket
-
Expensive
The Assos Mille GT Ultraz jacket certainly isn't cheap. However it offers plenty of detail and uses a variety of technical fabrics to justify its price tag.
It uses both outer and inner layers, which move somewhat independently. Combined with a high degree of stretch and it adds up to a comfortable jacket that's an ideal fit - never baggy but equally never restrictive when riding either. The double layer approach also allows you to tuck a pair of the best winter gloves over the inner layer, while the outer sits on top to prevent rain dripping down into your gloves.
As for the materials used, the Mille GT Ultraz uses a blend of NEOS fabrics as well as a RX inner. The outer materials are breathable but still water resistant, and are thicker in exposed areas such as the arms. The inner is suitably luxurious and very warm - on test we wore it without a baselayer even on rides that approached zero. All told it's a highly functional jacket that's likely to durable too.
Your fingers are going to get cold much more quickly than other parts of your body, so having a good pair of winter cycling gloves will make cold weather riding all the more bearable.
You can also get waterproof gloves, which are obviously good in wet conditions, but can compromise on breathability – and after all the most important thing is to keep your hands warm.
Keeping your toes warm is just as difficult, maybe even more so seeing as, unlike your fingers, you don’t have the option of moving them around while you ride.
For serious winter riding, it might be worth investing in a pair of winter cycling shoes, but for most of us, a pair of heavy duty overshoes will suffice paired with some winter socks.
Finally, shorter days don’t mean you can forget about your sunglasses. In fact, if you have ones with replaceable lenses then they can really come in useful during the winter months.
Many sunglasses come with clear or yellow lenses which will help to brighten up gloomy conditions, and will also keep water out of your eyes when riding in the rain – particularly useful if you’re wearing contact lenses.
What's more, on crisp clear days the sun can feel almost as bright as in the summer and is much lower in the sky, so you might get winter use out of your darker lenses too.
Exceptional warmth in a low bulk package is the holy grail for winter cycling gloves - and Sportful's Sottozero offers just that.
As the name might suggest - sotto zero means 'below zero' in Italian - these are gloves designed to deal with the worst that winter can throw at them. They're constructed using a softshell outer and Primaloft insulation, which is designed to keep the wind and the wet out while still allowing your hands to breathe. There's also a fleecy inner, which feels pleasant against the skin and possibly adds a little extra warmth too.
It adds up to a glove that's lightweight and pretty streamlined considered its deep winter credentials. Combined with a grippy silicone palm and the Sottozero gloves provide excellent grip and bar feel, even in the coldest temperatures. However, the lack of padding on the palm might not suits all but we found on our winter rides it didn't present an issue. In fact, the slightly problematic touchscreen fingertip was the only real downside to these otherwise excellent winter mitts.
Dexshell's Heavy Duty overshoes are made using a neoprene blend, with a textured outer designed to make them more durable. As any winter cyclist knows, overshoes can take a real beating and any detail that can help them survive the cold months is a bonus.
Traditional in design, they feature a full-length waterproof rear zipper that also has some additional reflective detailing. The cuff is elasticated, with some silicone gripping on the inside to help keep them in place while riding. While no overshoes are 'easy' to get on, our reviewer found them straightforward to pull over a pair of cycling shoes.
The cuff length is on the shorter side - it's usually an subjective topic, with some cyclists preferring less restriction, while others want greater coverage. As for the ride, the Dexshell overshoes performed admirably - only after two hours of continuous rain did our reviewer notice any real dampness and it didn't lead to cold feet, with the windproofing working a treat.
More expensive than other models that are a similar spec
A photochromic lens makes a great deal of sense for winter riding, adjusting to range of conditions, from low light to crisp, sunnier days - and the Oakley EV Zero Blades are a fine example.
The lens shape delivers unobstructed viewing and exceptional clarity. It also protected our eyes against the grit and the dust that can be typical at any time of year, winter included. Unlike some glasses we didn't experience any fogging up of the lens either.
The frame is lightweight and therefore unobtrusive - we really didn't notice we had them on. Vitally the EV Zero blades stayed in place, even when we were riding over less than perfect road surfaces.
Being Oakley, they don't come cheap. But in this case you get what you pay for.
Luke Friend has worked as a writer, editor and copywriter for twenty five years. Across books, magazines and websites, he's covered a broad range of topics for a range of clients including Major League Baseball, the National Trust and the NHS. He has an MA in Professional Writing from Falmouth University and is a qualified bicycle mechanic. He has been a cycling enthusiast from an early age, partly due to watching the Tour de France on TV. He's a keen follower of bike racing to this day as well as a regular road and gravel rider.
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