Best way to keep legs warm?

[liltommy]

Hi all,
What should I get to keep the legs warm. I went on the night ride at Cedarville and since I only have shorts I decided to wear my regular jean pants. They werent as bad as I thought they would be but would like to go ahead and get the right stuff.

Are all tights windproof? Are there different tights for winter and summer? You'd only catch me in them if the temperature is under 40 so I won't be using them any other time of the year. How do leg warmers with shorts compare with tights?

I read through Peter's post on winter gear but he didnt go into alot of detail on different leg options.

Any opinions or ideas appreciated.

See ya,
Tommy

If anybody has links or knows who would have deals on what I'm looking for I would appreciate hearing them.

[Dirt]

Good question.

Most tights have a limited amount of wind protection. Some of the heavier ones actually have a little fleece on the inside. Those give extra protection. There are wind-front tights that have a little nylon windbreaker stuff on the front of the thighs. I have two or three pairs of those that I like a lot.

I find the leg warmers work really well when I'm wearing baggies. I've got a good pair of Sugoi leg warmers that I got at REI a few years back. They have a little bend for the knees that helps keep them up and a zipper at the ankles to make them easy to get on. The grippers at the top work well as long as I'm not wearing knee/shin armor.

Which brings up a good point. Tuesday night was freaking cold. My legs were perfectly comfy wearing leg armor and baggy shorts. My knees let me know when they get too cold. They hurt like hell. I had no trouble at all riding in sub 32 degree weather with the 661 Race leg armor. I think the combo of that and tights will work for me. I'll let you know how that works out.

I often wear cycling knickers (Lycra shorts that go down past the knees) because they solve a lot of problems. One of which has to do with creek crossings. I am one of those weirdos that doesn't stop doing creek crossings when it gets cold. If I'm wearing lycra tights, that means they get wet and I freeze. If I'm wearing knickers, the water hits my leg and it feels cold for a few, then it dries off and feels all better. On rides where I get wet, I either leave my lower legs bare (or with leg armor on them) or bring out the big guns and wear the thicker, wool Pearl Izumi tights.

After Tuesday night, I acually dug out the winter riding shoes. I'll try them out tonight, though it isn't supposed to be near as cold.

Hope that helps a little.

Peter

[riderx]

I've found leg warmers work great for a lot of fall riding, they are cheap and you can remove them easily on the trail if you get too hot. Turns any pair of baggies (with liner) or lycra into cool weather gear.

For the really cold winter stuff, you can't beat the Permormance Tri-flex tights. Wind/waterproof fronts with fleece inside. Truly cold weather gear that works great for a reasonable price.

Rounding out my cold weather leg gear are some mid-weight tights for the times I know I won't remove the leg warmers if I wore them. But, I got away with just the leg warmers and Tri-flex for many winters.

I'd also mention that I prefer my tights without a chamois. I usually wear baggies over them or a pair of lycra for padding. Overall it seems to make my gear a bit more flexible this way, especially on trips.

[bikerRob]

I've found leg warmers work great for a lot of fall riding, they are cheap and you can remove them easily on the trail if you get too hot. Turns any pair of baggies (with liner) or lycra into cool weather gear...
For the really cold winter stuff, you can't beat the Permormance Tri-flex tights. Wind/waterproof fronts with fleece inside. Truly cold weather gear that works great for a reasonable price....
11/29/04 >> Ditto everything said... I use leg warmers with the baggies too. If you don't like the look of tights this is a great alternative. The only problem is the L.Warmers tend to keep sliding down...sort of a pain. I've talked my sister into sewing some velcro onto the lycra liner to help hold the Leg warmers in place. I hope when I get um' back that I won't have to keep pulling um' up. I break out the Tri-flex (tights) though when it gets really cold.

[skillet999]

Actually, I was wondering about getting my first pair of leg warmers until I read the last post about them slipping down. Do they slip down a lot? If this a constant issue? Thanks

[bikerRob]

Actually, I was wondering about getting my first pair of leg warmers until I read the last post about them slipping down. Do they slip down a lot? If this a constant issue? Thanks
11/29/04 >> All I can say is they did when I used them, however the one's with the indented knee ( which I don't use ) probably work better.

[Dirt]

I have some Sugoi leg warmers that only slip down when I wear leg armor over them. If I'm just wearing leg warmers, I might have to pull them up once every few hours. A lot has to do with getting them to fit correctly. If they're too big, they're naturally going to slip down. Wear your baggies to the store and see how they fit.

It depends a little on what kind of baggies that you wear. I wear ones that actually have liners like cycling shorts inside. If I wear the leg warmers so that they are under the elastic at the bottom of the short liners, they never slip. If I wear them with the leg warmers on the outside of the short liners, then they occasionally slide down till the grippers hit my skin.

Make sense?

Peter.

PS: I won't talk about how we used to get the dang things to stay up before the advent of leg grippers and lycra. ;) Does any one else remember when leg warmers came only in wool? I probably still have a set if someone wants to try them. They're great for exfoliating ;)

[skillet999]

I'll give it a try. Thanks