Two Interesting Articles That Came Across My Desk:

[Tim Kelley]

Because I know that so many of you like to procrastinate at work (or just enjoy some good lunch time reading)…

http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/01/overcomplicating-winter-cycling-why-its.html?m=1

http://gizmodo.com/can-saying-people-on-bikes-instead-of-cyclists-make-1463886431

Thoughts on any of this?

Topic

[Amalitza]

@DismalScientist 69599 wrote:

Use a reflective vest.
(I hope that is not considered specialized equipment:rolleyes:)

That depends. Did you buy it specifically for cycling, or did you repurpose your vest you already owned from your road-construction hobby?

[TwoWheelsDC]

@DismalScientist 69599 wrote:

Use a reflective vest.
(I hope that is not considered specialized equipment:rolleyes:)

Pretty sure that helmet is specialized as well in the Copenhagenize context, although you won’t be penalized for the spare tube/flashlight lighting system.

As a side note, my helmet literally is Specialized, so I imagine that makes me history’s greatest monster or something…

[PotomacCyclist]

I have a beanie from Specialized. Am I allowed to wear that in Copenhagen?

[lordofthemark]

@acl 69611 wrote:

That depends. Did you buy it specifically for cycling, or did you repurpose your vest you already owned from your road-construction hobby?

We once attended, for a friends rite of passage, an orthodox synagogue in one of the more auto centric parts of Montgomery County. Since everyone had to walk to get home, and it was after dark on friday (naturally) and there was no sidewalk, they handed out reflective vests. Unfortunately I think ours are lost.

[lordofthemark]

@dasgeh 69605 wrote:

Please do this. Please.

Interestingly googling on neon ski jackets brings lots of reference to late 80s/early 90s vintage/ retro clothing.

I am highly disturbed that anything from that era can be considered “vintage” but such is life on this planet.

[UrbanEngineer]

“Here are some bicycle users in Copenhagen last winter. It was about -10 C and around -25 with the windchill.”
“Anybody who cycles in the winter deserves respect. Anybody who tries to tell the general population that you need anything more than your regular winter clothes to do it… does not.”

I love that these quotes are above and below a photo of cyclists riding through snow, one of which has no gloves on, and a few of which are in tennis shoes. I’m not going to tell anybody that they don’t need anything more than regular winter clothing, but I fully expect that some of them will learn all by themselves. Tennis shoes aren’t so bad, but one step into some slush ice and they’ll start wishing real quick that they had something waterproof on. And riding in -10°c weather with no gloves on…you literally could not pay me to do that.

[DismalScientist]

@UrbanEngineer 69630 wrote:

“Here are some bicycle users in Copenhagen last winter. It was about -10 C and around -25 with the windchill.”

The lowest temperature in Copenhagen for the winter in question was 13 deg F (or -10.6 deg C) on Dec. 22, 2010, presumably in the middle of the night. See http://weatherspark.com/history/28823/2010/Kastrup-near-Copenhagen-Capital-Region-of-Denmark

At -10 deg C, it requires a wind of 90 kpH (or 56 mph) to achieve a windchill of -25 deg C. See http://www.accuracyproject.org/WindChill.html

Just saying…:rolleyes:

[ShawnoftheDread]

@DismalScientist 69631 wrote:

The lowest temperature in Copenhagen for the winter in question was 13 deg F (or -10.6 deg C) on Dec. 22, 2010, presumably in the middle of the night. See http://weatherspark.com/history/28823/2010/Kastrup-near-Copenhagen-Capital-Region-of-Denmark

At -10 deg C, it requires a wind of 90 kpH (or 56 mph) to achieve a windchill of -25 deg C. See http://www.accuracyproject.org/WindChill.html

Just saying…:rolleyes:

Oh there you go again, trying to get your facts in the way of someone’s grandstanding.

[jrenaut]

Nothing with “gizmodo” in the URL should ever be taken seriously.

[jnva]

@lordofthemark 69600 wrote:

Also, I do not own a pair of ski goggles. I doubt many people around here do.

I do! I bought moto goggles for cold weather riding.
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[oldbikechick]

There is so much silliness in the copenhagenize article, that it’s hard to know where to begin.

I have been a “late adopter” of cycling clothing throughout my years of commuting or just generally getting around town by bike because:

1) I am cheap (and when i was a student, also poor)
2) I have no time for or interest in shopping
3) I am a poor planner (ie. suddenly it is fall and I have no idea where my gloves, lights, etc are, so I have to improvise)

However, over time, I have eventually gotten specific cycling items here and there and I can say that I have NEVER regretted it and have always thought, “wow, should have gotten this YEARS ago!”

Yes, it’s true that you don’t need an expensive wardrobe of high-tech items to cycle in the winter. But, you may want some of them, since most likely, they are going to make your life better. I actually wish there was more cycling specific gear for really cold weather. Maybe I’m not looking in the right places (that would require shopping), but I don’t see many really warm shoes or pants, etc around.

I do wear some of my ski stuff in the coldest weather, but for those temperatures, they are more appropriate, since again, the majority of cycling gear is, in my opinion, designed for warmer temps, whereas all ski gear is basically for cold temps. I do have ski goggles and have worn them while cycling by necessity and would LOVE to find something else that served the same purpose but was designed to fit with a bike helmet and hopefully look less ridiculous.

As for googling winter cycling clothes, it was precisely that search that first brought me to this forum

[Terpfan]

On the broader picture of selling cycling to the broader public, I do agree the term cyclist is usually not very helpful. When people ask me about it, I emphasize that my commute is barely any different time wise than my wife’s, that I get two hours of cardio workout a day without paying for a gym membership, that I enjoy the river, OT, the monuments, Capitol and White House as my scenery every morning, and best of all, it’s cheaper for me than metro or gas. I’ve had people ask about gear and my answer is always, it depends on the person–at the beach everyone’s on a cruiser in a bikini top or with no shirt on and flip flops and yet the lyrca clad is another dimension.

Slowly, I think more have taken it up with Cabi affording them the option to sort of test drive the commute. Several of my coworkers now switch to Cabi if they see Metro delays or if it’s a nice day out. Sure, it’s not a drastic change, but it’s a change over time. And I still hear comments about “ugh, you’re not one of those cyclists,” from old friends who drive every day, but when I sell the benefits, they take a different view.

Sidenote, um, yah, sorry, but no one will see me riding in six inches of snow with a layer of ice caking the path. I guess somewhere it’s flat is a different story, but I would like to see those Copenhagen ‘people on bikes’ take on Beacon Hill with snow or ice. Ha.

[dasgeh]

I found the Copenhagenize article to be blah. I think they were focused on urban cycling — like in downtown DC or Manhattan. They have a point — in the core of cities, people often walk a lot, so they know how to dress to be outside. Biking around the core is not super fast or super long, so you can just hop on a bike in whatever you’re wearing, and you’ll be fine.

Thing is, most of America isn’t an urban core. So if you want to bike commute from, say, Arlington to DC or even Queens to Manhattan, you’ll need to think about what you’re gonna wear. Because (1) you might get super sweaty; (2) you might get super cold (silly wind on those bridges); and (3) your bum will like you more.

I do think a cool info graphic could be “how to cycle comfortably with what’s in your closet” — with a version for runners, skiiers, maybe others. And maybe a side note on what pieces you might want to upgrade. Of course, bike gear companies aren’t going to pay for that, but maybe BikeArlington or similar will? Or maybe they already have…

[mstone]

My thought is that regardless of whether you’re currently equipped to walk from the car/bus to your office, that has nothing to do with being dressed for winter cycling at speed. The big factor is the windchill, and if you screw this up you’re risking some serious issues on a long suburban commute. Slow urban cycling on a fiets in the snow is one thing, 15-20MPH into a headwind on a dry road when it’s 15 or 20 degrees out is a different thing. If I were walking I’d be bundled in a long coat & gloves, I’d be wearing a scarf and a hat pulled low (so my visibility would suck), and my hands would be in my pockets. On a bike I need something that won’t be flapping behind me, I need to be able to see, and I need my hands out on the handlebars. I don’t know how the dutch handle that, but I suspect it’s not as simple as the article suggests. Either that girl in the first picture would be dead or looking for a tauntaun by the time she hit Falls Church, or she’s a heck of a lot tougher than I am. Does that mean people need to buy fancy cycle-specific gear? Of course not. But I don’t think it’s unlikely that they’ll need to buy some stuff they didn’t need before. (That said, the article is probably absolutely correct if the bike commute is only a mile or two in the city, and a person would be fine raiding the closet.)

[TwoWheelsDC]

@dasgeh 69672 wrote:

I found the Copenhagenize article to be blah. I think they were focused on urban cycling — like in downtown DC or Manhattan. They have a point — in the core of cities, people often walk a lot, so they know how to dress to be outside. Biking around the core is not super fast or super long, so you can just hop on a bike in whatever you’re wearing, and you’ll be fine.

Thing is, most of America isn’t an urban core. So if you want to bike commute from, say, Arlington to DC or even Queens to Manhattan, you’ll need to think about what you’re gonna wear. Because (1) you might get super sweaty; (2) you might get super cold (silly wind on those bridges); and (3) your bum will like you more.

I do think a cool info graphic could be “how to cycle comfortably with what’s in your closet” — with a version for runners, skiiers, maybe others. And maybe a side note on what pieces you might want to upgrade. Of course, bike gear companies aren’t going to pay for that, but maybe BikeArlington or similar will? Or maybe they already have…

Along these lines, I prefer bike-specific stuff, because it’s the activity I do most so I want the bike functionality (garment fit, rear pockets, reflective bits, etc), but it’s also really easy to re-purpose. No-chamois tights can be used for running, or under ski/snowboard pants, or even jeans; long-sleeve jerseys/jackets can be worn when walking/running/skiing (or even casually, depending on the fit/style), etc; and even some helmets are built to be multifunctional (Bern, for example). Same goes for gloves, hats, balaclavas, etc…

[Author]

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