Winter cycling is hard going. It’s cold, it’s often wet, and without the right gear, it can be pretty miserable. I can see why so many people turn to indoor training apps like Zwift to ‘get the miles in’, especially when decent winter cycling gear is often quite expensive.
I’m not going to sugar-coat it; if you want to stay warm and dry you need to invest in a decent waterproof cycling jacket and a decent winter cycling jacket, which are going to run up a bill a lot higher than a pair of summer shorts and a jersey, but I’ve also been riding through the winter enough times to have a few cheap tricks up my sleeve to make riding in the grim months a bit more bearable.
None of these tips is going to serve as a replacement for quality gear, but if you’re relatively tooled up on the kit front and still recoil at the sight of an impending downpour, then they may just tip you back into being able to stick it outside for a little longer before you retreat to the indoor trainer.
1. Shoe dryers
Riding in wet shoes sucks. My colleague, Tom, has spent countless hours testing the best cycling overshoes, but ultimately even the best ones will allow some water in given enough time and wet enough conditions. As long as you stay warm it’s not going to kill you, but if you ride back to back days and you have to slip a fresh, dry sock into a still-soggy shoe it’s an incredibly dispiriting way to start your ride.
For (in relative terms) very little money I cannot recommend strongly enough that you buy a cheap set of shoe dryers. I use mine after every damp ride, and you simply slide them into your shoes, switch it on, and in a few hours they’re dry as a bone and ready to get soaked once again.
In fact, if you take nothing else away from this article, just heed me here. Buy the shoe dryers. Everything else is secondary.
2. Invest in a good base layer
In the summer, I don’t bother with a base layer. I know many of you do, and that’s totally fine. In the winter, in spring and in autumn, I wear one every ride. Outer layers often get all the plaudits for keeping you comfortable, as they have to act as a physical barrier to so much of the bad weather, but having a good base layer is so important and a lot cheaper than having to buy a top-flight outer layer.
It’s not just about keeping you warm, but also about making sure any sweat you produce doesn’t stay in contact with your skin. Nobody wants that clammy feeling, and when you stop working, this will make you feel very cold very quickly. A decent base layer will work wonders for improving your comfort over and above just throwing more mid-layers on to try and stay warm.
Personally, I tend to run a quality merino short sleeve for spring and autumn, and then in deep winter I swap to the Assos LS Skin Layer P1. This has quite a high RRP for a base layer, but I trust my colleague Tom’s judgement when he says the Van Rysel Racer 2 is excellent value.
3. Cheap, auxiliary lights
I have spent a long time testing and curating my guide to the best bike lights, and, much like with waterproof jackets, there’s a strong case to be made for spending as much as you can afford on a set, as they really do make life more pleasant when riding in the dark if you stump up for a posh set. However, as I found out on a recent ride, the best lights in the world – dynamo options aside – can’t save you from being a forgetful moron and neglecting to charge the things.
A cheap set of auxiliary lights, especially for the rear, can serve as more of a mental salve than anything else, allowing you to have a fallback if your main beams fail you. Personally, I love the Cateye Orb bar end lights, as they are unobtrusive, cheap, and don’t involve an elastic band of any kind, but literally any small lights will do the trick here.
4. A dedicated charging station
This is for all the people out there who, like me, aren’t good at charging stuff. If you run out of charge for your electronic gears in midsummer, it’s going to be rubbish but not necessarily dangerous. Running out of juice in midwinter can put you in real trouble, whether it's gears or lights.
You needn’t make some sort of mad station with glowing lights, but just having a cheap multi-socket extender permanently set up somewhere with something to charge your lights, bike computer, and gears can be a lifesaver. Just come in from your ride and plug it all in immediately so you don’t forget when you’re trying to warm up.
5. Decent socks
Please don’t fall into the trap that I fell into for years and think you can just wear summer socks and rely on overshoes to keep your feet warm; it won’t work. If you want the absolute best winter cycling socks money can buy then push the boat out and buy some alpaca wool socks from Hollow as they’re monumentally good, but if you quite reasonably don’t want to shell out £40 on a pair of socks then there are plenty of budget alternatives that’ll do a pretty decent job at a fraction of the price.
Merino has a great warmth-to-weight ratio and so is always going to be a good option, and you can pick up a pair of Endura BaaBaa merino socks for around £10, but don’t feel you have to stick to cycling brands. I use hiking socks often through the winter, just make sure you don’t go too heavyweight or you’ll compress your feet and cut off circulation.
6. Glove liners
Much like with socks being key to your feet staying warm, if you struggle with cold hands even with a set of the best winter cycling gloves, then a pair of merino glove liners can help give you a little comfort boost for a pretty small outlay. Naturally, you’ll have to make sure you’ve got the room in your gloves, but they’re usually very low profile and are designed to fit like a second skin.
7. Reproof your waterproof gear
This may sound obvious to many of you, but I still run into plenty of folks who just assume that as soon as their waterproof jacket begins to wet out on the surface, then it’s done for and they have to put up with being soggy from there on in.
Modern waterproofs especially need reproofing more frequently thanks to changing chemical regulations, but you can do wonders by just giving it a blast in the tumble dryer to revivify the water repellent coating.
If that doesn’t work, then a wash and reproof is needed, which may sound daunting, but it’s pretty simple and pretty cheap too, and in terms of cost-to-benefit ratio, it’s a brilliant way to feel happier when the heavens open.
8. On-bike luggage
My hottest winter cycling take is that the ultimate winter accessory is a small Carradice saddlebag. I run one all winter, every winter, and while it may not look sleek and aero, and it certainly adds weight, it pays dividends at every cafe stop when I can smugly pull out a down jacket while my friends shiver into their baked potatoes.
Comfort isn’t a dirty word, and having the capacity to take or stow extra layers is a real boon in the cold. Plus, there’s almost always extra room for a flask of tea, a decent snack, and a proper spares kit. Maybe it’ll make you a bit slower, but when it’s miserable out, nobody cares how fast you go, just that you do go.
9. Thermal water bottles
Alright, if anyone wants to make jokes about Brits and their tea, then now’s the time… When the weather is bleak and the ride is long, sometimes a hot drink on the go can be an absolute lifesaver. I often take a bougie pour-over coffee with me, or a mint tea if I want to avoid going all jittery, and it’s a real pick-me-up that warms you from the inside out.
Spatz makes a great-looking option, or you can find more basic versions that’ll also fit in your bottle cages on Amazon. My top tip would be to test out how long things stay hot for before heading out to ride, as often they’re more effective than you expect. I’ve ended up getting home with my flask still full of burning hot liquid that’s too hot to drink, so top it up with a bit of cold water to make it drinkable before you set out.
10. Flaps for your mudguards
Full-length mudguards should be a non-negotiable thing in my eyes, but this isn’t the article where I try and convince you to fit them. What I am going to do is try and convince you to improve your mudguards, because you’re sensible and already have them fitted, don’t you?
The more coverage you can get – by which I mean the closer to the ground you can wrap the guard around the wheel – the cleaner and drier you will remain. The easiest way to achieve this is by adding flaps to your mudguards. You can buy them aftermarket and install them with a bolt, you can make your own (repurposing an old Ass Saver works well for this), or if you buy some Kinesis Fend-Off mudguards, the packaging is designed to be cut out to make a flap for each fender, which is a real selling point for me.
Not only will they keep you in a better state, but they’ll also keep anyone behind you from getting a face full.
11. A rag by the door
I suspect we’ve all been there… You come home from a wet ride, you chuck your bike away wet, go and get showered up and get the kettle on for a cup of tea, and totally forget about the bike until the next day, by which time it’s already rusty. I have a bag of rags that sits by the door so that when I come home from a wet ride, I can, as a bare minimum, just wipe the chain, chainrings, and cassette down and remove as much of the surface water as I can.
It’s not perfect, but it’s also basically free and can save you a lot of money in replacement chains.
12. A small jet wash
I am now #blessed with an outdoor hose, but when I lived in a flat that didn’t have an outdoor tap, having a small portable jet wash prepped and ready by the door, next to the rags, was a godsend, especially when riding off-road.
Filthy bike comes home, gets an immediate hose down, then a rag, then it can go away to be deep-cleaned at my convenience at some point down the line. Kärcher’s mini jet wash is brilliant, and I still use it today, sometimes even though I have the hose. It’s a little more powerful, but nothing as severe as a full-sized one, so no need to worry about bearing damage. It’s probably the most expensive thing on this list, but it’s also fantastically useful and a huge upgrade over the ol’ bucket and sponge.
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