British Biking

[shampson]

I have not had to ride in anything much below freezing this year or the last
couple of years come to think of it. I have an oldish Dainese goretex jacket
and pants. Underneath I usually have something to block the wind a
lightweight north face windbloc jacket as it does find its way through the
textile jacket, and couple layers of thermals. I wear long john thermals and
some running pants under the goretex pants. A couple of pairs of merino wool
socks keep my feet warm.

I find the hardest bit is finding warm thermal gear which doe not have a
high collar, if you have too many items with high collars then you cant
fasten the jacket around the neck properly and it restricts the movement of
your head. especially a problem with fleeces.

You'll find that walking / climbing gear can be cheaper and better than bike
specific gear.

For my hands  I have some heated grips, recommended by many here on the list
and quite easy to fit. 

http://www.casporttouring.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CST&
Product_Code=16025&Category_Code=dual_star_e

I find the much better than the oxford / Daytona type as your keep the stock
grips and not the hard plasticky type of the others.
I was able to wear vented summer gloves up to mid November then switched to
Spidi NK2 winter gloves which are fine if a little small, I bought large
when I really need xlarge.


As for the fogging visor, I have shoei Xr1000 [rf1000] with pin lock anti
mist. It works great 99% of the time but can start to fog up if waiting in
traffic for long periods. There are a number of anti fogging sprays and
wipes available although I couldn't recommend any as I have not used them.
They were however reviewed in Ride magazine last month.

I'd say that whatever clothing you go for you will probably have to change
at work which can a pain. But at least you'll be the most awake guy in the
office with the reddest nose.

Steve