Bike temp rule of thumb

I live in ontario, and my body is always a good temperature. Lately when it cools down, i realize that the only areas that need to be attended are HANDS FEET AND HEAD! I am always wearing gloves and a long sleeve shirt when riding. As for my toes, i a too poor to get a shoe cover, and i have SHimano TR-50's, one of the most well ventilated shoes.....kinda sucks (for winter), i also wear a touque under my helmet if it is windy and chilly.

_{As for the legs and torso, i just gotta move to keep warm =) ...... havent heard any rules, or advantages....but maybe some others are helpful.}

Not sure about a similar rule of thumb for cycling, but I would think it would work the other way, that you would dress for x° cooler due to the wind chill on the bike.

My rules:

>60°=>short sleeve jersey
50°-60°=>long-sleeve jersey with CoolMax undershirt
45°-50°=>long-sleeve jersey with CoolMax undershirt and wind vest, tights and shoe covers
35°-45°=>long-sleeve jersey with thermal undershirt and cycling jacket, tights, gloves, head wrap and shoe covers
<35°=>stay in bed

I think Bear's idea of what to wear is key but individual to each person.

I put in my BT blog what the real feel is when I ride in winter and what I wore and how it worked. Just to track what works well.

Temperature is only a small part of comfort riding in winter. I find wind the number one factor to comfort which is why i go with real feel not actual temp. as real feel includes a factor for wind. Then the sun vs cloudy makes huge difference as to how 45 feels..sunny it feels way different than cloudy and windy.

Covering your knees is huge as is appropriate foot, hand and head gear which ofen gets over looked then on your body a jacket that is wind proof and breaths.

I've always used 70* as the cut off, but yea.  You really need to keep your knees covered if it's below 70/65*.

Other then that, I'd say the running rules apply in terms of amount of clothing.

oh yea and heating embrocation creams are the greatest invention known to man

USAC coaching book says to overdress in layers and that you can get hypothermia riding in as high as 50 degree temps!

Tight under layer, loose over layer that is light weight and easy to remove/put on.

vortmax = PRO

You'll figure out what makes you comfortable after a few rides, but cover those knees!

I cycle commute year round so I've done a fair amount of experiementing to find what works and what doesn't.  The key thing for me was to write that down as I forget from winter to winter what is going to work.  Basically, it will be different for everyone, but here's what I do in case it helps as a starting point.  The gear for each line is what I add as it gets colder.

>15C - shorts and short sleeve shirt
10 to 14C - knee warmers
5 to 9C - leg warmers, full finger gloves and jacket
0 to 4C - thin toque and toe covers
-5 to -1C - long sleeve jersey and shoe covers
-10 to -6C - tights, windstopper toque
-20 to -11C - wind proof pants, ski gloves, jacket and balaclava (sp?)
<-20C - probably take the bus

Shane