[dhr]

I recently moved to the twin cities. The bike paths are absolutely amazing, and given that the whole state is pretty flat, it's not hard to get around the city for work or for fun.

Bike paths are plowed in winter, but biking in -10C weather doesn't sound pleasant. I haven't tried winter biking yet, and honestly, I'm a bit scared to.

[jseutter]

I commuted by bike during winter and found that I could handle temperatures down to -12C. Below that I couldn't keep my toes and fingers warm with mittens and booties. I had to trade off between adding layers to my legs and arms and sweating like crazy to provide enough warm blood to my hands and feet, or I'd wear the right amount for my legs and arms and my hands and feet would lose feeling.

I'm tempted to try it again this winter with battery powered hand warmers on my hands and feet, and handlebar mitts to keep the wind off my mittens.

Another important factor is the length of your ride. It takes a while to cool off, so a 15 minute ride may be fine while an hour long ride is miserable.

[dylan604]

I haven't done -10C, but I've done 20F temps. With the proper layers it's not the worst. I find it better than 104F that I'm currently enduring. In cold, it is not uncommon for people to come inside and remove layers. In heat, it's just gross coming inside and sweating like you just climbed out of a pool.

[kerblang]

I'm surprised nobody else bothered mentioning this: Hands, feet and ears. For an hour-long ride, keeping your legs/arms/torso warm is not particularly hard, but extremities are, because you're making your own 20-30mph wind. I recommend expedition-quality gloves, a balaclava, and something along the lines of sock liners/covers (might need to check shoes/helmet for fit with all that underneath). Not a particularly big expense though.

[beefield]

> I haven't tried winter biking yet, and honestly, I'm a bit scared to.

Winter biking can mean a lot of differen things, and no, you do not need to start with trying to bike 20km on a -10c blizzard against the wind. A short trip on a calm, cool day is a surprisingly mundane thing after a try or two. A few notes, though:

- if there are icy patches, you might want to invest in studded tires. They are awesome.

- experiment with clothing on shorter trips. If you live there, you likely have anyway suitable clothes for a variety of different trips.

- somehow I feel that fatbikes have gotten a bit out of fashion, but they are really cool winter bikes and not nearly as bad in the summer as you might think (assuming a quality bike)

- overall, you need much less new things you might think to try. And after you try, you know much better what you actually want.

[onychomys]

I was a year-round bike commuter for five years in Minneapolis, and I had a strict rule that I wouldn't climb on the bike if it was colder than -15F. At that temp, even with all the cold weather gear I had, it's still just really darn cold.

[alistairSH]

I'm near DC, so nowhere near as cold as Minneapolis, but I do cycle down into the mid-teens F. For shorter rides, I just wear normal winter outdoor clothing (heavy socks with hiking boots, soft-shell pants, base layer+wool mid-layer+light shell jacket). It's chilly for the first few minutes, but I warm up pretty quickly.

The only part I find really hard to balancing clothing with effort. Easy enough for a quick run to the pharmacy or whatever. Harder for a workout or longer ride, where the effort ramps up quickly and excessive sweat quickly becomes a problem.

I enjoy riding in the snow (on my mountain bike). But, it's a once/season treat here.

[dominotw]

main thing is to invest in clothing that can expel sweat out from your clothing. Getting soaked in sweat is going to make you miserable. Start out with less layers than what you expect and shed layers ( into your backpack) as you are getting warmer.

Also invest in mid to fat tires depending on the snow condition. Don't use road bike.

wear high visibility clothing because of reduced visibility in winter.

don't pivot around obstacles (snow covered potholes) suddenly, try to go over them or safely pivot by looking behind you.

[bombcar]

It's surprisingly not bad - you don't even need the snow tires you see if the paths are plowed. Try it as it keeps getting colder, wear layers, and see how it goes. You may find that you don't need as much clothes as you thought you did.

[hyperbovine]

https://barmitts.com/

I cannot emphasize enough how much less miserable these made my winter commute.

[germinalphrase]

Once you figure out how basic winter bike maintenance and how to dress appropriately (which is almost certainly wearing less than you think), it’s really not too bad. Give it a shot!

[michael1999]

Just ride later into the season each year, and start earlier each spring, and you'll figure it out.