Dressing for winter cycling: what to wear from 10 °C to -5 °C

At 5 °C with not a breath of wind, a cyclist riding at 30 km/h still takes a 30 km/h wind full in the face. Applied at that speed, the National Weather Service wind chill formula gives a felt temperature of about 0 °C on exposed skin.

That figure changes how you read the labels. Q36.5 and 7mesh publish a temperature range for each garment, measured on the thermometer. This guide sets those ranges against starting temperatures from 10 °C to -5 °C, on the road and on gravel. It also shows the two zones the range does not cover.

A wet layer insulates poorly, even under a thick jacket#

A cyclist sweats, even at 0 °C. Against the skin, a wet fabric replaces air with water, and water conducts heat about 23 times better than air. A winter outfit therefore starts by moving sweat away from the skin.

Winter clothing is worn in three layers. The base layer wicks away sweat. Over it, an insulating layer holds still air, and it is that air that insulates. The outer shell stops the wind, or the rain when it is waterproof.

Q36.5 rates its Base Layer 4 Plus from -3 °C to 10 °C. Its Thermolite yarn is hollow, and that empty core holds warm air. Its push-pull knit drives sweat outwards before it cools. It is worn close-fitting, so it touches the skin where the skin sweats.

The shell raises another problem. A membrane that stops the wind also holds back the vapour you produce on climbs. On the Dottore Termico jacket, rated from -5 °C to 5 °C, Q36.5 puts its microporous membrane only on the front panels, the ones that take the wind. Eleven fabrics are spread over the rest of the jacket according to how much each zone of the body sweats.

Q36.5Q36.5 BASE LAYER 4 PLUS long-sleeve base layer €130,00 Q36.5Q36.5 DOTTORE TERMICO winter jacket From €450,00

Why is 5 °C not 5 °C on the bike?#

The wind of your own speed hits your face, your hands and the front of your thighs. The wind chill formula used by Environment Canada and the National Weather Service turns that wind into a felt temperature on bare skin. We applied it on 2 November 2026 to four situations, in still air.

These values lean on the optimistic side. The formula starts from wind measured 10 m above the ground by weather stations and brings it down to face height, around 1.5 m. The wind from your speed already blows at face height. The real cold on your skin is therefore a little sharper than the table.

That wind only reaches the front.

Bent over the bar, a cyclist presents it with the chest, the outside of the arms, the front of the thighs and the knees. The back stays sheltered. Q36.5 cuts its winter clothing to this map. The Dottore Termico bib tights line the front of the legs with perforated fleece. The Dottore Hybrid Que jersey puts its windproof fabric on the chest and the outside of the arms, and a fabric that ventilates on the back.

Hands and feet get cold first#

Hands and feet have little mass for a lot of surface. And they work facing the wind. Your hands are stretched out on the hoods, and your feet churn the air with every pedal stroke.

For the hands, the cold becomes a bike-handling question. A reference review on working in the cold (Heus et al., 1995) sets a skin temperature of 15 °C as the minimum threshold for keeping your dexterity. Below that, precision when braking and shifting drops. The Super Termico gloves, rated from -5 °C to 5 °C, combine an inner fleece with a laminated outer fabric with a membrane. Q36.5 advises against sizing down, because a tight glove crushes the fleece that insulates.

For the feet, the overshoe stops the wind before it gets in through the shoe's vents. The Termico overshoes, with a zip, are rated from 0 °C to 10 °C. When it freezes, the Super Termico overshoes take over: rated from -5 °C to 6 °C, they are hermetic, pull on like a sock and add a second layer over the front of the foot. Underneath, the Super Termico sock is rated from 0 °C.

Q36.5Q36.5 SUPER TERMICO winter gloves €110,00 Q36.5Q36.5 SUPER TERMICO overshoes €120,00

That leaves the gap between the collar and the helmet, where the cold gets in on descents. The Q36.5 seamless neck cover, rated from -5 °C to 6 °C, closes that gap and pulls up over the ears as a headband. The Balaclava, from -5 °C to 10 °C, covers the head, neck and ears in a single 45 g knit. Q36.5 advises loosening the helmet dial by one click to make room for it.

What cycling kit for what temperature?#

The table follows the ranges Q36.5 publishes for each garment. These ranges are given on the thermometer and take into account neither your speed nor how sensitive you are to the cold. If you get cold quickly, read the row below.

The range has two gaps. Between 5 and 8 °C, no Q36.5 top in our selection is rated across the whole span: the Dottore Hybrid Que jersey stops at 8 °C and the Dottore Termico jacket starts at 5 °C. Q36.5 rates the Dottore Hybrid gilet as a four-season piece, and it is the garment that layers over the jersey in that zone.

Below -5 °C, no garment in the selection has a published range. The Base Layer 4 Plus even stops at -3 °C.

On gravel, less relative wind and more sweat#

Gravel is ridden more slowly, and at 5 °C and 20 km/h the formula gives a felt temperature of about 1 °C. Steep ramps, sections on foot and stops, on the other hand, make you swing between overheating and cooling down. A layer that breathes poorly then gets wet from the inside.

The 7mesh Chilco anorak is cut from WTV 300, a fabric of 7mesh's own. Its stretch woven face cuts the wind and its brushed back holds warm air. The fabric stays highly air-permeable and lets heat out as the effort rises. With no membrane, the anorak needs a rain jacket over it when it rains. The Chilco gilet, 218 g according to 7mesh, packs into its back pocket and straps to the frame.

In cold rain, waterproofing comes before insulation#

Cold rain adds water to the relative wind. The Q36.5 Rain Shell, rated from 5 °C, weighs 120 g in size M, with a membrane rated at a 20,000 mm water column and sealed seams. It does not insulate. The layer the temperature calls for stays underneath. For gravel and bikepacking, the 7mesh Guardian Apex, in GORE-TEX ePE, adds two zipped underarm vents.

The Pluie Hiver gloves, rated from 0 °C to 18 °C, sandwich a waterproof membrane between two knitted layers. According to Q36.5, neoprene makes sweat condense against the skin. Pull the jacket sleeve over the glove cuff, and the water running down your arm drips off outside. The Pluie Hiver overshoes, from 2 °C to 18 °C, lay a seamless knit over a full waterproof membrane.

Q36.5Q36.5 RAIN SHELL rain jacket €320,00 7mesh7mesh GUARDIAN APEX waterproof jacket €550,00

What you need for your winter#

The whole selection is in the clothing collection. The options below follow the ranges published by the brands.

• You mostly set off between 5 and 10 °C: Base Layer 4 Plus, Dottore Hybrid Que jersey, Dottore Hybrid gilet, Dottore Hybrid bib tights.
• You set off between 0 and 5 °C: Dottore Termico jacket and bib tights, Super Termico gloves, Termico overshoes.
• You set off below 0 °C: add the Balaclava and switch to the Super Termico overshoes.
• You ride gravel, with lots of stops: 7mesh Chilco anorak or gilet, and a rain jacket in your pocket.
• It rains a lot where you live: Rain Shell or Guardian Apex, Pluie Hiver gloves and overshoes.

Before you set off, read the thermometer, then take five to seven degrees off it if you ride at around 30 km/h. That is the temperature your hands will feel.