That’s great. I love cross-over solutions like that.
Mine is generic sweater and sweat pants with thin rain jacket and pants over top. Pogies are godsend and enable super basic gloves to be enough. I tried insulated and heated gloves but the extra insulation increases fatigue when braking and shifting and wind chill negates the heating at even low to moderate speeds. Shows I have tried a bunch of wacky stuff like silicone socks that go over the shoes and up the leg a bit, heated insoles, etc but just a proper winter cycling boot ended up being the most comfortable and effective. Helmet I just have two. One with vents and one without and I wear them with a thin toque if it’s cold enough, and the hood of the raincoat is thin enough to go under the helmet.
I never found that my head ever gets cold during winter riding. In fact, I tend to use the bare minimum to keep my head warm or I’ll sweat.
It’s my hands that get destroyed by -20c wind chill, so pogies are a must.
That said, I do have a ski helmet, but never wore it on a bike. I’d use caution, as they are not designed to take impact from pavement, and probably don’t have special features like MIPS.
You should try reading the articles that you comment on. They specifically mention your concern.
“So it turns out that bicycle helmets and ski helmets have a lot in common in the design and safety features. There are even several ski helmets that have MIPS protection just like a bicycle helmet, which helps to protect against not only blunt force trauma but also rotational trauma that can be just as dangerous when your brain suddenly twists and turns in an impact. I chose one with MIPS for that added protection.”
Fair point, but then why not get a bike helmet designed for winter?
This “one weird trick” seems strange, since not everyone will have a ski helmet safe enough for cycling, but every cyclist should already have a helmet, and they can easily get a winter one without any “tricks”.
For me, headwear is more about keeping my ears warm than my head overall. Usually putting a hood on under my helmet does the trick, just have to loosen the harness a bit to account for the extra material.
If I start to get hot, I can adjust the strings or my jacket zipper to let in more air and cool off. I’m a big fan of jackets with pit zips for this reason as well.
I went with a Bell Super Air R (MIPS+Spherical) so I can add or remove the chin guard as needed. If I’m riding my ebike or doing MTB, I’ll put the chin bar and goggles on, but if I’m riding my bike I’ll just use the helmet part and sunglasses (or safety glasses if it’s night - getting hit in the eye by bugs sucks).
For me, headwear is more about keeping my ears warm than my head overall.
100% ears are hard to keep warm, but the head generally isn’t. Heck, I’ve got a very ventilated Specialized helmet, and with just a standard helmet liner that covers my ears and a light buff, I’m fine all winter. If I need more warmth, I put on a thicker buff, but even that often comes off once I start riding.
This way, I can use the same one helmet all year without any “tricks” or second helmet.
