Almost every day during the winter people will walk into our shop here at Harlow looking for advice on how to keep warm. As most of us here ride to work every day all year round we have lots of personal experience when it comes to taming the elements. There are few tricks to keeping warm on a bike but the basic rules are to be well insulated, well improved and stay dry. I've been riding all year round since the 80s so I understand the basics and maybe some of the secrets. Let's have a look at some of them here for you now. We'll start at the top with a neck. This is an important area as you have lots of blood vessels close to the surface and it can be a massive area of heat loss so it's worth taking the time to make sure you get the good seal around your jacket and of course under your helmet. There are a lot of good neck warmers on the market which is functional and I'm true zip. I prefer something like this, the Oxford snug. It's got a thermal area at the base there but it's nice and thin on the top half so that you can turn it into a balaclava under your helmet. Unlike a regular balaclava it can be worn around the neck off the bike and in couple of quick twists it can also make an emergency beanie. These also great for the ski slopes and make a great present for the rider or indeed the skier in your life. For the torso I'd recommend multiple thin layers underneath your outer jacket. They're a great way to keep warm without having to bowl cup too much as that can obviously use strict movement and doing the whole Michelin man thing on a bike is never a good look. Quality base layers from companies like DXR, RST, Oxford are a great place to start. Some people will actually wear a couple of these underneath to keep their core extra warm. Synthetic layers are better than cotton ones as they will wick away the moisture. Cotton ones absorb the moisture which leaves you feeling cold and clammy all the time. For people who really feel the cold and for those who are out and about all day and for those who just like being really snug the ultimate way of keeping warm is that he did vest and indeed a heated jacket. One of the reasons your hands and feet get so cold is the body is protecting your vital organs so it draws heat away from the extremities to warm up the bits inside the torso. That's why heated top will not only help keep your top half warm but also your hands and your feet. There are quite a few on the market, some power by a leaf and your bike, some power by batteries. Some can use both with the battery ones you can obviously stay warm off the bike as well. You probably already have a waterproof textile jacket and matching trousers but if you don't then they're very well worth investing in. There is great when it's dry but it can't be breathable textile gear for warmth when the going gets tough. The waterproofing quality leather, these are a lot to be desired as well if you've ever got caught out in a one piece in the rain you'll know what I mean. Another thing to keep in mind is that wet skin loses heat around 25 times faster than dry skin which is why keeping dry in the cold is so important. If you're planning on riding all year round look for a jacket with lots of adjustable straps, zips and poppers to allow for growth with the extra layers. Most of the jackets and trousers we sell also have removable warm climbers inside them so they become more usable all year round. Ideally you want a full length connecting zip to join the jacket to the trousers. This helps keep the drafts and water out because also a grown man showing a muffin top should be an imprisonable offence. Rarely if ever the two manufacturers share the same zip so if you're buying both from scratch is best to go with the same brand. The same applies if you're looking at buying a top or a bottom to match what you already have. Go with the same brand it should all match up for you. It's harder to layer up the lower half of your torso, a thin base layer under your trousers is usually all there is room for. Neyama can also make for a useful wind barrier. As with a torso you can bring in electrical assistance with heated trousers which are designed to work under your existing garment if you really feel the cold. You also cheat with heat via feet and unsurprisingly we have a great range of heated socks, heated insole, sorry no heated boots. A simple pair of waterproof boots like these can be have for about 90 pounds. All waterproof boots use a membrane to keep the water out which helps keep you dry and therefore warmer. Membranes also have a windproofing element to them. The best and most well known membrane is Gore-tex. It breathes better than anything else so it keeps the cold clammy sweat out which in turn keeps you warmer as there's less skin cooling. So once you've layered fleece and sealed up you need to secure a hand against the cold and this is the real tuffy gloves. Genuine Gore-tex gloves are the best that avoiding sweaty clammy hands but there are a lot of decent quality budget gloves on the market these days so you have lots of options. The rule of fun with gloves is the thicker is warmer so you have more thermal layers but with thickness you sacrifice feel. We get asked all the time for warm glove with lots of feeling. I'm afraid the simple fact of life is there's no such thing as a thin warm glove. One good option are these two finger ones as there is less surface area exposed to the cold and your fingers can huddle together for warmth. Heaty gloves are another popular option we have both battery and bipowl models to choose from. Like everything else though they may not work for everyone especially as they're not the cheapest thing on the market but they can make a massive difference to your daily ride. Heaty grips are easier cheaper and they've been around for many years. In fact most manufacturers offer them as an option on new models. One for the Marmite collection, hand-of-our-muffs. Some people can't bear to be without them some people will happily suffer the cold rather than use them. Simple truth is they're very effective especially if you're out in the cold all day long. The way it works is that it's zero degrees outside that at 60 miles an hour you're dealing with a windtual factor of minus nine degrees Celsius. That's serious brass monkey territory with muffs it means you're only battling the ambient temperature inside the muff. The other great advantage with muffs is that they're waterproof which can pay big dividends for using Heaty grips as gloves can get wet from Heaty moisture going through the waterproof membrane. So, scientifically it's a process known as a versus osmosis realistically it's a process known as a pain in the fingertips. In fact some curriers use fingerless gloves with Heaty grips and muffs because it gets the grip heat straight to their fingers. The hands feel warmer because there's a thin barrier stopping the heat from the grips getting to the hands and the muffs stop the heat from being dragged off the back of them. Another pain in the fingertips is the constant breaking and clutch demands placed on a commuting rider. Obviously it's impossible to keep your fingers away from those icy cold levers especially in traffic. The only solution I found for this is Oxford lever sleeves which are foam rubber sleeves for your levers. They can be a very tight fit though especially on thicker levers so look at them very carefully before trying to put them on. Another one from the Marmite collection of these inner gloves. Some people will swear by them, other swear at them. Yes it's another layer but personally they don't work for me. I think they add an uncomfortable thickness of the glove and they push out their air that's keeping you warm in the first place. However there's lots of people who swear by them so they may well work for you. Thin silk or thin synthetics are best just avoid the cheap fake woolen ones and bricklayne. So that's how I've been keeping warm on the road for more years than I care to reminisce about. As with anything motorcycle it's whatever works for you. It's certainly plenty to choose from and I hope you picked up some tips that'll help keep you comfortable on the road this winter. See you out there.