The bicycle riding temperature: hot, cold and ideal, and how to dress for it

Cycling, including ebiking and its all other kinds, is one of the most “weather-dependent” sports.

It is mainly a summer sport that requires good weather: warm air, no precipitation, and not too strong wind. Riding a bike when it is too hot can lead to body overheating, and when it is too cold — frostbite not only for your ears, fingers, and toes but for the whole body. But there are also ideal conditions you can catch during particular seasons depending on your location and personal feelings.

Last time we already discussed good and bad weather for cycling in general, using the Vuelta a España 2021 as an example. This time, we will focus on its main weather element for cycling. From the article, you will learn what the bicycle riding temperature is, and its extremes in both directions, as well as how to wear for each of the three cases.

What is bicycle riding temperature?

Bicycle riding temperature is the comfortable temperature for cycling, considering all its varieties: road cycling, mountain biking, bike packing and touring, and others, as well as the newest and most popular variant of all these types — electric biking.

By comfortable temperature we mean the one in which your body functions in a normal state: you do not overheat and overcool, which can be a serious health risk.

It is important that by temperature specifically for cycling we consider not so much the air temperature, but rather feels like temperature. This takes into account two important parameters: humidity through the Heat Index and wind through the Wild Chill factor, which, in turn, causes the actual temperature you feel may be higher or lower by a few degrees. In other words, in high humidity +25 ºC feels like all +30 ºC or even higher, but at high wind speed or wind gusts, the same +25 ºC feels like +20 ºC or even lower.

That said, bicycle riding temperature is a somewhat relative concept. Since it is more like feels temperature than regular, each individual (person) feels it differently. One biker may be more resistant to heat/cold and vice versa. That’s also why some people cycle year-round, regardless of the weather conditions, while others prefer to wait out the uncomfortable season. Another option is to spin the bike machine at home, or temporarily move to a warmer/cooler climate.

In the end, there can be no exact answer about the comfortable bike riding temperature — you determine it for yourself. However...

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An ideal bicycle riding temperature

In my personal experience, the comfortable range of riding a road bike (hereinafter I will also consider it, given the diversity of cycling types) is about the same as for other outdoor activities: from +15 ºC to +25 ºC.

The ideal temperature would be in between — +20 ºC, as, for example, for hiking, but I think it’s rather +23 ... 25 ºC, given the larger amount of exercise that you apply (and therefore sweat more), and the materials of summer cycling clothing, which according to recent trends is the lightest and thinnest, resembling a “second skin”. In other words, it’s good to ride in warm or even hot weather, but even a slight drop in temperature causes discomfort, as well as extra clothes that you have to put on to protect yourself from the cold. A study in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance confirms that heat is less critical for cyclists than for runners.

Another important factor is the climbs and descents in the case of bike climbing or hill biking, where you climb hills and mountain passes and then descend for tens of kilometers. For example, from my last pass, I went down the valley for one hour (20 km). It is a sufficient distance-time to catch heat stroke or frostbite. You put a lot more effort into climbing than riding on the flat (making you even hotter), and the headwind plays a role in the descent (making you cooler, even on a hot day).

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Too hot bicycle riding temperature

Accordingly, too hot bicycle riding temperature is one above +25 ºC. As a friend of mine says, "I wonder how other cyclists ride in +30 ºC." I agree with him. Living in northern Italy, in summer I only go out riding early in the morning or late in the evening while (and when) the air is cool (+15...+25 ºC) and has not yet had time to warm up.

How early and late? In July and August, until 9 am. Yes, to ride a bike, I have to get up at 6 or even at 5 am, if I want to do a big workout for 4–5 hours and 50–80 km. It’s hard to ride as long as the sun is shining in the sky, also in the evening, because the air takes even longer to cool down than it does to warm up after a chilly night. I leave for practice an hour before sunset or even after it until it gets dark. In my latitude, that’s about two hours of time, which, unlike in the morning (and my average speed in the mountains), doesn’t allow me to make a trip of more than 20–35 km.

Temperatures at and above +30 ºC, such as during the heat waves that hit all of Europe, Asia, and America in the summer of 2022, are considered extreme for cycling and other outdoor activities. In this weather, to engage in any sport — and especially biking, when you are for 2–3, or even more hours all the time in the sun without a shelter — is extremely not recommended, it is dangerous to life. Southern regions are also by default always more humid, which increases bicycle riding temperatures, and so on.

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Too cold bicycle riding temperature

In contrast, cold bicycle temperature starts at +15 ºC. No, this does not mean that you can not ride, you can and should! Just to ride in such weather (as well as during precipitation and high winds), you need to use more clothes, which reduces the overall comfort level and makes your body work harder. Just like in running: jogging in shorts and a T-shirt is one thing, but in a sweater and pants is another. Well, you know what I mean...

A temperature of +10 ºC and below, according to most cyclists, is already considered too cold, although many people ride at +5 ºC and even to 0 ºC. Some cycling enthusiasts who cannot live without this sport will boast that they ride out for training even when it’s a bit below zero! But these are exceptions to the rule. This temperature can safely be called an extreme. For a trip you need special winter clothes such as thick and warmest sports clothes and shoes and accessories (gloves, hat, scarf), protecting all organs of the body, especially susceptible to frostbite.

Anyway, when riding in the cold season, in addition to the air temperature pay special attention to the speed, direction, and gusts of wind, and in warm weather, the humidity, as well as three indices: UV Index, AQ Index, and Planetary K-Index (geomagnetic storms, if you feel they influence you).

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How to dress for riding a bike in hot summer and cold winter?

As has already become clear, to ride in ideal bicycle riding temperatures of +20 ºC to +25 ºC you need a minimum amount of cycling clothing consisting of only two main elements: they are shorts or bibs shorts and a thin cycling jersey with short sleeves or even without them.

For riding in hot weather above +25 ºC, manufacturers of sportswear produce even lighter versions of the same summer clothes with perforated waistbands, armpits, back, and other similar things.

In colder weather, from +15 ºC to +5 ºC degrees, you’ll be saved by biking pants, a long-sleeved jacket, and a windproof and rainproof jacket — better with fleece lining. You will also need to wear a hat under your helmet, special pads on cycling shoes to keep your toes from wind, and full gloves that cover the entire length of the fingers. Oh, and thermal underwear. (That's why I love summer!)

For extreme weather below +5 º C you will need all of the above, but with special thick insulation. Usually, it is not just a fleece, but materials such as Polartec, merino wool, and others — their list is quite long and you probably need each item, unless you plan to ride exclusively in tunnels.

Download the Windy.app Cycling Checklist with everything for this sport.

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Where to get the bicycle riding temperature forecast?

In the Windy.app you can find bicycle riding temperatures in the Bike Weather Profile with a set of ready-to-use weather elements for this particular sport. It is the same feels like temperature, which formula is even more attentive to wind and humidity.

To activate the profile, click on the icon to the right of the list of weather models under the wind rose on the spot screen.

Bicycle riding temperatures for San Francisco, USA, in the Windy.app for iOS

By the way, there are also dozens of biking spots available in the app — national parks with trails, mountain passes for cycling climbing, long beaches with roads along them for ebiking, as well as resorts and small towns, which means few cars. You can find spots through the search or on the Weather Map, as well as on this site in the Spots section.

Passo Falzarego cycling spot in the Dolomites, Italy, in the Windy.app for iOS

Another useful feature of the app for cyclists with a telling name is Routes with Weather. In the Android version of the app you can create a route and see what the weather (temperature, wind, and general weather conditions) will be at a particular point of it, to avoid unwanted weather conditions or better prepare for them.