Top Winter Cycling Must-Haves

Winter riding can be a blast.... IF you are dressed properly. Here are some tips to stay warm for the remainder of the winter riding season. When dressed properly for winter cycling, you can stay dry from sweat and insulated from the cold without being restricted like you would from bulkier winter clothing. Check out our top winter cycling must-haves.


1. Shoe covers - Keeping those little piggies warm is a must for comfortable riding in the cold. These booties zip over your cycling shoes leaving room for your cleats on the bottom to snap into your pedals.

2. Gloves - Keeping your hands warm, in my opinion, is one of the most crucial parts of winter  riding. Having your fingers go numb and losing crucial function for braking and shifting is uncomfortable and unsafe. Try to pick something windproof and waterproof and well insulated. Your fingers are up front getting the most wind, so make sure they are well insulated!

3. Insulated Windbreaker- Keeping your core warm is essential. Cycling jackets are a great way to stay warm and not feel restricted like a big bulky winter coat. A lot of winter jackets have back jersey pockets like many of your summer jerseys to store essentials.

5. Base Layer - The great thing about the base layer and windbreaker combination is that it's all you need to keep your core warm. A nice snug fitting base layer will keep your body temperature warm and most have moisture-wicking material to help you stay dry from sweat.

6. Balaclava - A warm face always makes for a more comfortable ride in winter weather. The beauty of a balaclava is the face mask can be pulled down if your face gets too warm, or if you need to sip water out of your bottle. It also protects your head, ears, and neck from the elements. Throw in some ski goggles for those really snowy days and your covered top to bottom. Don't forget your helmet folks! Balaclavas are fairly thin, so a helmet will still fit comfortably.

6. Insulated Tights - The last must-have is insulated tights. A lot like the windbreaker jacket, these are insulated and windproof protecting you from the elements. Zip the bottom up right over the top of your shoe covers and your bottom half is warm and toasty. Many are made with moisture-wicking material to help you stay dry while keeping you warm.

If you have any questions or need some personal tips feel free to stop in so we can help you pick out the winter cycling apparel that is right for you. I hope this will help keep everyone rolling this winter!

Who We Are

We got so excited to share our first featured customer bike that we forgot to give ourselves a proper introduction. We are Summit City Bicycles and Fitness located in Fort Wayne, IN. We've been serving the Fort Wayne area for over 20 years specializing in bicycle sales and service, and fitness equipment sales and service. We are here to keep Fort Wayne rolling! 

Below you'll see some photos of the inside of our store. Consider it your own personal tour of our shop. Come check us out in person, and don't forget to add us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram to stay up to date with whats happening. We will, of course, be updating this blog when we have more to share than our other social media outlets permit.

Featured Customer Bike - The Truck Bike Tandem

Our very first featured customer bike comes from local tattooer Nick Branfield. This custom built flat-bed truck style tandem features a cargo bed for hauling just about anything. "The idea for this bike came from the fact that I really wanted a cargo bike, but I didn't want to spend the money on something new. I needed a winter project and wanted to make some use of this old tandem I had laying around" says Nick.

Welded in a friends garage with less than $75 in materials Nick made his vision happen in a fairly short amount of time. "We were able to knock this out in about 8 hours. We kind of made things up as we went along, which made things take a little longer, but I could not be happier with the results" says Nick.

Nick also has other plans for the bike including powder coating for the frame and wood staining for the truck bed. We will keep you posted on this bike in the future!

Do you have a cool custom, unique, or fancy bike you would like to show off? We'd love to share it! Email James@summitcitybikes.com and tell us what you've got!