DeadguyAle
Active member
I like to go riding in the winter between rain storms and sometimes find myself out and about with temps in the mid 30's and low 40's. Colder than mid 30's snow and ice becomes a problem at higher elevations so I stay home. Most riding is done at speeds under 25mph so windchill is not much of a problem.
Don't like being cold and uncomfortable when I do have a chance to get out so here's my system for staying warm.
Heated gear consists of Gerbing heated jacket liner and heated gloves.
Quilted liner in the riding pants along with Klim compression pants for the lower body, compression knee socks and knee high boot socks for the feet.
For the head I use a Klim wind proof cap inside a full coverage helmet and a neck warmer.
Takes 30 minutes to get suited up but I can be out for hours and stay comfortable.
With the trail's 190 watt stator there is 15.8 amps of available power, how much remains after powering the bike systems is a bit of a mystery.
From a power management perspective I have found that I can run the jacket and gloves at level 6 on the controller and still use the electric starter after 6 hours, bump both up to 7 and I need to use the kickstarter after 6 hours.
At full draw the jacket liner pulls 6.4 amps, gloves 2.2 amps so rough estimate at level 6 would be little over a 5 amps per hour needed without undue stress to the charging system. When parked the battery is plugged into a tender so the day always starts with a fully charged battery.
Will add a voltmeter to track the charging level more accurately at some point but for now I seem to have found a reasonable middle ground.
What works for me is not an end all solution for everyone but might be useful for others who enjoy getting out in the offseason.
Don't like being cold and uncomfortable when I do have a chance to get out so here's my system for staying warm.
Heated gear consists of Gerbing heated jacket liner and heated gloves.
Quilted liner in the riding pants along with Klim compression pants for the lower body, compression knee socks and knee high boot socks for the feet.
For the head I use a Klim wind proof cap inside a full coverage helmet and a neck warmer.
Takes 30 minutes to get suited up but I can be out for hours and stay comfortable.
With the trail's 190 watt stator there is 15.8 amps of available power, how much remains after powering the bike systems is a bit of a mystery.
From a power management perspective I have found that I can run the jacket and gloves at level 6 on the controller and still use the electric starter after 6 hours, bump both up to 7 and I need to use the kickstarter after 6 hours.
At full draw the jacket liner pulls 6.4 amps, gloves 2.2 amps so rough estimate at level 6 would be little over a 5 amps per hour needed without undue stress to the charging system. When parked the battery is plugged into a tender so the day always starts with a fully charged battery.
Will add a voltmeter to track the charging level more accurately at some point but for now I seem to have found a reasonable middle ground.
What works for me is not an end all solution for everyone but might be useful for others who enjoy getting out in the offseason.