What to Wear Cycling in 55°F Weather
55°F is 13°C. Everything below applies to either reading — the kit does not care which scale you think in.
Chilly enough that bare arms and legs get cold fast. Cover the extremities and add a light layer.
What to Wear
Cycling kit for 55°F
- ●Long sleeve jersey
- ●bib shorts or knee warmers
- ●light gloves
What 55°F actually feels like once you are moving
At 55°F the 16 mph of air you are pushing through stops being a penalty and becomes the thing keeping you cool. It strips sweat off you faster than any other activity on this list, which is why 55°F feels genuinely comfortable at speed — and why it stops feeling comfortable the moment you do. A traffic light, a regroup, a mechanical: the airflow ends, the heat you are still making does not, and 55°F suddenly feels like far more. Dress for the moving part and accept being warm at the stops.
Dress for the finish, not the doorstep
Your own engine is worth about 12°F once you are going. The practical rule is to dress for 67°F standing still rather than the 55°F on the forecast. The rider's version of this has a sting in it: your effort is not steady. On a climb you will be too warm in exactly the kit that leaves you too cold on the descent that follows, so what you actually want at 55°F is a windproof layer you can open and close, not a warmer one.
Not sure of the temperature? Enter your city in the free tool for live conditions, a Ride Score, and rain- and wind-adjusted advice.
Open the live toolThe first ten minutes
Expect to be cool for the first ten minutes and right thereafter. If you are comfortable standing over the bike at 55°F you are overdressed for the ride, though possibly correct for the first descent — which is what a packable gilet or wind shell in a jersey pocket is for.
What changes at 55°F when it is wet, windy or bright
Rain
Rain at 55°F rides like about 45°F dry, and worse than that on a bike, because 16 mph of airflow over a wet layer removes heat far faster than the same rain does standing still. Road spray from below soaks you even when it has stopped falling. A windproof or water-resistant shell over the same kit is the change to make — not more insulation, which just holds the water against you.
Wind
Real wind matters more to a cyclist than to anyone on foot, because it adds to the 16 mph you already make. A 15 mph headwind at 55°F is a 31 mph wind on your skin. Block it rather than insulate against it: a thin windproof front beats a thick fleece, and packs away when the route turns and that same wind is behind you.
Sun
Bright low sun at 55°F flatters the forecast badly on a bike. It feels warm on an exposed road and drops away the moment you turn into a wooded valley or the sun gets behind a ridge — which, on a descent, is exactly where you are least able to do anything about it. Dress for the shaded half.
The mistake people make at 55°F
At 55°F the error is insulating the core and ignoring the ends. Your hands sit still in the airflow on the bars, your feet sit still in thin shoes, and neither is doing any work to stay warm — so what fails at 55°F is almost never the jacket. It is the gloves, and it fails about forty minutes in.
Hands, feet and ears
At 55°F a rider wants fingerless or light full-finger gloves and nothing else — the hands are the one part sitting still in 16 mph of air, so they get cold well before anything else does. Ears are fine unless the wind is up.
Frequently asked
What should I wear cycling in 55°F?
For 55°F, wear: Long sleeve jersey, bib shorts or knee warmers, light gloves. Dress for about 67°F rather than 55°F, because your own effort is worth roughly 12 degrees once you are moving.
Does 55°F feel colder when you are cycling?
Not in the way cold does. Above 50°F the airflow from moving at 16 mph mostly helps, by evaporating sweat — so 55°F feels cooler in motion than standing still. The risk at 55°F is overheating when you stop, not chilling while you move.
Should I dress differently cycling at 55°F than for running or walking?
Yes, and more than most people expect. At 16 mph you make far more apparent wind than a runner at 6 or a walker at 3, so a cyclist needs more wind protection at 55°F than either — and less insulation than a walker, because you are producing much more heat than they are.
Is 55°F too cold to go cycling?
No — 55°F is comfortable for cycling with the right layers, and plenty of people consider it close to ideal once they are moving.
Do I need a jacket at 55°F?
A windproof shell, yes; an insulated jacket, no. At 55°F the wind is doing most of the cooling, and a thin layer that blocks it beats a thick one that only insulates.
What should I wear cycling in 13°C?
13°C is 55°F, so the answer on this page is the one you want: Long sleeve jersey, bib shorts or knee warmers, light gloves. Nothing about the advice changes with the scale — only the number you read off the forecast.
What changes if it rains at 55°F?
Treat it as roughly 45°F. Add a windproof or water-resistant shell over the same kit rather than adding insulation underneath — wet insulation holds water against the skin and is worse than none.