Reliable clothing for every layer of winter cycling
Wind chill, sweat and changing conditions
As a winter cyclist, you ride into a headwind even on a still day. When you pedal along the cycle path to work on a frosty morning at around 20 km/h, the wind chill blows against you, and your chest, thighs and face take it for the whole ride. At the same time, your back sweats, especially under a rucksack. Many people dress for a winter ride as if they were going for a walk, and after the first kilometre their top is already damp. The conditions are not the same every day, though: sometimes you ride on hard-packed snow in a deep freeze, sometimes through salty slush and sometimes through deep, soft snow where you go slowly but start sweating fast.
On this page, we have put together the winter cyclist’s reliable garments, one for each layer, and explain which moment of a winter ride each one is for, whether you are riding to work, going out for a winter ride or following a snowmobile track on a fat bike. For other kinds of cycling, there are separate sets: reliable layers for cycling for all kinds of riding, reliable layers for mountain biking on the trails, reliable layers for cycle touring on multi-day trips and reliable layers for cycle commuting for a ride with a working day at the end of it.
Every layer has its own job
For winter cycling, you usually dress more lightly than for a walk, but more windproof. The Zero Layer keeps your skin dry when you sweat on the pedals, the Base Layer evens out warmth and moisture for the whole ride, the Mid Layer insulates in the hardest frosts, at a slow pace and on an e-bike, and the Shell Layer blocks the wind chill from riding and keeps snow, sleet and spray away.
Four layers, one complete set
A winter ride often alternates between steady pedalling, hard sections and stops: sometimes you warm up in deep snow or a headwind, sometimes you stand at traffic lights or take a break. You do not need all four layers for a commute at around zero degrees, but at −20 °C every one of them does its job. Together they make up the Svala AIR System™ layering system, in which every garment has its own place.
Zero Layer – Next-to-skin performance
On a winter ride, the sweating often starts in the hallway while you put your layers on in the warm. Soon after you set off, your back and armpits get damp, and you feel the moisture first under your rucksack. At speed, the wind chill cools your front, but a damp back gets cold as soon as you ease off: at traffic lights, at a slow pace or on a break during your ride.
That is why you wear the Airbase mesh shirt and mesh bottoms next to your skin. Airbase is 100% polypropylene, which does not absorb moisture but moves it from your skin to the next layer. Your skin stays dry, and a wet shirt will not draw away your warmth when you slow down.
The loops of Airbase’s 120 g/m² 3D mesh knit trap a thin layer of air against your skin: it cools you while you pedal and insulates when you stop. During strenuous exercise, Airbase works on its own down to −15 °C, so on a short commute in light frost, the mesh layer under your own clothes and a windproof jacket may be enough. The silver-ion treatment in the core of the fibre keeps the layer fresh, so it goes from one ride to the next with nothing more than airing.
Men's Original Airbase 120 mesh set
Women's Original Airbase 120 mesh set
“One of my most memorable trips was a winter trip to Syöte National Park. I rode a fat bike and pulled a pulk behind it. The route ran from hut to hut, and the trip got off to an unforgettable start: as I reached the edge of the first bog, the sky lit up with the most incredible display of northern lights.”
Base Layer – Temperature regulation
When you ride, your chest, thighs and knees are in the wind chill the whole way, and the wind easily gets through to your crotch if your trousers are not windproof. Jeans may be enough for a ride of a few kilometres in light frost, but when the frost deepens or the ride gets longer, your thighs get cold through thin trousers, even if you are sweating.
Over Airbase you wear the Merino Extreme set. In the double-layer construction, the polypropylene on the inside moves moisture onwards and the merino wool on the outside insulates. Merino wool absorbs moisture into the fibre and releases it gradually, so it evens out moisture and temperature close to your skin and does not feel wet straight away. The combination also works the other way: when you warm up riding through deep snow, you do not start to overheat.
For winter cyclists, the bottoms are just as important as the top. The Merino Extreme bottoms keep your thighs and knees warm under your outer trousers. The longer back hem of the tops keeps your back covered even when you lean forward. Merino Extreme is made for temperatures from −30 °C to +15 °C, so the same set goes with you from the November slush to the hard frosts of February.
Men's Merino Extreme 200 base layer set
Women's Merino Extreme 200 base layer set
Mid Layer – Thermal insulation
Two layers are not always enough when the frost deepens, your pace is slow or you ride an e-bike. On an e-bike, the motor does part of the work, so your body produces less heat than when you pedal under your own power, even though the wind chill bites just as hard.
That is when you wear the Polartec® Alpha™ hoodie over Merino Extreme. Polartec® Alpha™ is a technical insulation developed for active movement: its raised fibres and breathable mesh core regulate warmth and move moisture, so the layer insulates without feeling stuffy. You can keep it on for the whole ride, and there is no need to take it off when you pick up speed.
When it is really cold, for example on frosty mornings in the north, wear the Nordic Terry Wool mid-layer set as your Mid Layer. Nordic Terry Wool’s wool terry has a smooth outer surface and yarn loops on the inside: the loops trap air and move moisture away from your skin, so the layer keeps you warm without turning clammy.
Men's Polartec Alpha 90 hoodie
Women's Polartec Alpha 90 hoodie
Shell Layer – Weather protection
On a winter ride you cannot avoid the wind chill, so you nearly always need a shell. In freezing temperatures, the shell’s most important job is to block the wind and let moisture out: if sweat cannot get through the shell, in hard frost it condenses on the inside of the shell and soaks your layers from within. In near-zero conditions, slush and salty sludge spray up from your tyres onto your shoes, shins and back.
Winter cyclists have many opinions about shells. Some ride in a windproof cycling jacket or a softshell, some in an ordinary winter jacket, and in the hardest frosts many rely on a thicker winter jacket. In freezing temperatures, windproofing and breathability matter more than waterproofing. The shell also needs to be roomy enough to fit Airbase, Merino Extreme and, when needed, the hoodie underneath without feeling like a sausage skin, with insulating air left between the layers.
Svala’s own shell layer, the Ventile 200 jacket, has no membrane and is made from very tightly woven long-staple cotton. When it gets wet, the fibres swell and the weave tightens, so the fabric keeps out light rain and sleet showers and breathes without a membrane. The tight weave also protects against wind. For continuous heavy rain and spray from wet slush, a technical waterproof shell is more practical.
Men's Ventile 200 jacket
Women's Ventile 200 jacket
You do not need everything at once – start here
The system works best when you wear all the layers to suit the weather and your pace, but you do not need to buy everything at once or replace your entire wardrobe. The AIR System™ also works with the clothes you already own. If you are starting from scratch, start with the layer next to your skin: it is the most important part of the whole system. The most reliable foundation for winter cycling is an Airbase mesh shirt next to your skin with Merino Extreme on top. Invest in this first, then add an insulating layer and a shell to suit the weather.
If you already have one of the layers covered, buy only what is missing:
- Do you already have a merino wool base layer? Complement it with Airbase: wear the mesh layer next to your skin under the merino wool, so sweat moves away from your skin faster and you do not get cold on descents.
- Are your next-to-skin and insulating layers covered? For the coldest conditions, complement them with the insulating Polartec® Alpha™ hoodie, which you can also wear while cycling.
- Do you already have a cycling jacket? You do not need to replace it. Just make sure it is breathable and has enough room underneath for the other layers to fit loosely.
This way, you can build a functional system at your own pace. Although we put these layers together for winter cycling, they will not sit unused in your wardrobe: the same layers also work for other winter outdoor activities and adapt to the changing seasons with you.
Four layers, one effective system
Layer: Zero Layer - next-to-skin performance
