Heated jacket isn't necessary unless you're riding in the winter and even then a few layers will be fine as long as your jacket isn't a textile. It's your hands and feet you should focus on, your extremities will get cold long before your core.

Also, you shouldn't be wearing any type of gloves that don't have a wrist strap. In a crash, they'll slide right off. My roommate wears Mechanic's brand gloves as well and I don't know where this really bad idea came from. They protect your hands from cuts and abrasions under the hood of a car, not road-rash.

Insulated coveralls, thermal underwear, Balaclava, snow mobile gloves w/ liner( brown cotton are good)
How far is that commute? How cold you expect to see?

The commute isn't far. It's the Sunday morning rides when I can see my breath that are killer.

As for how cold:
New England in November~ish. I won't ride with the white stuff on the road. Had to do it in a snow storm once and kind of ruined it for me.

As for the gear I have:
The Mechanic's glove idea originated in my drawer. I needed gloves, opened it, and they were there.
I have thermals or long johns or whatever you'd prefer to call them.
Long johns, jeans, wool socks, boots, thermal shirt, shirt, and jacket didn't cut it last year. The winter's must be getting colder. I'm definitely not getting softer...

As for the gear I desire:
A helmet is on my Fall shopping list so that covers the noodle.
It really is more of a luxury to get a jacket or vest.

I used to be able to fit a sweatshirt under my leather jacket but the darn thing must've shrunk over the years. It especially shrank around my gut.


--Steve

Steve I rode to work most all this past winter. Anytime the temps were above 38*F when I leave at 7:00am. My commute is 45 miles each way. I have a good leather jacket with full liner,a pair of all season/all weather riding pants from CycleGear(their house brand...BiLT I believe)that are waterproof and have the thermal zip-out liner. For gloves I have a very good pair of waterproof and insulated gloves with the long cuff,also from CycleGear. I wear wool socks inside insulated/waterproof work/hunting boots. I won't claim to be cozy but I don't freeze to death! And I'm an "Old Fart" of 58 years old.

The good stuff from CycleGear I catch when it's on 50% off sales so it's a real deal. I do use a baclava(?) under the helmet for colder days to keep my bald head warm and have found that goggles work best for me to keep my eyes from watering.

Larry

I'm going to replace the stock headlight bulb with an HID setup to get more light, but mainly to reduce the load on the electrical system to get some capacity back for the heated grips (yet to be installed) and for the Gerbing jacket I have already.

50's last night. Just hit 50 when I got to work so assume very high 40's.
Last night was a "warm" 50 if that makes any sense.
Thermals, jacket, Mechanic's gloves, balaclava and I was fine. I was actually super comfortable. That was going down a mountain so maybe the lower I got the warmer I felt and that's why I didn't notice it?

This morning I was a little chilly. The Mechanic's gloes aren't cutting it and I definitely need something with a cuff.


--Steve

I bought a pair of grip heaters from e-bay, and rigged one of them to a scarf...
Wrapped around my neck,.. I can move the heated patch around under my coat to warm chilly areas,.. usually center torso where the jacket tends to pooch and get a slight draft....
Anyway,... $6 for the pair,.. low draw,.. and basically, an electric hot-water bottle...(without the water)...
Plugged in to a fused battery tap between the tank and seat...
...