does cold weather affect BICYCLE GEARS?

Clean your shifter cable. Put the chain on the lowest gear in the back. Without pedaling shift to the highest gear. That will give you enough cable slack to pull the housing out of the frame holder. Get a solvent like charcoal starter fluid. Put it on a clean rag or paper towel and clean the cable by sliding the housing around. I like to lube with TriFlow don't use oil. Put the housing back on the frame and put the shifter back to the lowest gear. If you have a road bike clean the cable guide under the bottom bracket. If you don't have any TriFlow don't use anything.

If the lubrication in your derailleur cables was a bit thick to start with, it might thicken enough to slow down shifting. The solution would be to relubricate the cables with a lighter weight oil or some kind of dry lubricant. Some shifter cables have a teflon lining that requires no lubrication. Cables like that would not be affected by the cold. Apart from that, a lighter weight lubricant on derailleur pivot points and anyplace the shifter itself requires lubrication.

Yes. definitely normal. like anything else affected by cold weather, the gears will not be as efficient as they would in warmer weather.

Everything in your drivedrain will slow down in cold weather but if it's slightly out of adjustment you'll notice it more. Try adjusting your slack barrel nut on your brake handle to minimize it. You might be able to get rid of it entirely.

Still sleep in my birthday suit, just put flannel sheets on the bed with 2 blankets folded in half for my side and a down comforter folded in half for my side. VERY cozy in there!!!! Yet, I still get cold, so I grab all my covers and snuggle up to hubby for warmth.

Yes, it's normal. Use a lower viscosity lube.

yes both metals and oils are affected by cold temperatures, springs don't work the same and oil becomes stickier

no

i am guessing that something has gone off adjustment, and it doesn;t have to do wtih the cold

wle