Depends on wind, but I'd say at about -8*C (18F) feels-like temperature. But I live in Ontario. And some days I may not feel like cold and put on tights at higher temps. I also err on the side of caution for long runs.

I do have a buddy who runs in shorts up to -20*C. He's nuts.

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Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.

Below freezing I lose the shorts.

We need a bit more clarity please.
It appears you're talking about running only, not cycling, is that correct?
Are you talking in degrees fahrenheit?

What sort of run? Short/long, low/high intensity
Sunny? Windy?

They all make a big difference.

If it's overcast, wet and windy and I'm doing a long low intensity run, I want to be warm and will probably wear tights even at 10-12 deg Celcius. If I'm racing and it's a sunny, dry, calm day, then even if the temperature is down near freezing I'd probably wear shorts.

Somewhere in the 35 to 40 degree area, depending on wind. Rather be a little warm than cold.

Fixed it for you

He did say a run - so you should assume running.

Did you really not understand he was talking Fahrenheit?

Would you really think some-one would ask the question about tights in 34 celcius?

In the mid 90's the running club I was with hosted some Kenyan men and women runners. On they weekend they would going around the country racing. During the week, they would do workouts with us mere mortals. I remember one session that was intervals up Heartbreak Hill (the Boston Marathon's hill) in 85+ degree humid weather. The Kenyans wore long sleeved shirts and mid-calf tights. Everyone else was wearing as little as the city of Newton would allow.

I did assume he meant running, but asked if I was assuming correctly in case he was looking for both. Is that a problem?

As for temperature: Yes, I reckoned he meant Fahrenheit, but how would I know for sure without asking? If you're going to use numbers, you need to use units. So I checked.
"degrees" alone is typically a measurement of angle.
In terms of temperature "degrees" alone is unhelpful. It's degrees Fahrenheit, degrees Celcius, degrees Kelvin...
In the US fahrenheit is commonplace for weather. The rest of the world uses Celcius. On ST, it could be either.
Depending on your background you may think this is pedantic, I really don't think so.
If you're american, have always lived there and 34 deg F seems like the right temperature for tights/shorts to become a quandry, then maybe it seems obvious. To me, not so much.

same here, light lined tights until it gets under 25, then it's fleece tights

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Great things never come from comfort zones.

Jingle balls?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Yes, a damp 34* can feel more 40-ish, so you could play in just shorts & long sleeves [maybe double up on shirts?]

Last week I went out in a very dry and breezy 35, and wore long pants [I don't own tights, per se] & a jacket

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Forgot to mention earlier:

Windproof briefs. They're key. Without them it's hard to go below freezing.

Funny - I have a Sugoi- and a Saucony pair. Neither website lists any. They probably don't want to deal with having to exclude them from returns.

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Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.

Y'know how surfers pee in their wetsuits to warm them up? Allegedly?

That doesn't work so good for running shorts/pants

Trust me on this

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

lol

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Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.

A damp 30 feels more like 20, IMO.

YMMV?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I'm shorts and t-shirt down to about 25 (with gloves).

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https://markmcdermott.substack.com

Legs are covered for me on anything below 55. ;) I'm a total cold weather wimp and like to be warm of course I don't wilt when it's over 80 either so that's the only positive.

I go fleece tights on anything below freezing for an extended(1 hr+) time.

In the absence of windproof briefs, a plastic grocery bag in the shorts works just as well. That's my go to during the winter since I only have 1 pair of windproof briefs.

Probably switch to tights in the lower 30s F but have had a couple of days that I got snowed on while running in shorts.

Around 40F and I start to wear very thin tights that go just past the knee to help keep the knees warm. The real tights come out when the wind chill hits the low 20s. There is always a pair of shorts over the top to help keep everything decent for the neighbors.

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Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

Same here. If it's snowing or raining, I am also wearing pants, but more because of road grime.

Took me a while to understand what OP meant by tights, lol. I thought the question was about running in shorts vs. cycling tights. I have only ran in adidas pants.

Thanks! I had a good laugh at this!

As did I. I have a lot of difficulty running at 0.6 radians...tights really don't help, either.

I lived and ran in CO for many years. It depends a lot on "where" in CO you are moving. Denver or other I25 corridor---yes, you should be able to be in shorts most sunny days....which is most days. I found on cloudy days, the "cold" seeps in quick...or rather the warming effects of the direct sun help a LOT. Higher elevations---less likely the higher you go.

Wind will play a role, too. It can get quite windy in the winter. I never really overheat from wearing tights, but is seems to help combat enough of the wind. Generally, I wear tights once it gets close to freezing or below. Upper 30s...tights if its windy, shorts if not. 40s and up? Shorts.