BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

You need rain pants and shoe covers. The Showers Pass Storm Pants work fine for me, as do the Sugoi Resistor Booties. With the right clothing rain commuting is no problem.

Do you have good fenders? That's a biggie.

I've got Endura shoe covers that have worked pretty well, although now I usually wear my winter shoes that are gore-tex (Shimano MW-81). Pearl Izumi Rain pants also have been good. And fenders, for sure.

Fenders that actually go as far down as where the spray comes off, with a mudflap that descends even farther. You want zero splash coming off your front wheel, and that includes blow-back off the top of the tire as much as splash off the bottom.

I do have fenders with flaps, which helps tremendously. Thanks for the suggestions on pants and shoe covers, will do some looking online and REI.

I've had REI's novaros stratos pants for a few years -- they've held up well and have some nice features. not cheap, though.

I use waterproof shoes that work as business casual and have an extra pair of socks that I carry.

+1 on fenders with flaps.

I also have the Novara rain paints - they were on sale when I got them. They still weren't cheap, but they are awesome and very waterproof.

I still struggle with socks/shoes a little bit when it's wet but not cold since my shoe covers are a little too warm on mild days.

I have a pair of REI ultralight pants that are great. They roll up to be very small in my pannier so I just leave them there until I need them. I've been using waterproof trail running shoes, but the pants don't quite cover the ankles, so I get some drips going into my sock. Shoe covers would probably work better...

I have some sort of novara rain pants that zip and Velcro at the ankle. I have the yellow and black sugoi shoe covers that zip in the back and Velcro on the top. I also have a race face rain coat and a black sugoi helmet condom (I actually wear this under my helmet and over my hair). The gloves I wore got soaked today. That is my weak link.

Pearl Izumi makes a very nice waterproof glove you can get at REI, but they're pricey (see a pattern?). I've never worn Sealskinz gloves, but they're supposed to be totally waterproof and are quite a bit cheaper.

Oh yeah, I have Novara gloves from REI which are rain and wind proof. I think they were around $40 or so and they work quite well.

Are these the REI rain pants that have worked well?

Novara Stratos 2.0 Bike Rain Pants?

On sale, $90 from $130? If I spend 100 I get a $20 gift card? I might have to go to REI.

If I'm not mistaken, Van, today's the last day for that REI deal. If you can't get to the store though you could order on line.

REI Ultra Light Pants on sale for $40, half off original price. I don't know anything about the Novara Stratos 2.0s but they look pretty nice.

Also, the $20 gift card deal is available tomorrow as well. From REI.com: Offer good through Dec. 9 online, at REI Stores or 1-800-426-4840.

The Stratos are great - I've had the women's cut for close to 3 years. If anyone can spring for the deal Vannevar posted, I doubt you'd regret it. Too bad the women's don't seem to be on sale.

There's some rain pants on clearance at the Southside Rei right now.

I have different novara pants but those are similar. Mine are just black with a draw string waist. They zip and the bottom and have Velcro that you can pull tightly at the ankle. I don't recall how much they were at te time. I needed them so I bought them.

These are the ones I wear: http://www.rei.com/product/819028/novara-express-20-bike-pants-womens

I'm a big fan. I once had a truck hit a puddle, sending a wave of water over me and up to my hips. My jeans were bone dry underneath and my socks had like 2 small damp spots.

brybot - Thanks for the heads-up on the Novara Ultra Light Pants. I just ordered a pair. I have been using a pair of Novara Headwind Bike Pants that are great for cold, dry weather. They do a great job of cutting the wind but are not waterproof.

The novara rain pants I have are not breathable but also do not block the wind. I should have worn rights under mine on the way to work a few days ago. Instead I wore shorts and my legs were bright red when I went to change. Looked like I had a weird shorts sunburn tan at first. It was pretty funny looking.

Thanks for all the recommendations. I got Pearl Izumi shoe covers and some Novara Express Pants.

They worked wonders this morning and I will certainly need them this afternoon.

It's a good feeling to ride in the rain but be dry underneath. Plus people will think you are nuts because little do they know that riding in the rain when you are comfortable is super fun!

I have rain gear for the motorcycle, and used the set today. They work, but are definitely overkill for bicycle use. It took about 10 minutes to get into it all, and close to 10 more to get out of it.

So, quick question, how do those of you riding in rain gear not turn into a giant sweat burrito like I did this morning? I was drier than I would have been had I ridden without, but a whole lot stinkier...

When it's this warm, I skip the rain gear and just get wet. I make sure to pack my change of clothes in a plastic bag for extra protection and hang my wet clothes to dry at work. 50 degrees is my upper limit for rain gear because of the sweat factor.

Full Fenders, Rain cape, and gaiters for your feet / lower legs would give you a bit more ventillation and a lot of protection. I wear as little extra gear as needed for the conditions.

I find the UltraLite FroggToggs rain jacket is loose and thin enough that it doesn't accumulate too much sweat.

When it's this warm, no way I'm wearing rain gear. I just wear stuff I know will get wet and bring a change of clothes.

I've given up on me...I just get wet. Motorcycling taught me that real "rain gear" is too expensive for me. I've not given up on my gear. God bless Ortlieb. Everything is *always* dry.

sarapgh2 wrote:I just wear stuff I know will get wet and bring a change of clothes.

This. And add a 'real' hand towel to the bag.

I've been using a Showers Pass rain jacket for almost a year now, and while it's great in colder weather, during the summer it's way too hot to wear. Anyone have suggestions for gear similar to what JAWs suggested? I'm looking for a jacket that's light & breathable, packs into a tiny space, and will actually keep rain off of me. My current approach to storms: everything I need for work packs into a waterproof bag (which may or may be a trash bag inside a backpack at times) and I try to wear fast-drying garments for the actual ride in. If I do end up wearing rain gear, the zips on my rain pants are totally open, as are the pit-zips on my jacket.

You can get the FroggToggs jacket + rain pants for under $30. But I didn't like the rain pants that come with the jacket -- too baggy and get caught in the chain. Everything from FroggToggs is really baggy. Maybe they'd work with a pants clip or rubber band. Anyway, it's cheap, packs easily, and I don't think the rainproof wears out the way it does with woven stuff. Edit: It looks like O2 makes a cheap packable "Original" rainsuit out of the same stuff, which is more tailored for cycling. http://o2rainwear.com/2011/03/original-hooded-jacket/

I have a waterproof running jacket, just a cheap one made by reebok that I picked up at Target or something... In the last two days, I've worn it for at least 60 miles of riding and I didn't feel like it was causing an excessive amount of sweating. It was a little warmer, sure, but not to the point of discomfort. I had the front unzipped about halfway when conditions permitted.

sarapgh2 wrote:When it’s this warm, no way I’m wearing rain gear. I just wear stuff I know will get wet and bring a change of clothes.

+1. I pretty much wear running shirt, shorts, and sandals, and pack 'office clothes' in my Ortliebs.

@JaySherman5000 What jacket do you have? I have the club pro and have similar experiences with it essentially being an oven in hot weather I think Dwillian had the Double Century EX and was fine with ventilation, but I could be wrong I also just pretty much accept getting wet during the summer

Some rainy morning, I'm going to do McKnight Road in the skimpiest damn pair of swim trunks I can find. Clothes are sometimes too much bother, and only there to make someone else not be offended. Much easier to remove chain grease from ankles than pant cuffs, rain or not.

I used to take my shirt off when it was warm and it rained. I got really extreme harassment when I did that. CruisingMcknight in a speedo is up there with riding down Saw Mill Run - something that is best kept as a thought experiment.

Mick wrote:I used to take my shirt off when it was warm and it rained. I got really extreme harassment when I did that. CruisingMcknight in a speedo is up there with riding down Saw Mill Run – something that is best kept as a thought experiment.

Would you believe I saw a guy biking down the North Shore trail in just a Speedo yesterday? I enjoyed the sight thoroughly, mind you... but he was getting cat-calls from everyone he passed.

Showers Pass, more specifically the Event fabric, is amazing stuff but even in warm weather it can be too much. The pace I ride at seems to work well with the bike I ride so all I have to deal with is the water on me, not the spray from the bike. "Race" geometry keeps crap from the wheels off of me and negates the need for fenders. I take my work clothes in my bag and leave my work shoes at work. I can't pull off dress shirts this way but synthetic polos work well, along with some sythetic no-iron pants. The Marmot Precip is a decent item and breathes fairly well. A friend pointed me towards the Arc'Teryx Wraith, supposedly better and I will give that a shot.

When it's raining the humidity is 100% so there can be no effective transfer of perspiration across the fabric, no matter what it's made of. 100% humidity inside the fabric, 100% outside. So any perspiration beyond that has to remain unevaporated and get you wet. After Saturday's randonneur I'm thinking about a poncho. Dan Goldberg was wearing one and it seemed like he knew what he was doing. The normal course of things is for the rain to drip off the outside, and for the wind underneath the poncho to cool you off.

It wasn't me.