Commuting - what are those cycling capes like?

the question says it all really...

Originally posted by alexeicharkham
the question says it all really...

I tried a cheap one, and found it too sweat inducing despite the open bottom...

They're all right. They really don't do it for me, though. I wear one when it's very cold in the winter and raining. If it's just wet, I don't wear one. That's the only time.

Fine up to a point, but really dangerous in crosswinds.

Women can however use them to spare their blushes when "powdering their noses"(crosswinds not related!!)

If you mean the rain capes, I've used one for a lot of years. I do fine with mine.
It's just a nylon thing. Plenty of ventilation underneath and keeps me dry
enough. Sure not perfect, but suits me OK.

I use mine only if it is a MAJOR downpour or it is dead of winter cold. Otherwise, I sweat more than the rain gets me. I enjoy a little rain anyway. But if it's cold outside it definitely helps.

I have a Carradice cape, and it suits me fine for commuting to work. It's useful because I can just throw it on over my work clothes, and then I only have one wet item to deal with when I get to the office. Sweat isn't too much of a factor, but then it's usually cold when it rains in Portland. It's bright yellow, which makes me feel like a rolling traffic cone, good for visibility I guess. They're useless without a full set of fenders, though. If you have full fenders, you don't need to wear anything on your legs unless the rain is falling sideways. It does tend to catch the wind a bit, but I've never felt dangerously unstable even in high crosswinds. When riding for fun, I never wear it, preferring instead to just get a little wet and let my polypro gear keep me warm. And it's hard to carry a backpack or messenger bag with a cape on, so you might need panniers. That depends on how much bag you carry--if you have a small messenger bag that rides low on your back, the cape might still work. It's simple, low-tech and traditional. I say it's a plus when you can make do with a design that's been used for the better part of a century. And with Gore-Tex raingear costing upwards of $200 or more for a full set, the $65 or so the Carradice cost me sounds mighty good. Bottom line--if you ride in street clothes for commuting and errands and don't mind a very low cool factor I recommend it.

I used one last winter in my commutes, and they are really handy in hard rain. Mine is bright yellow, with a reflective stripe on the back. I use it without the hood up sometimes, and use a rain cap on my helmet, but both ways (with and without hood) seem to work well.

If you have a light, it helps to put it on a post on the handlebars so that the light isn't covered by the cape. I use the thumb straps, and mine has a waist strap which I had to tighten to make effective. It takes a bit of getting used to, and one thing about using these straps is that you want to minimize your shifting in the rain (I have either bar-ends or down-tube shifting, which necessitate a hand change). Also, you probably don't want to ride as fast anyway, because of the increased chance of a wheel slipping on a rail or other metal in the road.

I've experimented with it quite a lot last winter, and it held up to Oregon rains well. In addition, you become this big, yellow thing going down the highway--kinda hard to miss in a car. I needed gloves in the cold, and substituted my ski gloves for bicycling gloves (I have foam neoprene under my handlebar tape from old diving wet suits to take the road vibration, and so don't need the bicycling gloves as much).

If you get some, take it out in a rain when you are not under time pressure, and play with the cape. I think you'll like it.

I was a little worried about it, as it came from New Jersey just after the anthrax mail scare, and it came through that post office, I think. But I've not shown any symptoms yet :)

John

I rode to work today, and because it was drizzling this morning (actually turned into a light rain), I rode with my bicycling cape. I had not ridden with it since my move, and the winter's rain. Well, one thing I noticed right away was that it interferred with both my mirrors. I'm now riding with both a helmet mirror, and a handlebar mirror (drops, with the mirror sticking out the bottom of the drops). So with the cape, plan on not being able to effectively use mirrors. It wasn't a big deal with the route I'm now using, but once used to mirrors, not having them becomes noticable.

Other than that, the ride with the cape was uneventful, and pleasant. I got to work reasonably dry too. I don't have the problem of sweating in the cape, as there is a lot of air movement beneith the cape. It also noticable makes me conspicious to drivers.

John

thanks for all the replies guys, appreciated

altho no one mentioned one adv being able to pretend you're some kind of ineffectual super-hero in one

I've tried so many things for rain; from breathable rain suits to ponchos and capes.

The fact is that bicycling in the rain is a wet affair. Either you get wet from the rain, or from your own sweat inside the rain gear.

Now, I just wear my bicycle clothes with a light rain jacket to keep me from getting to cold.