Living Car Free - Walked To Save The Bicycle From The Rain

Today is a rainy day in the Helena Valley in Montana. My Dahon Smooth Hound has a leather Brooks saddle and I didn't want it to get wet while I went inside the Civic Center to vote. It was only a few blocks away so I put on my motorcycle coat that is water resistant and my rain suit pants and walked.

Does anybody else here walk to save their bicycle from getting wet and dirty?

P.S. I'm so happy I got the chance to vote for Libertarian candidates for president, senator, governor, and school commissioner. I voted for a Constitutional Party person for state congress. Of course this would never be possible in my old state of Louisiana, or California where I went to school. Montana -The last state to represent American Freedom.

Cover the saddle. Brooks makes a saddle cover but you can use a plastic shopping bag in a pinch.

Cover the saddle. Brooks makes a saddle cover but you can use a plastic shopping bag in a pinch.

+1

i keep a plastic bag stuffed under the saddle just in case.

Today is a rainy day in the Helena Valley in Montana. My Dahon Smooth Hound has a leather Brooks saddle and I didn't want it to get wet while I went inside the Civic Center to vote. It was only a few blocks away so I put on my motorcycle coat that is water resistant and my rain suit pants and walked.

Does anybody else here walk to save their bicycle from getting wet and dirty?

If you can't get your saddle wet once in a while, it's not worth much, IMO. I ride in the rain without even thinking about it; if I did have to think about it, I'd never be able to ride anywhere.

Isn't there something you can put on a Brooks saddle to make it waterproof, or at least water resistant?

I don't have a leather saddle on my bike, but out of curiosity, I surfed the web and found lots of water resistant products for horse saddles and that could easily transfer over to a bicycle saddle.

Um do you own an umbrella? Putting on rain suit pants to walk sounds like a bit much. (or was the rain really that driving?)

For the bike dilemma I would probably just use a plastic bag. If I worried about getting my bike wet and dirty I would never get anywhere... But for short distances, sure, the weather can affect my decision to walk or ride. If its raining and my bike is dry, yeah its probably easier just to pull out the umbrella and walk for distances of a mile or less. Better exercise anyway. I just get lazy sometimes or I don't have enough time to walk.

Today is a rainy day in the Helena Valley in Montana. My Dahon Smooth Hound has a leather Brooks saddle and I didn't want it to get wet while I went inside the Civic Center to vote. It was only a few blocks away so I put on my motorcycle coat that is water resistant and my rain suit pants and walked.

Does anybody else here walk to save their bicycle from getting wet and dirty?

P.S. I'm so happy I got the chance to vote for Libertarian candidates for president, senator, governor, and school commissioner. I voted for a Constitutional Party person for state congress. Of course this would never be possible in my old state of Louisiana, or California where I went to school. Montana -The last state to represent American Freedom.

No Comment:rolleyes:

Not riding in the rain wasn't just about the saddle. The bicycle doesn't have fenders. Though Dahon says they sell fenders to fit this model, the ones they sell for the front don't work. They don't fit inside the fork with enough clearance for a fully inflated tire. It sounds strange but several people on the Dahon message board have reported this.

Surely I could put a bag over the leather seat and even the leather bar tape could be covered with a few bags and rubber bands.

The walk was just over three blocks. Putting on the rain suit pants only takes about thirty seconds. In the cold I wear my water resistant motorcycle jacket so using that wasn't even an extra step. I wore water resistant boots that I would use whether riding or walking so using them didn't add time to my day.

I did use an umbrella to keep the rain off my face. The wind is usually blowing in Montana, though I have always found wind to be present in rainy conditions in every part of the country.

I think the time needed to clean the bicycle (and the dirt stripes on my clothes) would have taken more out of my day than dressing for rain and walking a few blocks. Had I needed to travel two miles or more I would have ridden.

Brooks does sell Proofide for maintaining their saddles. Many people use it and many people do nothing for their leather saddles and report they don't suffer negative effects.

So far it's just Crazybikerchick :thumb: and me that will walk short distances in the rain to keep our bicycles dry. Anybody else?

I walk under 500m, sometimes I'll stretch it to a km if it's a nice day.

Sounds like you need more bikes.

Today is a rainy day in the Helena Valley in Montana. My Dahon Smooth Hound has a leather Brooks saddle and I didn't want it to get wet while I went inside the Civic Center to vote. It was only a few blocks away so I put on my motorcycle coat that is water resistant and my rain suit pants and walked.

Does anybody else here walk to save their bicycle from getting wet and dirty?

P.S. I'm so happy I got the chance to vote for Libertarian candidates for president, senator, governor, and school commissioner. I voted for a Constitutional Party person for state congress. Of course this would never be possible in my old state of Louisiana, or California where I went to school. Montana -The last state to represent American Freedom.

I avoid the rain and wet pavements whenever I can. I choose to leave my bikes home and walk and/or take the bus to save a headache & hassle of proper drying and re-oiling the bike. Plus the drivers around here are clueless on how to drive in the rain/snow. They would ram right into you and run.

Rain has very little do do with why I walk. I have a rat-trap on my rack, and it *always* holds a plastic bag. I like my B-17 too much to do anything else. I rather like riding in the rain, so that way I can have my comfy saddle *and* the fun of rain.

If I want to listen to music or an audiobook, I prefer to walk. I'm pretty distractable, and music means I don't handle traffic as well. And if it is icy out, I'd rather walk... I'm more stable on foot than on the bike. I'll also walk sometimes just because it is slower. I see more on foot, so if I want to think and enjoy the small stuff, it's more fun.

My bike has good fenders and a chain guard, and it handles rain pretty well. Since I like riding in a downpour, it was well worth it to make sure it'd be *fun* in a downpour.

My approach is that neither me or my bike will melt in water. If I am sitting on my Brooks saddle how much water will get to it anyway.

Besides living in England if I worried about never riding in the rain then the bicycle/motorcycle combination that is my only transport would never get used!

Sure, if I'm going only a few kilometers and don't have much to carry. I like to walk. I stay cleaner, the bike is cleaner, theft is a non-issue, and I'm more likely to get a flat in the rain anyway. So why ride? Walking is nearly as fast over a short distance, especially when there are traffic signals.

While I share your political views I don't care if my bikes get wet or muddy though they are cyclocross bikes and are probably happier when dirty. I clean the drive train, brakes and rims after a rain. Though I can understand the obsession about a certain part not getting damaged since they aren't cheap. Have you thought about getting a cheap second seat and seat post for bad weather. A simple mark or on both seatposts will make switching easy and not mess with the fit.

...a cheap second seat and seat post for bad weather. A simple mark or on both seatposts will make switching easy and not mess with the fit.

That's what I do.

It sounds like you got a lot wetter than you would have on the bike.

I hate walking or riding in the rain, but if I choose, it's always walking.