Mechanicjay

It's rainy in Seattle today, supposed to be all week. Was my first ride in the wet since the spring.

Rolling into an intersection, while full on the brakes, serves as a good reminder: Beautifully chromed steel wheels are next to useless for stopping in the wet. If you must be a crazy person and run your steel wheels in bad weather, give yourself extra stopping distance. I also kept my speed down which helped considerably -- it's easy to forget how bad stopping performance can be.

With the rainy season fast approaching, it's probably time to shake loose a few bucks and upgrade to alloy wheels.

eschlwc

there's still a tree parked on top of a car in my hood from the wind storm. limbs everywhere. i'll wait 'til friday to ride again when it's supposed to be 72° and clear.

Wildwood 

I haven't adapted from sunny 80s to cool+wet 60s, but I have been able to steal a few short rides between the rain showers. Timing is everything, retired hours make it possible.

Wildwood 

Bill - you really DO need a wet bike. You live in the PNW and cycle. Put an end to the denial - seek out a set of fenders.

Murray Missile 

Kool Stop pads "help" on wet steel rims for the short term and work REALLY well when you upgrade to alloy rims, they also work much better in cold temps.

eschlwc

i'm way too anal about their cleanliness. every once in a while, i'll get caught in a downpour, and will spend an hour back at home doing a serious wipe-down and cleaning the drive train.

grime is not my friend.

it was a sunny day on one of my first rides on my newly built falcon. about thirty minutes in, it started pouring. my front brake pad picked up a shard of metal and subsequently gouged the new rim. i rode home gingerly using the rear brake, cursing god the whole way.

this weekend will be great -- sunny, 70s, and ... college football starts!

Mechanicjay

I'll give these a shot. They're a hell of a lot cheaper than a new wheelset. The pads I have now are whatever the useless guy at Performance Cycle on 45th sold me in the spring.

When I'm done swapping parts around, you're welcome to my rusty John Deere frameset, frozen stem and all. It's truly a bike you could ride off a bridge into a river and not really care.

eschlwc

^ um ... thanks?

Mechanicjay

Just trying to say that if you're too anal about your bikes to ride in the rain...a bike shaped object with negative appeal and value might let you ride in the rain without triggering the OCD. Of course, then it's really more like a penalty box, which comes with it's own set of issues.

...At least it stopped raining for the ride home.

wahoonc

I could use some rain here in NC... we are about 6" behind for the year. All I have to do after a ride is blow the dust off.

I have "rain" bikes and I have fair weather bikes and I have bikes that get ridden regardless of what the weather gods produce. One of my all weather bikes is a converted MTB with full fenders and racks. It gets a bath once a year if it needs it, if it gets really nasty on a ride in sloppy weather, the garden hose is right next to the shop.

Aaron

The Golden Boy 

I don't see the appeal of steel wheels.

Of course some people feel "lucky" to get some.

JReade

Heck, my modern Mavics get a little sketchy when I'm trying to haul it down in the rain, cant imagine the steel.

fietsbob

So buy a second house in Arizona , you will find many do that when you go to winter down there ..

icepick_trotsky 

eschlwc

^ had a nice schwinn (with aluminum rims) with a decal like that ... that was clear-coated! grrr.

Drillium Dude 

It's too bad something couldn't have stepped in and stopped Drew from abusing that frame!

DD

Insidious C. 

You've got to remember to take it a bit easier in the wet even with good brakes. This morning I had to panic-brake at an intersection to avoid a right hook. I had to modulate the rear brake to correct several slides. It must have made quite an impression on those close enough to see it. 20+ mph entering wet, busy intersection is asking for trouble.

Soaked piles of debris and tree branches from the storm have also been challenging in Seattle this week. Lots of bunny hop practice.

Dave Cutter

This years weather has been crap! So much rain. Lot's of cold.... then intense heat. Reminds me of when I was a cigarette smoker.... I swore there was only about ten days a year... when the weather was better outside... than the conditions on the inside.

Because of the rain there are fewer days I get to ride. To keep my mileage goals I've been forced to increase the length of my rides. So in that aspect the rain has had a benefit as I have become a better longer distance rider.

SJX426 

Riding in the rain is more than having a bike that you don't mind getting wet.

The wet weather is one thing I don't miss about the PNW. Here in DC it has been low 70's in the morning with 70%+ humidity and then 88+, often low 90's, in the afternoon with lower humidity. It is like riding in the rain. You don't breath the air, you drink it. Right now it is 90 with 45%.

Kobe 

When chromed they are pretty, but that's about it.

icepick_trotsky 

You can drew one Varsity, but ten more will arise in its place.

The Golden Boy 

Icky.

Mechanicjay

After spending the first 33 years of my life in NJ, the relatively dry cool summers out here in Seattle are a dream. I haven't had to drink my summer air, nor have I seen triple digit temperatures. Forget Mid-Atlantic summers, they're for the birds -- or amphibians.

Mechanicjay

Indeed, I'm lucky enough to be able to take the BG trail for 95% of commute -- riding through piles of wet pine-cones and across carpets of wet leaves has been a challenge.

musicdiver

Yeah, up here in Vancouver I went for my mountain bike given all the debris on the road from our storm the previous weekend and had to remember to give myself a little more room when stopping. It's been a while since we had the wet stuff! I was nearly late for work yesterday though; need to remember to give myself more time for total trip journey as well!