papagoth

I like this idea of rain paints but here is my question to you all:
-I like to train during my commute (18 miles each way) so I am sweating, a lot. But I too get very cold if I stop for a moment or rain begins. So the questions are-
1. What are the best fitting rain pant to train in?
2. How do you keep from getting your feet soaked? I don't want to switch back to straps. I use Speedplays.
3. Where are you getting this gear?

Cheers.

pdxcyclist

As much as I like the Internet, rain pants may be one of those items that you really need to buy at a bike shop. Reason: getting the right fit can be a trick.

Yesterday when I bought my Burley rain pants, I had to try on three pairs until I got the right mix of length, waist size, and leg diameter. The sizing information was pretty confusing on the package, and I'm certain I would have guessed wrong if I had ordered online.

The Burleys have both performance and relaxed fit sizing, so you would be able to decide if you mostly wanted them for training rides (smaller leg diameter, closer fit) or for commuting (looser leg diameter, looser fit, more room beneath).

I also saw more expensive and more designed rain pants at other bike shops that might fit your needs better, but they were around $120. I don't recall the name brand.

As for shoes, booties can be a life saver. Even my "bra type" Performance neophrene covers keep my toes dry and prevent the shoes from "flooding" with water. I noticed that Burley even has specialized rain booties for shoes, but I didn't look closely at them yesterday.

Jay H

Re: feet getting soaked: Get some rainproof booties and put your rain pants over the booties to prevent runoff from simply going into your shoes.

The booties are also good on days when it's not raining but there are lots of puddles around cause the wrong fenders or right amount of water will splash into your feet.

Jay

Zin

On my commute, in the VERY few times there may be rain here, I just wear the ol' yellow rain pants and coat. Even some overshoes to keep my feet dry. I figure I look like a tool during the winter commutes anyway, why not for rain too...

gonesh9

My current setup keeps me perfectly dry: Burley rainjacket and pants, Pearl Izumi Amphib booties, skull cap, snowboarding goggles, helmet, neck gaitor, and snowboarding mittens.

A good pair of booties makes a huge difference with keeping your feet warm and dry. For training, there are breathable rain pants out there, but they cost more. For the average commute, if you are getting Burley pants, I'd recommend to anyone not getting the relaxed fit, as they are super baggy. The performance fit is just fine over my work pants.

Limba

It's always a compromise if you're trying to keep the water out than you're going to sweat more.Sugoi makes tights that are waterproof in the front but not the rear so they fit better than the baggy pants.RaceFace makes a nice waterproof jacket called the Aquanot but you can get really hot wearing it.
Get some fenders and booties and you'll be ok.

natted4

Here in VA, during the winter, it rains a near freezing rain most of the time(it seems). In order to get past cold wet pairs of expensive shoes I have switch to pedals with toe clips for the winter. This allows for wearing ratty old tennis shoes. To keep these dry I cover the toes with electrical tape (half lap double wrap). When it is really comming down the shoes will get wet, but I can replace them with another pair from the closet while the originals dry. Cheap and effective.

vrkelley

I cycle in Seattle, and it's always raining. Booties kept wearing out because I have to park the bike and walk to get inside.

This morning I rode in and it was raining again. The pants were filthy and we don't have showers. But the dirt stayed on the outside of the pants. It wasn't raining on the way home and the dirt just blew off the pants.

I wore this:
Shoe (look for one with a high collar) https://www.gitabike.com/cgi-bin/shop...&0=di-explo-br

Pant: https://showerspass.com/products.html (sort of at the bottom of the page).

Jacket on the same page.

MichaelW

Ive had good service form Pertex rainpants. It is not a full waterproof like goretex, but is far more breathable. It also packs down small, and is hardwearing.
For footwear, you can use waterproof boots, goretex socks, or neoprene overshoes. The neoprene things are really only good over longer training-type rides. For just riding around town they are impractical.
Im still looking for the perfect winter rain boot. It has to be light, stiff soled, an high enough to go under rain pants, but without all that padding. Fell-running boots come pretty close.