Carbonfiberboy 

Fenders. I have a rain bike with permanent fenders and mudflaps. I don't ride the good road bike in the winter/rain unless it's an event. Drive train and fancy rims are expensive and wear quickly with grit.

I built a very nice bike from a Nashbar aluminum frame, Ultegra drive train, conventional wheels with cheap rims but good hubs, Nashbar headset and bars, 105 brakes, bar end friction shifters. I bought most of it on sale, had some parts laying around, and think it cost about $800 complete. Great investment. I've been using it for years, and it's held up very well. Great frame, really. Thick, ugly aluminum tubes and welds, but stiff and damped, not tinny like most aluminum. I geared it the same as my good bike, so no adaptation except to reach for the shifters. Eventually I went to a CK headset and Mavic Open Pro Ceramic rims, back when they still made them. That put an end to wearing out those parts. I still go through drive train parts, but at least I know my good bike is always perfect and ready to go. And I don't care what the Nashbar looks like. It's named FRED, complete with decal. It still needs a badge.

banerjek

As if these categories are mutually exclusive...

CenturionIM

Thanks. Just checked the jacket out. Yeah seems like any GT AS jacket will burn a hole in my pocket. but shipping weight(!) is only 1lb...must be some light stuff. well, guess i will stay with my waterproof + zero breathability for now.

jtwilson

Look into Showers Pass products. I have the Elite 2.0 jacket. Used it for car-free commuting for 2 years and still going strong for my rainy day/cold weather hard shell. eVent fabric is where it's at for waterPROOF and as breathable as it gets.

TNoodles

Fenders

surgeonstone

100 percent agree. This world of ours is an amazing place, in all weather. The issue for me is not wet vs dry, it is rather warmth. I could care less if I am wet, just let me be comfortably warm in the process and then all is okay. Each type or weather condition has its charms, unique sounds and smells, feelings that are different, from the quiet muffled sound of a snowy day with cold, crisp air scented from wood fires to the heavy honeysuckled humid night rides of summer. Enjoy them all as an unfortunate turn of events may lay you up forever inside dreaming of what could have been.

canam73

If this wasn't complete BS then you wouldn't be a goretex product tester or bother with any waterproof breathable.

surgeonstone

Not BS at all, as BJ stated, staying dry is essentially impossible. Staying warm is not.

canam73

That's not what he said in post #8.

Personally I agree, and don't wear full waterproof jackets when cycling.

surgeonstone

I'm glad we're agreeing to agree on something as disagreeable as disagreeable weather.

surgeonstone

But back on topic, are we all any closer in figuring out the best rain jacket for cold weather. Rapha according to some is poorly made. Assos is for the recent Powerball winners alone, Gore- who really knows. I wear a very light wind/rain resistant breaker by Specialized- okay but not the best and really too thin for colder weather.I have a Navara rain jacket that is rubberized and really too thick and retains all moisture. Totally rain impervious but a a cost in weight and moisture retention. I would love to find something that indeed, was rain and wind rain proof and allowed some breathability but I want to stay well under 300 dollars in the process.

Carbonfiberboy 

You already have the right jacket in the Specialized. You just need to find the right stuff to wear under it at various temperatures. Dress for rain, then unzip during dry spells to keep the body temps down. You have to go to a large LBS so you can feel the jerseys. PerformanceBike has a good selection. You want something really thick, something in the Polartec 200 weight range, but a cycling jersey with the usual three pockets, and yellow for when you take the jacket off. It is hard to find a thick enough jersey. Some folks wear two jerseys instead. Under that, I wear a Craft PZ Crew LS. That combo takes me down to 35° and raining.

surgeonstone

I do that already with merino layers depending on the temp. However it's waterproffness is marginal and its windproffness is not excellent.

canam73

If you really want full waterproof I would recommend trying this: https://www.realcyclist.com/showers-p...FY1DMgod0mkAMg

I use something similar for backpacking and while I can still over power it's breatheability it is by far the best I have ever used in a full waterproof jacket. It also has vents if you are really over heating. Endura makes similar jackets although they are british and depending on exchange can be more $$. I have one that has the waterproof front only that I got through probikekit.

surgeonstone

That is the one I am looking at, being unhappy with the Navarra from REI and the Specialized, although it is now the 2.1, whatever difference that makes.

bikerjp

If I rode all the time in the rain that would make sense. Here it almost never rains so I'm not going to put fenders on just in case. If I get caught - so be it.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yes. But that's the reason I was so specific in my recommendation, having ridden thousands of miles in the rain.

surgeonstone

Not sure we are understanding each other. The problem is not what I wear under the shell, it is with the shell. The specialized is a shell that does nothing particularly well.

chaulky61

For what it is worth, the November Cycling Plus magazine did a test of about 16 or so jackets. Oneten Pioggia Shell was the "overall winner" , Lusso 2XS Skylon was "best value" and Gore Xenon 2.0 was "editor's choice".

Mr. Fly

I'll second the poncho or bike/rain cape. I've been through the exercise of finding the right rain gear, experimenting (expensively) with various nylon shells, softshells and Gore-Tex garments, including items from the well-reputed Showers Pass and Gore brands. In the end, I found that none of these jacket+pants solutions really work in that I get clammy from my own sweat. Yes, even the $$$ stuff is not an effective solution when I'm hoofing it to catch the train. Bear in mind that I'm a "plainclothes" commuter so all these are outerwear layered over my normal office uniform so my need for ventilation is likely higher than most; I also live in the SF bay area, where it only rains in winter when the temperature is a reasonable 40-50°F.

The best compromise for me is a rain cape. This is perfectly adequate for light rain as-is and will work well in heavier rain when paired with a waterproof pants+shoe covers. The cape allows a fair amount of circulation and keeps the "clam" away better than any Gore-Tex garment. The one I have is completely waterproof and water will only ingress through splashes from underneath, meaning you need to have fenders. There is a bonus of not needing waterproof gloves as the cape will also cover your hands very well.

Unfortunately, capes are not the most stylish and in fact I look like a moving yellow tent when gowned. Capes are also a bit unwieldy compared to jackets and don't work well when there's heavy and especially shifting wind (as one can well imagine). Finally, capes do not like handlebar-mounted lights as they may cover them together with your hands. It's a compromise for sure.

Various rain cape reference links (not an endorsement): Rivendell, Brooks, Iva Jean & CAT-Oregon

cpach

There are some OK conventional rain jackets with similar performance to GoreTex. The less expensive are REI elements jackets and Marmot Precip for brand name stuff.

On the cheap, micropore rain gear like the DriDucks rain suit and O2 cycling jackets offer similar waterproof and breathable features and very light weight at the cost of considerably reduced durability, fit, and features. I use my FrogTogs Driducks Ultralight rain suit ultralight backpacking and occasionally as rain gear while cycling when I don't think I'll need it. It's awesome for what it is--a $25 full rain suit, with really excelent (similar to my $300 eVent jacket) breathability, but I'm extremely careful wearing it while backpacking (and have had to patch it with duct tape a few times), and the fit of both garments are hilariously baggy, which isn't great for cycling. It does however allow me to drop like half a pound off of conventional raingear. O2 makes a jacket expressly for cycling out of this material I'd love to try.

https://jolly-green-giant.blogspot.co...ks-and-o2.html is an article about this kind of material, and https://o2rainwear.com/2011/03/original-cycling-jacket/ is O2's cycling jacket.

jxpowers

haah that made me laugh

Diegomayra

Hijack attempt #2

Todays ride: 45min on the rollers.....ugh!!

Opened the garage door and rode into the rain. I was smiling for the next 30min.
Rain gear: Wind vest. I was wet but not miserable, sitting in my garage
trying to pedal on rollers downright depressing. I will be investing in rain gear. Thanks for the thread.

alexaschwanden

I use a Goretex Alp X 2 rain jacket, it work very well in the rain.

calhoun1

I have one of these as well. On my rainy commute in around 40F, with underarmour shirt, long sleeve jersey, and that jacket I am comfortable and dry. Yes I sweat underneath, but I am warm and comfortable. In the Pac Norwest, the commute is going to be wet this time of year. The jacket is well worth the cost. And it seems to be holding up very well so far, I have only had it for about 3 months, but still looking good.