Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest

That's weird. It didn't rain once in July here. I don't think we even saw a cloud in July. I guess if you want to live in a rainy place, Florida is where you should be, and if you want dry, warm, sunshine, go to Seattle.

Anyway, riding in the rain is hell on some of your components. Your chain, cassette, and rims won't last nearly as long if you do it. That's why I have a rain bike, it isn't about not having to clean the bike off, it's about having nice goodies on my favorite bike, and not wanting to grind them down with road grit because they weren't cheap.

But you don't want a $200 MTB from Craigslist, it will be no fun to ride. And it can be challenging enough to find the motivation to go out and ride in the rain without having to do it on a bike that doesn't handle well and isn't comfortable. I wound up with an old, used, aluminum Cervelo with an Ultegra group from circa 2005.