Hello, I live in hot Houston, Texas. I may be traveling to cold, wet Stavanger, Norway for a couple of months, possibly in winter.

Stavanger is on the coast, it doesn't usually freeze, but the temperature can be just barely above freezing. Think Scotland (other side of the North Sea). It rains quite a bit. It can snow.

What are the commuting essentials for cold, wet conditions? I've never had to do this before. My gear is all oriented toward much warmer conditions. Is Gore-Tex or similar pretty much required, to keep from getting wet from sweat and then getting chilled? What brands of raingear are good? Do the Internet houses (Nashbar, Performance) sell any good raingear?

I figure I'll have to get a bike with fenders,and I'll bring all of my bright lights over from home.

Have you checked out icebike.com

Gortex is OK but over-rated. You can get clammy even in cold conditions.
In the UK, there are 2 widely used alternatives to Goretex-type waterproofs for Scottish winter conditions:

https://www.paramo.co.uk/UK/index.html
and
https://www.buffalosystems.co.uk/

Norway may have its own local solutions.

the most important things for riding in that sort of weather:

1. fenders with mudflaps (especially in front).
2. good lighting and a lot of it. make sure one rear LED is set to not blink.
3. wool. check out smartwool and ibex for some great stuff.
4. a way to keep your feet dry. wet feet = misery.

usually when i ride in that sort of stuff, i go with waterproofish booties, several layers of wool on top, sporthill pants over shorts or knickers on the bottom, and a cycling cap under the helmet to keep at least some of the water off of my glasses.

i don't put on the rain gear until it really starts to rain hard. i'm a warm person -- at least physically, so it's pretty easy for me to overheat in raingear.

i can't say enough good things about wool. keeps you warm when wet, doesn't stink like synthetics, and is just downright comfy -- especially the new superfine merino stuff. even so, my most utilitarian piece of wool cycling gear is a dark grey v-necked sweater vest that i bought for a dollar at the local thrift store. i never said i looked cool -- just that i was warm.

[edit]: i forgot one thing -- when the weather's damp and cold i carry warm (not hot) water in my bottles and a sigg bottle of hot tea or coffee. hot liquid does wonders and the warm water in the bottles feels better than cold.

Excellent site, thank you.

How?? If a wool sweater is thoroughly wet, and close fitting, the water in the wool will conduct away heat from your body even better than if you were wearing nothing at all??

That's not actually the case. Wool is one of the few natural fibers that will indeed keep you warm when wet. I couldn't tell you the precise reason as to why this is, but it is true. It is significantly better than wearing nothing at all. It is not as efficient or lightweight as modern synthetic fabrics, but it still does a pretty good job. In terms of the overall combination of windproofing, ability to shed water and ability to retain body heat when wet in a single fabric, wool is actually superior to most synthetics, which tend to be more specialized. If you could wear only one layer, wool would be a good choice. Of course, wool is so bulky that you can have better performance by layering synthetics, which often have better performance in specific areas. Layering is desireable anyway, since it both allows better retention of body heat and the ability to shed layers as you get warmer.

I suppose I'm thinking of a completely sodden wool garment as opposed to a damp one. I have seen many posts praising wool, so it must have at least some basis of truth.

Alpaca wool is one of the original hollow-fibre materials. It will retain insulateing properties when wet.
My mid-layer insulation is usually a woolen jumper.

IMO, Goretex is hugely overhyped and has been surpassed by more modern approaches to shellware. The Buffalo and Paramo products are good- I use a Paramo varient for my waterproof jacket. However, they will still be too warm for high exertion.

So long as it's not actually raining, I'd highly recommend Marmot Driclime (or any of the generic versions made by REI, etc). Treated with Nikwax fleece waterproofing treatments, I've found it to be waterproof for even heavy rain, so long as I generate a lot of heat.

If you are interested in the wool option, Ibex is one of the companies making high performance woolen garments for outdoors use.

I am a sailor and as a kid, I loved to go out and sail on a small boat (sunfish) when the weather was pure crap. I would be out there in 50-60 degree weather, strong winds, etc. Several times, I tipped over and fell in the water. With a wool sweater on, I was soaked, heavy, but still warm. Wool is the wonder fabric and is used by athletes every day in every type of weather imagineable. I would buy wool boxer-briefs if I could find them.

I get by down to near freezing with a polar fleece jacket under an unlined parka-like jacket from REI. On the legs, I have some unlined army-surplus overpants that are designed for that purpose, that is, to wear over regular pants for exra warmth. My mother found them at some place called "Mass Army Navy." For hands, I use army-surplus leather glove shells with wool liners. For feet I use insulated hiking boots from Payless Shoesource. On the head, I use one of: a helmet liner, a pullover hood that covers the head and neck, or a home-made tube of stretchy fabric that pulls over the head and neck like a hood. My approach to clothing is to wear work clothes (casual office) under protective clothing, and the pull off the outer layer and be ready to go.

When the temperature drops down toward zero, I replace the unlined jacket with a lined one, or replace the polar fleece jacket with a wool sweater. I replace the gloves with the leather "chopper" mittens--leather shells over two wool liners. On the feet, I upgrade to wool socks and sometimes add thin inner "wicking" socks. On the head I add a mask that covers the face, and some cheap goggles from the surplus store, so no skin is exposed. I have ridden down to zero degrees in this getup.

For rain, our local bike shop has yellow rain pants and jacket; I can't remember the brand. They cost $25 each and are supposed to be the cheap alternative to Gore-tex. My summer biking shoes are waterproof hiking boots (I am not a purist) from Payless Shoesource so my feet are always ready for rain, if a bit hot. On the hands I wear Sealskinz waterproof gloves by themselves or pulled over biking gloves. My helmet is an old Bell Stratus with a complete shell over the top, so my head is covered in rain. I carry stuff in a backpack, and made a cover of raincoat fabric from the fabric store. I carry rain gear all the time, so I am always ready.

I commute through a great deal of similar weather every year in Anchorage, AK.

The bike has full fenders and I always have a few chains lubed and ready to swap out. If they salt the roads COUNT on having some drivetrain parts die. It's a fact of life if you ride often enough in it. (they don't salt them here anymore that I'm aware of).

You get home, throw the chain into the solvent and shake, throw on the new one that's lubed, pull the chain that was drip drying into the lube container and hang up the cleaned one to dry. I like chainsaw bar lube for really nasty dirty/slushy conditions assuming you can let it drip dry overnight.

The outfit starts with a pair of combat boots and THICK wool socks. Warmer days get a pair of windproof/water resistant slacks over the pants I normally wear at work. Cold days get a pair of light waterproof snowpants (-30 or so is pretty much my limit for cold).

Top starts with a polypro tank, longsleeve poly shirt and a trench sweater. Colder days see a polarfleece jacket over this. I have an older pair of specialized "sub zero" gloves which are really more like gauntlets and they work well. On warmer days my hands often bake a bit but they really do a great job on even the coldest days.

Head is a balaclava and a giro semi-mx helmet (less vents and they're a lot easier to plug if it gets that bad).

Don't be afraid to wuss out if you're hurting. Better a humiliating ride with a friend or the bus than frostbite.