Rainsuit help
 

I am have been commuting for a good year now but during that year the place where I live (Apex, NC) has been in a fierce drought and it seldom rained. A light rainjacket was sufficient for protection. Now it is winter and the rain has returned. I have fenders but what are some lightweight and easily storeable rain protection ideas? I need to cover my head, legs, arms, torso, hands and feet but I also run a clipless pedal setup. Thanks.

Rain Pants: I can personally vouch for the quality of J& G cycling rain pants. I wear these over my tights when the teperatures drop well below 32F, and anytime there is precipitation. They can be found at: http://www.bicycleclothing.com/ I bought the cheaper style of rain pants (no breathing) since I found it hard to justify double the cost. I also have doubts about how much moisture rain pants are going to be able to release when it is wet outside. The pants are well made and appear like they will hold up for a long time. The size chart was also correct, I can't remember what size I bought, but I looked at my pant size (38) and bought what the chart stated, and they fit nicely.

Rain Coat: I bought a cheap PCV rain coat from Nashbar for $14 and have been amazed at how well it works. The sides of the coat have a mesh strip that lets out plenty of extra body heat. I still can tell the inside arms get moist from sweat, but this is actually less bad than my "breathable" Quest wind breaker. My co-worker got a similar coat from a local bike store from Louis Garneaux and it also has mesh along the arms. So far I have stayed 100% dry on my toso and legs.

Head: I bought a yellow LG helmet cover from Nashbar for about $18. I will use this during heavy rain. For a light rain I will wear the rain coat and pants, but my head gets a bit sweaty anyways so I'll skip the cover. For heavy rains the cover is very nice to have. It does breath, but you certainly will have plenty of moisture on the underside from a sweaty head.

Feet: I used toe clips. In the Fall through Spring I wear winterboots that are 100% water proof. I am looking to get a set of shoe covers for the summer because 85F+ and heavy rain will mean my feet would be as wet from sweat as they would have been from rain if I were to try to use my winterboots. I wear Merrill Ventelator shoes during the summer and they are water resistant, but definitely will get wet after enough rain.

Hands: I have not yet found a good solution for this problem. During the Summer I just wear my gloves and they get wet. During the Fall I wear full fingered gloves and once they get wet (within minutes depending on the severity of rainfall) my hands were frozen cold. I am tempted to pickup a extra pair of disposable "examination gloves" that they have in the bathrooms at work and put those over my gloves to at least keep the heavy water off the hands. Eventually my hands would get wet from sweat, but that would take a bit longer. I have not yet found any locally available waterproof gloves that would be good for the Fall through Spring.

Happy riding,
André

I wear a light nylon jacket and the rest of me just gets wet. When it is raining, it is usually too warm to wear waterproof garments. I get wet from the inside if I do. If it is raining it isn't very cold out so I really don't mind getting wet. I never bought into trying to stay dry on my bike.

When it cools off then you don't need waterproof garments because it's snowing. In Colorado it was easy because even the snow is dry. Here in Seattle it's just wet and so am I.

If your look at the J&G website, check out the wind pants. Those over a pair of winter tights do a good job for me. A good pair of track pants with some way to keep the cuffs out of the chain work well, also. When it comes to rain, I just give up and plan to get wet, while making sure I stay warm. The tights dry fast because they are on my legs, which generate plenty of heat. A good rain shell over a jersey or polypro longsleeve works well for the upper body. Check out some ski/snowboard gloves if it's very cold, gloves are one of the places that gore-tex and other materials makes the most sense for cycling. Your hands won't get sweaty, and they need to be as dry and warm as possible to remain comfortable. Add a skull cap under the helmet and/or a raincover on top and I'm set for most of the weather here. Near Seattle, so if it's raining it's around 40 F.

boog

About gloves and rain: I have been using these NRS Reactor Gloves (bought at REI in the boating section) for about a year during cold wet commutes. They aren't cheap, but they work. This morning it was 32°F and raining--my fingers were initially cold, but were warm by the time I was half way to work.
http://images.nrsweb.nrsweb.com.edge...05_400x400.jpg

$40.00 isn't bad for a warm pair of gloves for riding. I paid about the same for my PI Cyclones.

Not sure how cold it gets out there but Novarra Express bike pants work great for me in the rain - with a base layer they keep me warm (mind you I am in CA) I think they're like 45 bucks at REI. There is also another version by Novarra with a liner, but they're cost you about 100 bucks (probably overkill for me, but might work for you)
As stated in the above post you can get a good & inexpensive PVC shell from Nashbar - the one I've got is simple, breathable and light, again good for anything that a CA "winter" will throw at me.
For my clipless shoes I use neoprene GATORS over them, about 35 bucks, there are more expensive ones out there but these seem to work fine. Don't be like me and forget to get shoe covers - I thought I'd be OK without them - boy was I dumb - my feet were soaking wet after about a 1/4 mile and I didn't have any dry socks to change into when I got to work.
Also, you can put your feet in plastic grocery bags and put your shoes on over them - not perfect but works in a pinch. Also, depending on what kind of seat you have its good to put a plastic bag over your seat so it wont soak up water.

I use this from Decathlon.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/images...et_9846925.jpg

Rain jacket:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/city-rain-jacket-3902888/

Overtrousers:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/city-o...users-3902990/


They have other stuff here:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/city-w...ction-3902854/

Very light material. The pants and jacket weigh in at only 700grams.

Those look like they're neoprene. I bought a pair of Gil neoprene gloves, and they were a complete waste of money. They are waterproof so they don't let any moisture OUT. By the time I get to work, even if I wear them when it's not raining, I can take them off and pour out a nice pool of sweat. They're still a bit warm but not great, and they're clammy and gross, plus I have no idea how to clean them.

Do the Reactor gloves do that?

I got red ledge gear and I was set for $70!!! Pants were $30 and jacket was $40. They are fully waterproof and windproof. They are very light but paired with a warm layer underneath they are perfect!!

As regards a jacket I have the Madison Pursuit Waterproof Jacket.

It is totally waterproof, I have ridden home in some torrential downpours and it has kept me dry, and more importantly relatively cool, the fabric is on a par with eVent for breathability fabrics. It is also lined in a mesh material with means you can wear a short sleeved t-shirt in warmer weather without that clammy feeling you sometimes get with rain gear. I have the hi vis yellow version, but if this is not to your taste, they have a more restrained colour. Okay, there is not much in the way of reflective material, but I rely more on good lights for in that regard. Another thing I like about is that is is stain resistant, any spots of road dirt thrown at it just wipe off.

http://www.endura.co.uk/Product.aspx...22&prod_id=119

http://www.endura.co.uk/Product.aspx...133&prod_id=30

Cost a fortune here in the States, great stuff though.