Rain Cape
 

I've done a search on this forum but I've only found a few people mention these. What do you think of a cape like the one below for bicycling in rain?

Campmor Rain Cape

Is it better than rain jacket and pants? More convenient? Does it keep you dry? How much is splash from below a problem? Any other thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.

I'd hardly say I'm concerned about aerodynamics when commuting, but with that thing you might as well fly a kite behind your bike. cheap waterproof pants are much easier to deal with.

Several factors come into play...how fast are you riding, what style of bike, do you have fenders, mud flaps, how hard a rain, windy, traffic? etc. I have a Campmor cape as well as a Carradice I keep the Campmor in my saddle bag for the showers that pop up when I wasn't paying attention to the weather forecast. Wind can and will affect you if it is strong or gusty. Fenders are a requirement with a rain cape, mud flaps and spray guards a plus. If it is a soft gentle rain I have been known to ride ala the dutch with an umbrella:p I live in the deep south so a rain suit is not a good choice IMHO because I get wetter from sweating than the rain. In the summer I ride in the rain and get wet, winter good chance I have a rain cape on. There is also a rain cape made by a company in Oregon, but I can't locate the link. FWIW if it matters I believe the one from Campmor is made in the US. Mine does keep me dry as long as I don't ride thru any massive puddles at speed.

Aaron:)

It's not exactly a cape, but more of a light rain resistant jacket (with hood if desired). This is what I use.

http://www.alertshirt.com/wirajaancl3.html

Additionally, there was some discussion on rain capes in this thread:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ight=cape+rain

i'm a fan of the carradice. i have the duxbak version. like it well enough when it is cold and raining. haven't worn it in the summer yet. perfect for a mild commute or for running errands.

I love my campmor rain cape. Still, sometimes my legs will get wet when it's windy, especially below the knee.

I keep it in my bag.

Seems like a bad idea to me. Capes are fine if you're walking, on the bike they will flap and flop and get caught of stuff. They MAY keep your shoulders dry but that would be all. I recommend and use a waterproof breathable jacket.

Thought about a cape but don't want traffic splash so I use a rain suit.

I'm sure this works for you, but I for one have not been able to find a shell that's both waterproof and breathable enough. If I absolutely have to wear the waterproof jacket I now have, I ride very slowly to avoid excess sweating. As mentioned, YMMV.

--J

This is incorrect.

Bike capes have straps that loop around your seat post. Also, the front has straps to put your hands in. So you stretch the cape out from the handlebars to the seat. That keeps your upper torso very dry, with plenty of ventilation under you. It works great. The wind comes into play to knock the cape around below your waist. That can cause you to get wet on the sides or front of the bottom of your legs.

Note that if you intend to ride fast in the rain this isn't the best bet. The cape acts like a sail and slows you down a bit. I wouldn't do without one, but I can see some that those who enjoy a big ride in the rain need a different product.

FYI--you'll still get wet from underneath if you don't have fenders.

ever worn a carradice, or even a cape designed for cycling?

The Oregon based company mentioned above:
http://www.bicycleclothing.com/Rain-Capes.html

The other Oregon-based maker:
http://www.catoregon.org/catstore.htm

I have one and cannot say enough good things about it. For the record, I wear rain pants from Sierra Designs and neoprene booties if it's raining enough to warrant the cape. Also have full fenders and mudflaps.

...why would anyone want to wear a cape over wp jacket and pants?
what's the advantage? It won't keep you as dry.

I wear a Carradice cape. I step off the bicycle after an hour long downpour and the only thing wet are the tips of the toes.

Fenders are recommended.

You still sweat, and yes, in winds above 21 mph you're going to feel it more, but overall, the cape has kept me a LOT cooler than my jacket.

have you worn a rain cape?

I use that cape and it's great. Yes, it catches the wind, but you need to catch as much wind as possible to evaporate your sweat in the humid air which accompanies rain.

With fenders my feet stay dryer than walking around with an umbrella.

On the contrary, rain wear is a careful balance between speed, rain, and sweat. A cape compromises speed, but is in my experience the only thing that can keep you dry from both rain and sweat.

In my experience, a rain cape will keep you totally dry above the waist, and keeps you cooler than any waterproof jacket. It does slow you down a bit if there's a wind, but I usually find that it's not a big deal -- in the rain I'm taking it a bit easy anyway because of visibility and braking issues.

However, I commute in the city and a cape doesn't keep my legs dry. From the knees down I get hit by the spray from cars. Usually it's fine, but if I'm going somewhere after work and really need to be dry, I wear rain paints along with the cape.

You don't sweat from the cape yet most do from wearing high quality waterproof rain gear. Plus the cape folds up small.

Caradice makes knee to toe protectors called spats. They do tend to slip a little; still, the only part that gets wet then is the knee area. One disadvantage for me from using a cape was that it draped over my headlight. I mostly solved that with one of those adapters that lets you add handlebar accessaries to a small bar extended in front of your handlebar.

Tony

I got one for Christmas, but rain and my cycling times haven't coincided yet. I'll report back if and when I actually get to use it.

I tried a cape once. A gust of wind nearly took me in front of a truck doing 50 MPH; it was like wearing a sail. I threw it away after that one use.
I guess it depends on if it's ever windy and raining at the same time when you're riding.

Wahoonc is right, IMO, the main advantage of the rain cape would be airflow -- in warm weather, you sweat in raingear, period -- claims of "breathability" notwithstanding.

That said, I use the O2 Cycling Series rain jacket and pants (along with Burley shoe covers), and they are very nice (and inexpensive!), see my reviews here: http://kentuckybicycling.com/category/review/

Finally had a chance to try out my rain cape on a short ride this afternoon.

It is a lot like using an umbrella or a poncho. If there's not much wind, if you keep your speed down, it'll work great (and I had fenders and was on a bike trail, so no car spray problems). If you do start having wind or speed issues, you'll start getting wet from the feet up. With a one-size-fits-all, a small person is going to be better protected than a large person, just like with an umbrella. You don't get the "in a bag" feeling, just like an umbrella. The "sail effect" wasn't that bad for me. It seems to me that if winds or your speed are high enough to be a sail problem, then you're not going to stay too dry with it anyway. It seems to me that some table cloth weights on the hem of the cape might help. I had the brilliant idea of fastening a hula hoop in the hem of the cape to keep it spread out, but I was afraid that would look too dorky even for me.

A while back, I bought some "Frog Togs" at Academy. I'm not sure how they work. But you get that "in a plastic bag" feeling in a hurry with them, so I wouldn't look forward to wearing them cycling. I've never tried Goretex, but understand doesn't entirely solve this problem, either.

I was checking around some on ways to keep rain out of my face. The cycling caps I saw at the store have a very small bill, smaller than a normal gimme-cap, so they didn't seem promising. They had some helmets with visors, but the visors look small, and also look like they'd let rain come between the visor and the helmet. On my ride this afternoon, I just used the gimme cap and no helmet and that worked fine.