Newbie, question on rain gear...
 

Im currently a cager, getting ready to move (back) to Florida this summer and am headed to a bike friendly city (Gainesville) and planning to ditch my car and use a bike as my solo means of transportation. My commute to work will only be 2 miles, most of that on a designated, paved bike path. However, being from Florida I know it can rain seriously hard so have been looking at rain gear. Looking for something that will keep my dry and also from overheating, I figure my actual commute shouldn't generate too much heat as it's only 2 flat miles and I'm pretty fit. I was looking at the Shower Pass Double Century EX and the Transit Pants to go along with it. As well as shoe covers and helmet cover. Anyone have experience with these? Will it be too warm in Florida? I don't know the shower/changing situation at work, although I imagine there are locker rooms since it's a hospital, so changing will probably be an option too, in that case tips of getting wrinkle free dress shirt and pants there dry? Saw something about using a garment bag rolled up inside a pannier.
Thanks!

You get wet in the rain, no matter what. If your gear keeps the rain off you, you will sweat and drench yourself from the inside. The way to be dry at work is to have a change of clothes. Maybe have two pairs of socks waiting for you.

However, fenders on the bike can help a lot, especially when it's not raining terribly hard or when your trip isn't long. Get the longest fenders you can get. Shorter fenders look like they work but aren't worth it in my view. Fenders also keep a huge amount of dirt and grit off your bike.

If you carefully roll your clothes they won't get too wrinkled. You can put them in a trash bag to keep them dry, which is the cheapest route, or spend more on dry bags or water proof panniers. Keep anything you can at work, like shoes, for example, that take up space in your backpack/pannier or whatever you are using to transport things.

If I were you and had a locker room at work, I'd just get wet in Florida temperatures. The challenge is to get everything dry by the time you need to put it back on to go home. If you are lucky you will have a place to hang things with a fan nearby.

There's nothing that's waterproof and keeps you from overheating when it's warm. A waterproof jacket with pits zips is the best I've found, but any material that keeps water out won't breath.

once you get the mudguards sorted out, I find for Heavy Showers my Cycle Rain cape keeps the rest of me pretty Dry..

and that its not tightly around your body lets some decent air circulate it's underside.

I have front panniers to pack it in when un needed .. it's quick to put on. Bike setup was with my Lights mounted Low to not drape the cape over them.


Note: Carradice Saddle Bags have buckle fittings for carrying a Rolled Cape on their lid , traditionally...

Thanks everyone. I'll likely get some light rain gear for cooler days, attempt them on an off work day in the summer rain just to see and end up bringing a pair of clothes with me to work and changing there in the long term. The bike I'm looking at, the breezer uptown ex has fenders as well as a chain guard. Would it be better to have fun with a full chain case?

Like Fietsbob said, going full Yehuda Moon (Yehuda Moon & The Kickstand Cyclery) with fenders and a rain cape is good balance of cool/dry, as long as the wind isn't blowing the rain sideways. A full chaincase is probably overkill, using dry chain lube instead of wet lube will help with cleanliness. Also you could look at a belt drive which avoids the whole chain lube issue.

For a light rain, you don't need any special gear; get some fenders to keep the road grime off of you and the bike.

For a heavier rain, get a breathable raincoat and some waterproof shoe covers. Bring a towel and a change of clothes to work with you and find somewhere to hang up your wet gear so it can dry.

i'm in St. Augustine Fl. I just have fenders, and have an 11 mile ride to work. With a two mile commute and access to a locker room, I wouldn't even worry about it. I occasionally get drenched but it would be just as bad sweating under rain gear.

If I was living in Gainesville, I'd get the O2 Nokomis jacket. It's a convertible jacket with zip off sleeves. I've had their rain pants going on eight years and they are excellent. They breathe good. In hot weather most people go without. But if you did need rain protection. I would think a waterproof rain vest would be just the thing down there. In the summer I take the rain pants and roll them up to my knees. BOOM! waterproof shorts. It works good. Even though its warm outside, there are times where I don't feel like getting drenched. I wear the J&G rain jacket. It has huge pit vents and is just as comparable to the Showers Pass elite. But since I discovered the O2 sleeveless jacket, I'm thinking of getting that for the summer months.

Nokomis Jacket (Hi-viz Yellow) | O2 Rainwear

I was gonna buy one of the J&G jackets, at the last moment I got a new, with tags, Commuter Jacket for $64.

I've used it for a month now and fully realize why some people will simply respond "Shower's Pass" to a rain gear question.

Despite what @noglider says, you don't always get wet in the rain. He just needs to expand his world a bit beyond NYC :-)

On warm/hot days an umbrella works great for keeping you dry without having to wear rain gear that will make you sweat. When temps are cooler I like the warmth of rain gear though still may use an umbrella since I often end up wanting to unzip. As mentioned previously get good fenders. If you can I'd also get a bike with an internally geared rear hub so that you can have an enclosed chaincase.


More riding in the rain video's @: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/?s=rain

BTW, at about 1:55 in the video you can see someone hop on the back of their friends bike, a common occurrence. You usually hop off when stopped and then once they've gotten a couple of pedal strokes going you get back one. Once you've done it a few times it becomes quite natural. I've seen people get off and back on while reading a book. Also, the red/white stripped post towards the end has been removed. Bad experiment.

One of the biggest issues though is the wake from passing cars. This is where being on a path with some distance from cars helps considerably so choose your route carefully. When I'm in Amsterdam I have a dry route and a slightly longer rain route to work. The rain route avoids a spot where cars can throw a drenching wake.

You should be able to do 2 miles in work clothes (jeans, suit, whatever) except on the muggiest days but on those days you'll get wet just walking across a parking lot anyway so no real difference.

Hey! Are you calling me small-worlded? :lol:

The idea of carrying an umbrella while riding a bike just makes me shake my head. I can't get over it.

Thanks everyone. Very helpful. I'm feeling better about the rain, but in my rain research I've begun worrying about lightning. I know the safest thing is to be inside during lightning, but that's not always possible. Is it super dangerous to do a short commute if there are thunderstorms? I feel like 10 minutes on a bike can't be that much worse than a few minutes running in a big parking lot, or waiting for a bus during a thunderstorm.

It's when you try doing it with a cappuccino and talking on your cell at the same time that you run in to trouble. :)

It actually works quite well. If the rain is coming down fairly straight you can keep your entire body fairly dry, otherwise you get a bit less protection. The biggest problem I've had is when I borrowed a hotel umbrella that was kind of huge. I got two blocks and asked if they had something smaller and fortunately they did which is when I found out that one of the guys there had run out to his car and grabbed his personal golfing umbrella just to see how far I'd get. They'd even gone out the back of the hotel and taken pics when I went by.

I don't do lightning. Good time to stay inside for me.

I have a Showers Pass and a J&G, and gotta say I prefer he J&G for daily commuter use here in Seattle. The J&G is basic, robust, and has excellent ventilation.

I used water proof rain gear for awhile but about 20 years ago I learned to like the rain. Now I prefer clothing that facilitates getting wet...rain is terrific for ventilation and washing away sweat. I still have a water proof endura jacket but I only use it on 20 degree or lower days when I need a shell that really cuts the wind.

Oh please. Enough with the myth that Dutch people riding in jeans don't get wet. The Dutch are obsessed with thrift (bike-specific rain coats are a frivolous expense) and being oblivious to personal discomfort (develops character). One consequence of this HTFU teutonic attitude is that a Dutch person who arrives at work looking like a drowned cat is typically admired by their coworkers and boss.

We have no lockers or any other facilities were I work, so for me its better to arrive to work a little damp from sweating in rain gear than soaking wet from rain without it. Fortunately our uniforms are active wear work clothes that dry rather quickly when damp.