Rain Jackets
#3
if cost isnt a big deal, this is what i'd get:
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ro...091.138.0.html
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ro...091.138.0.html
#4
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,875
Likes: 0
From: Kansas
Bikes: Cervelo RS, Specialized Stumpy, Schwinn 974
Assos does great design work, tests prototypes extensively, and maintains utmost mfr quality-control standards. The Climajet should be a very good jacket, particularly for racing and training.
Gore Bikewear has some excellent jackets. https://www.gorebikewear.com/remote/Satellite/MenJackets
Assos and GBW both offer high-tech materials. Assos uses a fabric that adjusts to rain, GBW uses very breathable Paclite and stretchy-GTX panels.
Assos and GBW cut their apparel to be most comfortable when you're in a riding position. For jackets, all Assos lines are designed to be sleek-fit, while GBW lines offer a range of fits for different uses and customer preferences.
For non-racing all-around utility riding, the Showers Pass Elite 2.0 is hard to beat. No waterproof fabric or membrane is completely "breathable", even eVent (which is a reworked version of Robert Gore's out-of-patent expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene). So SP uses a dual-action front zipper (unzippable from the bottom and top), pitzips, highly adustable wrist cuffs (you can turn them into mega air scoops, or cinch them water-tight), and a back vent.
No jacket I have seen offers all these adjustments. It's the best I've seen for dissipating sweat, and I've tried a lot of jackets. It's a wee bit baggy, compared to a form-fitting racing shell, but this is useful in providing under-shell airflow. It's kind of amazing actually. I was riding last week in 30 F dropping to 25 F / -1 to -4 C with the bottom unzipped about 10 inches, and the pit zips open, with a polypro baselayer and thin merino jersey. It was initially raining, turning to freezing rain and sleet, then snow. After 2.5 hours, I had to stop because some wood-board bridges were icing up and my tires were starting to slide, and slush had been thrown up and frozen in my derailleurs, so I could no longer shift.
But I was totally comfy. I could have gone another couple hours, no problem. (I've ridden a lot of times in GTX and Windstopper, sans 2.0's bulk-air-flow features, and gotten wet enough on my back to feel the clammy chill coming on after 2 hours, not so with the 2.0.)
I waited a long time to try this. Despite mostly favorable reviews, there were a few troubling criticisms about a bad-idea cuff change (to neoprene) that was eliminated this year, and some seam breakdowns. But REI now carries it, and with REI you get a full-satisfaction guarantee. So I pulled the trigger. Also Competitive Cyclist carries it, and they're very knowledgeable, discerning folks.
The 2.0 is a really nice all-around rain and wind shell.
It is far and away the #1 most popular shell in Washington and Oregon, where it rains and rains for 7 months straight. Probably cooler temps than where you are, but people say the 2.0 works well in 60's, 70's F. (Haven't tried it myself here, at 50 F I tried it wearing a summer jersey, and was dry and warm, with zips wide open.) I think if you had to totally zip it up, you might get damp, but it would have to be really cold to require this, e.g. -15 C maybe, at which point it would be serving merely as a windbreaker (which it is very good at).
Gore Bikewear has some excellent jackets. https://www.gorebikewear.com/remote/Satellite/MenJackets
Assos and GBW both offer high-tech materials. Assos uses a fabric that adjusts to rain, GBW uses very breathable Paclite and stretchy-GTX panels.
Assos and GBW cut their apparel to be most comfortable when you're in a riding position. For jackets, all Assos lines are designed to be sleek-fit, while GBW lines offer a range of fits for different uses and customer preferences.
For non-racing all-around utility riding, the Showers Pass Elite 2.0 is hard to beat. No waterproof fabric or membrane is completely "breathable", even eVent (which is a reworked version of Robert Gore's out-of-patent expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene). So SP uses a dual-action front zipper (unzippable from the bottom and top), pitzips, highly adustable wrist cuffs (you can turn them into mega air scoops, or cinch them water-tight), and a back vent.
No jacket I have seen offers all these adjustments. It's the best I've seen for dissipating sweat, and I've tried a lot of jackets. It's a wee bit baggy, compared to a form-fitting racing shell, but this is useful in providing under-shell airflow. It's kind of amazing actually. I was riding last week in 30 F dropping to 25 F / -1 to -4 C with the bottom unzipped about 10 inches, and the pit zips open, with a polypro baselayer and thin merino jersey. It was initially raining, turning to freezing rain and sleet, then snow. After 2.5 hours, I had to stop because some wood-board bridges were icing up and my tires were starting to slide, and slush had been thrown up and frozen in my derailleurs, so I could no longer shift.
But I was totally comfy. I could have gone another couple hours, no problem. (I've ridden a lot of times in GTX and Windstopper, sans 2.0's bulk-air-flow features, and gotten wet enough on my back to feel the clammy chill coming on after 2 hours, not so with the 2.0.)
I waited a long time to try this. Despite mostly favorable reviews, there were a few troubling criticisms about a bad-idea cuff change (to neoprene) that was eliminated this year, and some seam breakdowns. But REI now carries it, and with REI you get a full-satisfaction guarantee. So I pulled the trigger. Also Competitive Cyclist carries it, and they're very knowledgeable, discerning folks.
The 2.0 is a really nice all-around rain and wind shell.
It is far and away the #1 most popular shell in Washington and Oregon, where it rains and rains for 7 months straight. Probably cooler temps than where you are, but people say the 2.0 works well in 60's, 70's F. (Haven't tried it myself here, at 50 F I tried it wearing a summer jersey, and was dry and warm, with zips wide open.) I think if you had to totally zip it up, you might get damp, but it would have to be really cold to require this, e.g. -15 C maybe, at which point it would be serving merely as a windbreaker (which it is very good at).
#6
If you know more about this, can you explain more about how gore-tex and event are similar and different?
#7
Senior Member

Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 5,049
Likes: 11
From: La Verne CA
Bikes: Litespeed Liege, Motorola Team Issue Eddy Mercxk, Santana Noventa Tandem, Fisher Supercaliber Mtn. Bike
For a packable waterproof jacket, my favorite is: The Montane Velocity DT Jacket, cycling specific cut. It stuffs down to about the size of a big orange, easily fits in a jersey pocket.. Hard to find in the States, bought mine from UK seller, might be easier to find in Australia...
https://www.montane.co.uk/products/me...2.0-jacket/246
https://www.montane.co.uk/products/me...2.0-jacket/246










