What is everyone’s strategy for rain pants when touring? Traditionally, I have limited my tours to four-week timeframes, with a few exceptions. I also avoid travelling during the rainy season, so at worst, I might encounter just a day or two of rain followed by sunny periods rather than extended blocks of rainfall. However, next spring, I am planning a 12-week trip to circumnavigate Europe, during which I expect to experience some extended periods of rain.

Normally, I just wear thermal tights, expecting to get wet but not too cold. If it's pouring, I power through the day. What do other touring cyclists prefer? Are rain pants the way to go? In my past experience with rain pants, I often ended up just as wet inside from sweat and eventual leakage as I would be without them. Generally, they are not as comfortable.

I now carry something like the Patagonia Terrebonne. Not too expensive, lightweight (170g), look like regular pants and relatively waterproof (DWR).

It varies with expected temperatures.
My default would be long tights that get wet but also can dry.
However, taking off from Prudhoe Bay with ~0C and trending to snow, I had warm tights and light rain pants over them. In more tropical areas and warmer rain expected I may still have cycling shorts and not tights.

If it's going to be a temperature where prolonged exposure to wet can lead to getting cold or even hypothermia, I wear rain paints. I have a pair of ok but not great REI pants. I also have waterproof socks which are great.

If cold enough that I am concerned about getting chilled, I use:
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• Breathable waterproof rain pants that have side zips on the sides that are high enough I can put them on with my shoes staying on.
• I use suspenders on my rain pants, the draw string never does it for me to keep them up high enough.
• And rain covers for my shoes, the rain pants go over the tops of the covers. The rain pants have to be long enough that when I bend my knees, the pants are still low enough to stay over the tops of my shoe covers.

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And if it is warm enough that I would sweat a lot with rain pants, something different. This past June I did a tour where I expected it to be warm enough that I might often want to go without rain pants. (Most of my tours have been in much cooler locales.) Tried something else to keep my shorts a bit dryer so I do not get skin problems from wet shorts.
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• Rain Legs. They worked well in light drizzle to moderate rain. I ordered them from Europe, they were much cheaper than USA sellers, but from this seller they have very slow shipping. I was very happy I had them. I can't say how they would work if you lacked fenders, I usually use fenders when touring. https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/...s/137505420/p?
• My shoes are slow to dry out when wet. And I saw how a friend had wet shoes that stayed wet long enough we had to stop for a day so his feet could recover after several days of being soaked. Thus, I brought some sandals that have stiff enough soles to work well on the platform sides of my pedals.

I know I gave more detail above on other equipment than you asked, but I think of rain pants or lack of them as part of a clothing system. And other parts of that system have to be compatible with my choice.

Most cyclists skip the helmet cover, but I am sold on that. And yellow or clear glasses to keep rain out of my eyes.

Bring them. If you end up needing them, you’ll be glad you brought them. If you end up needing them and didn’t bring them, you’ll be sorry you didn’t.

Avoidance, and sissy-baby attention to the weather. I do have a pair of "youth rain pants" that I found by accident in a Walmart. I have tried them on, but fortunately have never had to ride any distance in them. From what I have read over the years, about hiking and biking in the rain, we will achieve cold fusion before we have rain gear that really breathes during exercise.

Actually, having adequate clothing makes weather conditions less of a concern. I stupidly left my pants at home one tour in favor of just my thermal leg warmers. I wish I had brought them after a long descent in very cold rain left me moderately hypothermic (uncontrollable shivering and mild confusion).

Thanks for the balanced responses. Still wrestling with this as I am trying to keep things as light and minimal as possible I would rather not pack just in case. Thermal tights are ok for moderate weather but an absolute pain when it comes to drying or cleaning after a day of rain.

After a day of riding in the rain are modern rain pants mostly weather proof? In tights after a day of riding I look like a white wrinkled corpse.

My wife and I experienced 35 days of rain on a 3-month tour. A woman we talked to in the Netherlands said, "It has not rained this much since 1974, when I was pregnant with my daughter."

I can't think of a tour when I regretted taking my rain gear.

If there's a chance of a long freezing descent, I'll take my silnylon pants. A friend made them, they weigh a few ounces, and pack the size of a fist. They're basically a tailored plastic bag with a drawstring, so I don't wear them often, but they've helped in those hypothermia situations.

my pair of North Face rain pants are a lot lighter than older rain pants I used to own. They are also reasonably flat folded up , so I'm very much in the camp of it being worth it to have full rain pants.
The thing is, some rain pants are a lot heavier, stiff, thick, whatever, so you really do need to see them in person and feel and weigh them to know--pretty much impossible just looking at online store photos.
I'll look and see how much mine weigh.

and I used rain booties also, so with full rain gear, I don't end up with wet stuff that takes forever to dry out, and no matter what people say about sweating etc, your clothes and shoes are going to be a hell of a lot more wet and soaked without full rain gear.
And if too hot, you just take it off and you dry quickly.
When cool though, even if damp with rain gear, you wont get chilled, which can happen pretty easily, even in some summer conditions when the temps really drop with big thunderstorms.

I also have no problem putting on and taking off rain gear often when needed.

**my rain pants are North Face using the lighter membrane stuff that is less heavy than some goretex or whatever--they weigh 222 grams, or about half a pound.
I've always found that this waterproof layer technology works pretty good, breathes fairly well, and as well as being sort of light for what they are, they dry out in the sun or dry air fairly quickly.
I guess superlight sylon stuff will work too, a lot smaller and lighter.

I'll also go with others have said, about never regretting having good rain gear if rain and temps aren't great, no fun being overly uncomfortable vs a small weight penalty, unless you are racing or something.

I got a new rain jacket last year, a lot lighter and less bulky than my old one, same level of 2 layer waterproof layers as pants. Works pretty good all in all.

Another option to consider is a pair of wind pants. They are not waterproof and are breathable. They will not keep you dry but they can add warmth if the temperature drops and it starts raining. And being quite breathable, you would not accumulate sweat wearing them.

I have a pair that I use for warm weather backpacking for trips where I only bring shorts, not long pants. I can put the wind pants on over the shorts for chilly wind. Mine require shoe removal to put them on, they are not designed for cycling. I have not used them for cycling, but I bring my other options (listed above) so I do not need them for cycling.

Mine pack to about the size of a tennis ball, I have had them for over a decade.

In the warm months (May to September), I don’t bother with rain pants. I have a tiny Altura pocket rocket jacket and wear my swimming trunks (speedo jammers). Works fine if you’re not used to bike shorts with padding. Oh, and a shower cap over my helmet.

Where will you be starting, in what month? You'd be surprised how cool it can be sometimes and rainy.
Heck a few years ago we went to France in about early June, and we just missed a period of quite chilly and rain, rain rain. There were nights of 7, 8c at first but then soon got back to regular June temps.
Being in rain in cool windy temps sucks big time and ain't enjoyable, even less so without proper rain gear.

Buy these exact rain pants. They have a mesh lining that prevents the fabric from sticking to the skin. Best rain pants I've ever worn, far better than the expensive cycling specific rain pants I used to wear. You will not get the usual clammy feeling. And they cost only $24.

iCreek Men's Rain Pants Waterproof Over Pants Windproof Lightweight Hiking Pants Work Rain Outdoor for Golf, Fishing https://a.co/d/6dx0EcH

I just bought the Showers Pass Transit Pants. First ride this morning, 60 degrees, rain from zero to steady. Wore my usual summer shorts and kneewarmers under.9 miles into Portland, hung with friends, did the farmers market and rode home wearing them the whole time.

I dressed as a compromise to be comfortable off the bike and was a little warm riding. But I was impressed. This waterproof, breathable fabrics is a game changer. And being Showers Pass, probably pretty darn durable. (I've had very good experiences with their jackets.) Fully rideable. I did use clip-on suspenders; the same ones I use year 'round (with shorts, not bibs). Details like pant cuffs, the seat ... like these pants were designed by folk who were planning to ride them all winter. Neat feature - the zip up cuffs come nearly to the knee and the zipper is place in front of the velcro to remove the baginess. So, indoors, you can unzip them entirely to cool off without needed to anything more than re-zip to ride, knowing the cuffs will never see your chainring or chain.

I bought these to both ride and walk in as I plan to do both all winter. They are going to get a lot of use based on what I saw today.

I've used Rain Legs for commuting for the past 5 years. They work great for that, but my commute is only about 30 minutes. If I'm out for much longer than that in heavy rain, I'll start to feel wet. (I too have only used them with fenders.)

Probably the biggest annoyance with them is having a wet butt. You pull up to a red light and stand over your bike, allowing your saddle to get rained on. The light turns green, you put your butt back on the saddle, and now you're wet.

They don't add any notable warmth, so they're great for those days when you look out the window and it is gray and looks like there's a light drizzle but you might have time to make it across town before it really starts dumping. In those sorts of conditions I never want to preemptively wear full rain pants because of the heat. Throwing on the Rain Legs has basically zero cost, so I'll do it anytime it looks like it might rain.

When packing for a tour I feel better knowing I can stay out all day in the rain if I have to, so I'll pack full rain pants.

I came across Taiga Velo Crocs recently. They're rain pants with integrated spats. I'm intrigued. I may try these next time I need to replace my rain pants.

I forgot to mention above, I use a leather saddle. When it starts raining, the rain cover goes on the saddle before I start putting rain gear on my body. Even though I use fenders, I also treat the bottom of my saddle with Brooks Proofide, along with the top of course.

On a bike tour, I spend very little time at stop lights. Vast majority of the time I am far away from stop lights, thus am moving nearly constantly.

But, good point about being stopped.

Initially I bought the Rain Legs for randonneuring, someone mentioned them on the rando board. But so far have only used them on a bike tour.

Hi, I have treated the underside of the saddle once when I first bought it, but since then I only treat the top with a very small amount yearly. The underside is rough and takes up much more proofide than the top. My thought was that treating the underside as often as the topside would hasten the degradation of the saddle. I can nicely buff the topside after a thin layer of proofide. Reminds me of doing same to my shoes when I was a kid. However, the underside cannot be buffed and it soaks in more deeply.

It is true when riding in heavy rain the water goes everywhere even with fenders, and to the underneath of the saddle, with the top covered. So it seems wise as you suggest to reapply also to bottom. I appreciate your comments, thanks.

I did a fair amount of commuting with ShowersPass Event pants. Not sure what they’re using now. They do work, are expensive and eventually willwear out. I’ve used plastic bags and goretex socks and found that goretex socks are great. Not much fun being somewhat impervious to downpours but having soaked and frozen feet. A couple times I rode with sandals and goretex socks over wool socks theough slush and wet snow. No problem. Also if you have wet shoes the next day you can wear goretex socks and not get your socks and feet wet.

I live in the PNW and never use rain pants even though I've ridden a lot in the rain, on purpose. I use tights, lighter for summer rain, heavier for winter rain. Touring in the summer, I took the lighter pair. Much less bulky than rain pants and avoids the nasty feeling of wet, non-breathable stuff on my legs. Legs work hard and are not very sensitive to cold. I don't carry a rain jacket either, just a wind jacket, wind vest, both very light, and a warm layer to go between my jersey and jacket, and a light T-shirt for under the jersey. I don't believe in waterproof attire for riding. Always makes me overheat because there's no way to get rid of the heat. I treat the rain like perspiration and let a little of it in. Works great. I don't mind riding in the rain. I don't use a helmet cover either, just a poly hat under the helmet, same reasoning.

You might do a little rain riding, see if you already have the right garments. I've never been able to wear waterproofs for more than a half hour. Without them, my temperature stabilizes in less than an hour and stays the same for the whole ride. No matter what you wear, it's going to get wet, so I never tented out after a rain ride, did the hotel thing, dried stuff overnight. When you get in, you lay out a towel or two, put your wet gear on it, roll it up and the twist the heck out of it until it collapses into a snail shape, then jump up and down on it. That squeezes the water into the towel, then hang dry.

That is my feelings as well however I am wondering for an extended tour whether rain pants would be the way to go. Although the general consensus leans towards rain pants, my experience tells me I am usually much more comfortable in tights. I find, regardless how weatherproof the clothing is a combination of sweat and some eventual leakage means I’m soaked as either way. However, that experience is mostly with hiking and not cycling.

Do what you want, but I really find it to be temperature dependent, as I described in post 5 above.

On the day in the photo, I had a long sleeve jersey under my jacket, which was under the rain jacket. I was not worried about sweat that day.



I was glad I had long finger gloves that day, with some mitten type covers to go over the fingers. I did not expect to find snow on the ground in June, but, yup, that was snow.




On the other hand, if you are always in a built up area with motel options every day, do what CarbonFiberBoy does.

I think the answer is don't tour somewhere cold in the rainy season, like here and now, 48° and pouring. That's not going to be fun no matter how you're dressed. Yeah, I've tried waterproof and always got overheated and sweat soaked. Gotta have some way to get rid of the body heat. I'd say, wear what you have experience with. As is usual, experience is everything.