MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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will soon be riding to and from work in the next month just wondering what suitable clothing is appropriate for bad rainy days ?
About 3 mths back I bought a Paramo Quito waterproof jacket which only saw it's first proper rain last Tuesday. I got soaked and frozen within an hour,but have to point out that I was wearing an old Gore-tex, my friend who borrowed the Paramo, however, used it for her Courier run and stayed dry all day.Good recommendation(for the jacket, not for lending it).
nearly £200! id rather wear nothing lol
How far are you riding? Changing at work or commuting in work clothes?
about 40 mins of riding, taking work clothes in a bag on my back and then just need something suitable in case it rains on the way, upper and lower whats best options
may i just say, fit mudguards for at least the winter, it makes more difference than waterproofs and you will be surprised how rarely you get wet. I commuted for a few years and actually got wet a handful of times.
lower body ignore as mudguards sort that, and upper body more often than not a windproof was enough, although i do have a gore oxygen? pac lite jacket.
agree with Coatsey - the Paramo stuff is great.
plenty available s/h (I picked a jacket off here for £50) and unlike Goretex etc (IMHO) a quick wash and proof and its as good as new
Firstly - mudguards on the bike. No excuses, full length mudguards.
Go and try on a few jackets and see what fits you best. I find shapes vary a lot. I have an old waterproof-but-vented jacket that works fine - I expect to get a bit sweaty no matter what I wear. As for the legs - could you ride that far in full waterproofs? I prefer roubaix bib tights that are warm even if wet, and my waterproof shorts over them if really nasty. Lusso do some water repellant ones. The DHB and Altura trousers seem well rated. You'll need waterproof gloves too.
Montane Atomic DT is a great jacket for the price. I wear mine most days on or off the bike 🙂
I used the Endura Stealth tights over the worst of the winter - freezing rain, snow etc and they worked out great. A bit warm for warmer use though. I tend to just wear windstopper tights now and accept that fact they'll soak through.
Jackets/upper layers are a bit more of a problem and it tends to depend on the weather. For real pissing rain, I use an old Berghaus Paclite jacket. Anything less, and it's Gore Windstopper again.
If you treat the Windstopper with Nikwax, it'll go a long way to making it more water resistant.
The mud guards are certainly a good idea although most of my bikes only take them with difficulty. Generaly don't care as my comuting is to pubs and the shops etc and they don't care what I look like but for work I think full mud gaurds are probably a must. Waterproofs I would go for 2 jackets (waterproof and breathable)a light weight for no rain expected and heavy one for cold and wet winter. Wear a tea shirt (man made material a must) underneath (long sleeve in winter)and a thin fleece if its cold. AND do stop and take off the fleece when/if you need to. Sweat makes you cold even if your jacket is breathable and waterproof. The breathabilty is finate. I would not rule out breathable and waterproof truousers depends just how bad the weather is. Preferably a cycle jacket ie that big back pocket and tail. Nothing more annoying than phone, wallet etc catching your leg or money jangling. The problem with cycling jackets is they tend to be tighter than a walking jacket so I would buy a size larger or just get the walking jackets.
When i used to do 17 mile comute few years back,used ex nato Gore tex over trousers on really wet days, keep em clean, wash regulary not in wash powder thou clogs pores,( thou we had machine room where all fridge/freezer motors were made excellent drying room ), so most of time good cycle leggings,or shorts/3/4 when warmer ,skin drys quickly.
Change of clothes kept at work .
I do 5 days a week commuting, I get as much as I can from Aldi when they do the sales (the bib tights are good, the winter gloves are good, socks are good, the rest is so so)
when it's really cold and raining hard I wear a merino baselayer, a long sleeve top and a budget yellow waterproof from wiggle. I wear aldi bibs or ronhill tights and some cheap waterproof trousers from millets cut to 3/4 length. I accept I will get sweaty.
when it doesn't completely chuck it down I ditch the 3/4 trousers and get wet/damp, less layers are better as long as you keep warm, I don't wear the yellow waterproof unless I have to and even then I try not to zip it all the way up if I can get away with it
I always ride in cycling clothes, I have a locker and shower at work. decent lights are a must 🙂 best of luck
agree re full mudguards
Altura night vision evo for the top half - also highly visible and will slide along black ice covered tarmac without any damage 😳
Army surplus goretex trousers, cut to 3/4 length and if you can maybe a velcro tag to tuck in the flappy hem after you've got them on over your boots