Louis Le Tour

Shower Pass rain jacket............................................IT SUCKS!

Elite rain pants........................................................IT SUCKS!

Vaude rain cape......................................................IT SUCKS!

I'm really glad I found out about this junk on a ride within 20 miles of my home. That beats the snot out of discovering it in a downpour out in the hinterlands of Kansas! Whoever said "A fool and his money are soon parted" probably had me in mind! So, I'm open to suggestions from anybody who has some rain gear that actually keeps a guy dry whilst it's raining.

LesterOfPuppets

What was wrong with them? Did you sweat inside them or were they too permeable?

Louis Le Tour

Actually BOTH problems occurred. The pants leaked and the jacket & cape did not breath.

Doug64

I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have much experience with "breathable" garments? What was your expectations?

I have had good luck with Showers Pass's Elite rain jacket. My wife has one of their Touring rain jackets and also likes it. They gave us good service a few years ago when we had 35 days of rain on a tour. We have used them hundreds of rainstorms and have no complaints.

While we did not have 35 days of rain on this tour, we had enough to appreciate our rain gear.


Sometimes it is just technique

Carbonfiberboy 

OK, now you know what doesn't work. Because yes, the thing is that a cyclist that is going at any pace at all is going to produce more moisture than these "breathable" garments are designed to breathe, and seams do frequently leak, and all the rest of it. Which brings one to the inescapable conclusion that, no, there is no way to actually stay dry. It's not even a good idea. If you want to stay dry, stay indoors. You don't stay dry on a summer ride, do you? No, if you're going any pace at all and it's even reasonably warm, you sweat buckets. So why do you think you'd stay dry when it's raining???

Right. So what you want to be is comfortable. Comfortable means keeping your mammalian body temperature within some reasonable range, not too warm, not too cool. To stay out of the "too warm" range, you have to be able to cool through the evaporation of some water, maybe sweat, maybe precip. To stay out of the "too cool" range, you have to wear sufficient insulating garments so that, even when damp, they keep you in your comfort range. So earlier I said "mammalian." We aren't reptiles. We have temperature regulating mechanisms that try to keep our bodies in the proper range. All we need to do is give our bodies sufficient help so that their natural mechanisms can deal with the conditions. So it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be reasonably close.

How is this done in the rain? Well, we allow the rain water to help us stay cool, so it's important to let it in, but not too easily, as then the cold water will overwhelm our heating mechanisms. So we wear some sort of wind jacket that's fairly windproof, but not waterproof at all. It's easy to select the right sort of garment. You hold the fabric to your mouth and attempt to suck air through it. If you can't suck air, it's no good. If the air seems to go right through it, also not good. It should be hard to suck, but allow air to pass.

Then we have to insulate our bodies, so that we don't lose heat too easily. This might vary from just a SS jersey in summer, to several wool or poly layers in winter. I'm a poly guy because these fabrics wick moisture quickly, dry quickly, and don't add much weight of water to our load when wet: they don't actually absorb water. One has to experiment to see how much to wear in what conditions.

Some typical layering items: SS Craft undershirt, LS Craft undershirt, SS jersey, arm warmers, leg warmers, LS jersey, softshell jacket, padded shorts, unpadded tights, padded tights, wool socks, shoe covers (maybe two weights), winter MTB boots. Gloves: I have 5 different glove weights for different conditions. How much of this stuff you need depends on the temperature of the rainy day, all the way from 70s down to maybe 35.

As you can see, I live in the PNW and try to ride 52 weeks/year. Thus I have ridden hundreds of rain rides over the years, up to 200k of continuous rain on a ride. Most folks I ride with do exactly like I do, which is how I learned to do it.

Six jours

Well, Carbonfiberboy makes good sense. I do not believe it is possible to stay dry while cycling in the rain. The best you can hope for is to stay comfortable in the rain.

I personally depend on fenders and wool. That sucks if you are trying to emulate Pro Tour guys, which is probably a good example of why old people trying to emulate Pro Tour guys might not be good idea.

Short version: If you ride in the rain without good fenders you are probably going to be miserable. So after you've mounted good fenders, wear clothing that allows your sweat to evaporate while minimizing the exchange of new cold water for previously absorbed warm water. And if you can't stand to be seen with fenders and warm clothing, just learn to deal with being miserable.

HTH!

fietsbob

Grundens_RBW rain Cape .. works Fine . Grunden's Bike Poncho

Now in my 3rd winter ..

I live where those Pictures of Doug's were taken.

Biker395 

I'm a bit of a jacket diva, so I have quite a few jackets that profess to be both waterproof and breathable. I have three Showers Pass jackets (the Elite, the Double Century, and the Pro-Tech ST).

First off, just because you perspire in a jacket does not mean it is not breathable. Think about it ... there are times without a jacket that you perspire ... adding a jacket cannot possibly make things better. What I have noted about the "breathable" jackets is that while you may perspire in them when climbing and the like, when you stop climbing and head downhill, they continue to protect you from the wind, yet at the same time, you dry out inside fairly rapidly. That is the sign of a good jacket.

So what I look for in a jacket is one with a "breathable" fabric, and a lot of design features that allows me to regulate air flow. That means pit zips, velcroed cuffs, and a two-way zipper. Both the Elite and the Double Century jackets have those features, so I like them just fine. I open them up on climbs, and close them up on descents and rainy flats. The Pro-Tech ST has velcroed cuffs and a two-way zipper, and works very well, IMHO. It's as gossamer thin and packable as can be too. I take that on mountain rides where rain might be in the offing. If rain is certain, it's the Double Century.

I got on the Showers Pass bandwagon primarily because that is what my Oregonian friends recommended. I figured they should know. So when it came to pants, I asked them the same thing ... what to buy?

They all recommended the Pearl Izumi Amfib tights. In their view, there was no rain pant that would actually keep me dry, so it was instead better to wear something that kept you warm, even when wet. To be honest, I've not tried them yet, but friends of mine have (borrowing mine) and they really liked them.

Oh ... and +1 on the fenders. They make a huge difference.

Carbonfiberboy 

Pants are interesting. Most folks don't layer their bottom half. I suppose that's because it's hard to change layers and bottom layers are bulky. For snow riding, layers might be fine, but not so much for rain. Thus we try to set out in pants that will work for us all day. This takes a little experience. Luckily the penalty for getting in wrong is not too great because our legs are relatively insensitive to cold. As long as we keep our torso warm and feeling in our fingers and toes, everything will be OK. So, levels:

Warmish, though I've mistakenly worn them down to 33° and sleeting and didn't die: leg warmers. Can also use PI Elite Thermal tights with pad for same effect and more comfort, but can't take them off if the weather improves.

Colder rain, say 40°-50°: padded shorts with PI Elite Thermal Barrier tight w/o pad. I like the extra groin warm of two layers.

Really cold rain, say 33°-45°: padded shorts with either PI Amfib tight or Performance T.r.i.f.l.e.x tight over. I use the T.r.i.f.l.e.x to save money. (Totally Stupid Censor)

A big problem with cold rain riding is keeping feet warm. Even with the best foot protection, water will run down your legs into your shoes and it will suck. Go to a dive shop and buy dry suit leg seals. They aren't expensive. Put these on your ankles, above your socks and inside your tights so that they overlap your winter boots or booties. Dry feet all day!

LesterOfPuppets

If I'm gonna ride far in rain pants, I gotta have knickers or tights. Bare knees rubbing on the inside of rain paints is highly unpleasant.

fietsbob

Once the outside of WPB stuff is drenched it fills the Pores and more so when the new DWR surfactant is worn ..

All that stuff works so Much Better in The Snow, and the water is in its solid state.

Hypno Toad

I'm a huge fan of a local company (local to Minneapolis) - Nokomis Jacket (Black) | O2 Rainwear

This is a selfie on a rainy, icy, snowy ride home from work (12 miles). I got home with with my core warm and dry.


I has a Showers Pass jacket, never used it because I was more wet with sweat than the rain would get me.

fietsbob

Black?

Hypno Toad

just like my soul...

Honestly, I understand the hi-vis thing, but I prefer bike mounted lights (both day & night) over a blinding jacket I can't where into a store.

fietsbob

I go for Both.. Hub Dynamo lights . Carhartt Parka .. with room for warm layers under It. reflective bands, Neon Lime.
Black Pants for hiding Chain Contact shmuzz.




Pull TheYellow rain Cape over it when the deluge cuts Loose. Marine Squalls .. I'm just 7 miles in from the Pacific sea Shore.

BikeArkansas

Showers Pass works for me. It is time for a new jacket (mine was destroyed in a recent crash). I will shop, but the SP starts with a comfortable lead.

takenreasy

35% off on all SP until 12/2.