5MilesLater

So, this is my first rainy season in the PNW since switching from car to bike.
Thankfully I only need my bike for short commutes - a few miles, a few times a week.

What sort of (budget-friendly, I'm a college student, after all) gear would I need to stay warm and dry?
Seems at minimum I'll need gloves and something to keep my shoes dry.
I've got panniers - I could always just keep extra socks and towel with me. A traveller always knows where his towel is. =P
I have large rain jacket already (not specific to biking, haven't tried wearing it while riding yet).
What about head? Can you wear a knit cap under a helmet?
And those of you who wear glasses - how do you keep them dry?

Welcoming suggestions of stuff to get (and places to get it cheap).

skimaxpower

First stop: Full length fenders for your bicycle.

Aubergine 

Where do you live? I am in north Seattle, not far from Lake City. As you know we have bike shops every other block, so there are lots of options for shopping.

I assume you will be riding in your usual clothes, including pants. If so, you’ll want to do something to avoid wet thighs in particular. For that, I actually recommend a cycling cape. You can get them inexpensively and they do a pretty good job of keeping most of your body dry.

For your head, I’d suggest a rain cover for your helmet. It does not usually get cold enough here to need a cap for warmth.

You will want something to keep your feet dry and warm. What sort of pedals do you have? There are neoprene toe covers that can easily be mounted on flat pedals and would do a decent job.

As for glasses, don’t worry about them. You’ll be able to see fine through wet glasses because the drops are so close to your eye. At most, just shake them off once in a while.

Another important thing to consider is lighting and reflectors so that drivers can see you. I like lots of lights!

jeromeoneil

I'd go with strap on style mountain bike mud-guards. They are perfectly adequate for short, wet, paved commutes, and a lot cheaper to buy. They also come on and off easily.

I'd spend my money on a pair of long biking pants and wet weather clothing.

fietsbob

Ive come to Appreciate the benefits the British Figured out long Ago ... Cyclists Rain Cape..

Yes it requires mudguards on the bike, but being draped over the handlebars my hands are drier than any glove shell can offer..

My Speed is not Fast... its Perfect.. for Me.





....

B. Carfree

If I really want to be warm and cozy when I arrive after riding across town in a downpour, I wear my waxed leather boots (Danner Quarry, kind of high and heavy) and some rain pants. As others mentioned, fenders are a must. Add a mud flap to the front to keep your feet less wet. (It's just a piece of plastic bottle cut to fit and attached with a nut and bolt to extend the fender lower.) We're lucky here in the PNW in that when it rains it's usually cold enough that a rain jacket doesn't cause us to get soaked in sweat. Just be sure to wear long sleeves under it since your skin oils and hairs will damage the liners of most rain jackets.

ollo_ollo

Fenders, Mud flap, Poncho, Neoprene booties, Wool sweater or two, Lights + Reflective vest + Reflectors, Reflective gloves.

B. Carfree

The recommendation for neoprene booties reminded me of how much I enjoy my neoprene gloves. Castelli makes some that sell for $30-40 that I find to be warm enough while still allowing me full use of my fingers. If it's going to be in the 30's F and raining, I put some wool gloves over them. If it's going to be colder than that or I'm going to be out for a long while, I might add some chemical warmers or a wind-blocking mitten.

As I understand it, cold hands are often the result of inadequate clothing on the core and arms more than inadequate gloves/mittens. Hands get cold when blood fails to make it to the surface. Blood will be directed to the surface when it needs to be cooled, so keeping the core warm also keeps the hands warm in many/most circumstances.

5MilesLater

Buried and classwork and forget to check back here. That's a LOT of suggestions guys! Thanks!
I'm good on lights & such. I also stick to the bike trails rather than roads.

Sounds like fenders are definite thing to get. @jeromeoneil Sounds good - works even better since I have a MTB. What do you mean by strap-on? Those kind you buy flat and wrap in place with zipties?
@Aubergine I'm in Bothell! Not too far from you maybe! I know of at least 2 bike shops I can get to on 2 wheels. (Problem is, bike shops seems to cater to the higher-end products... not exactly friendly to broke college students.) As for pedals - just the factory standard flat ones. I think someone else suggested mounting the ends of plastic bottles on them. That sounds like it could work!

The cycling cape is something I didn't know about! I'll check into that.
I asked at a recent trip to REI (too pricey for me, but good place to try things on and get advice) and one of the suggestions made was to get overlayer cycling pants and wear thermal underwear underneath. Still need to change into normal pants when you get there, though.

The shoe covers I'm a bit worried about. I don't have cycling shoes, so they'd just go over my regular shoes, which are a 6E width. Found a pair of covers that fit, but they were $45. Ouch. Any suggestions?

After getting gloves, I'll have $70 left. Best way to stretch that and still be relatively warm and dry?

Aubergine 

he probably means the kind that are held in place against the seat stays and forks with rubber straps. I use them on my travel bike, but I think they would too easily be stolen at a college campus. Btw, where are you going? Cascades? UW-B? Somewhere else?

Another fender option is to find an old campaign sign made from coroplast. It looks like corrugated cardboard, but it is plastic. Cut strips from the sign and they can be formed into fenders and even stays. Looks inelegant, but it is dirt cheap and it works. I made a rear fender for a friend who was touring on a slim budget.
In Seattle there are several bike co-ops and one store, Recycled Cycles, that specializes in used parts. But that is for bikes and attachments like fenders, not clothing. For clothing, I would suggest Goodwill. I work in one co-op in North Seattle, and although we are quite small we do have a few fenders etc on hand, plus plenty of coroplast. You also could try Bike Works in south Seattle. That is a great shop.

That does sound like a great idea. You should not need shoe covers if you have those.

As for a cycling cape, a regular rain poncho can work if it is made of a tougher material. You just need to rig up loops to put your hands through.

My experience commuting in Seattle weather is that it’s best to bring a change of pants in a pannier, but that was long before I used a cape! But in any case, changing in a bathroom works well enough.

The plastic bottle suggestion should work to keep your feet dry.

jeromeoneil

Yes, or some other temporary mount. I've got a Muckynutz guard on my downtube that is held on with zip ties, and an SKS X-tra dry that mounts to my seat post with a cam band. It takes about three minutes to put them on or take them off, and they weigh next to nothing.

johnje

Yea, about that. I had full fenders on my road bike and mountain bike. My road bike was stolen, I replaced it with two other road bikes, and went with those cheesy half-fenders. Big mistake! They're probably fine for light rain, the downpours we've had in Seattle over the last two weeks revealed how inadequate they are. I'll be picking up two sets of full fenders soon.

fourknees

Helmet-a shower cap is cheap and fits over.

Glasses-I’ve found a long billed hat to work better than a cycling cap, but your glasses will still get wet. Bring with a microfiber cloth to dry them when you get to you destination.

nickw

Wait - you put wool gloves OVER neoprene gloves in the rain? Wow, sounds like a sloppy wet disaster. I can see it working in the cold if it were dry.

nickw

1. Full fenders F+R
2. Waterproof socks or warm wool socks
3. H2O shoe covers
4. Tights on top of shoe covers
5. Waterproof shorts if a drizzle, long pants if raining harder
6. Waterproof ski gloves or Castelli winter gloves + chem warmers
7. Chem warmers on chest
8. Base layer
9. Semi loose wool 1/2 zip sweater, I like it kinda loose so there is a bit of airflow
10. Waterproof jacket with vents (lots on the market)
11. Ducttape front (cold air) and top vents (rain) on helmet
12. Thermos full of soup
13. Bandanna rolled up to cover neck, tucked into jacket
14. Extra set of gloves

Sometimes the waterproof shoes can work, but I find often if it's really raining hard, they just get full of water and don't drain. 9/10 times my feet always get wet towards the end of a ride regardless of what I do.

I'm good down to the high 30's low 40's, medium rain for up to 4 hours. Colder, harder or longer then that I won't do it. It goes from character building to a pointless endeaver of not freezing to death.

*Edit - sorry, went into brain dump mode for training / long distance cycling.

For commuting I like a warm pull-over wool long sleeve sweater, non-cycling specific rain jacket, cycling specific rain pants (not baggy) and some waterproof boots that double as work shoes. Pick up some clearance lighter ski gloves at REI and duct-tape your helmet vents if you have them to keep your head dry.

Dfrost 

Strap-on type fenders will keep the spray off your back, but full fenders as others have suggested, especially with a flap on the front that extends almost to the ground, will do so much more to keep your feet dry, as well as keeping lots of the mess off your bike. A clean, or at least much less dirty bike will last much longer!

rumrunn6

our local outdoor store sells a range of rain jackets & pants, hopefully you can find similar near you. be sure the pants are long enough so that even when your knee is bent the leg still comes down over the top of your shoe

do you have LL Bean (Duck Boot) style shoes or knockoffs you can ride with, & bring sneakers? if you want to try covering your shoes, you can try these for less than $10. I tried them out & like them but haven't tested them w water yet. I got XXL & they fit over a cpl different pair of my size 13 shoes just fine

Waterproof Motorcycle Bike Shoes Covers ,Reusable Anti-slip Rain Snow Shoes Overshoes Gear Zipped Boot for Men and Women Rain Covers
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1







you might be able to find Totes in local stores

https://www.amazon.com/totes-Waterpr...s+shoe+rubbers