Wet weather gear

If I had to describe which category of cyclist I would fit into then I would say commuter. And that means getting to my place of work by bike, rain or shine. It's too hot, too cold, too wet etc . But as they say, there's no such thing as bad weather only the wrong clothes. So what we wear changes with the seasons. The primary part of wet weather attire is the jacket. I'm a bit stingy when it comes to cycle wear especially as it's so expensive anyway. But when you get home and peel off your raincoat after an hours ride in the rain you feel that it was money well spent. Here's what I wear.
[ulist]
[li]Cheapo Altura jacket that seems to be losing its waterproofing after a couple of years[/li]
[li]Sealskin gloves[/li]
[li]Sealskin socks[/li]
[/ulist]

That's it really. If I get wet in the morning, on the way to work then I'm pretty much wet all day because there is no chance to dry off before I have to head off to my next port of call. I want to get a decent jacket and this one is starting to get a bit ropey. Is it worth shelling out two hundred quid on one of these gore tex jobbies? And as for leggings, they only stop the rain from getting you wet. You get really sweaty and it makes it harder to pedal. I have tried overshoes as well but didn't really rate them. Again, it may have been due to poor quality ones.

I use the Sealskinz socks and a pair of Goretex gloves in the winter, I have just ordered some 'Rainlegs from Wiggle' as for a Jacket if you are going to be in it all day Goretex is the best you will eventually get wet either from water down the neck or sweating but you will stay warm and that is the most important.

Get up to the Mildenhall Rally later this year and pick up a bargain, I got my Goretex jacket for about £80 a couple of years ago :)

is there any material that is 100% breathable (like cotton) but also 100% waterproof (poly.) ? all the waterproofs i've used have had me sweating like a bastard

I prefer quick drying stuff and layers

I rarely get cold (only the face and hands, although some serious gloves solved the hands) for me, waterproofs are ok for short distances. Got a gore thing that's waterproof but hardly seems as breathable as is claimed.

it's hard to know whats best for your bottom half on wet days..
once soaked there's not much you can do except change, but that's not always practical.

strap an umbrella to your handlebars and fix a 3-bar dynamo-driven electric fire behind your seat.
job sorted.

acrylic clothes i have a terry towelling 90% acrylic and 10% polyester top it is as warm as anything and wicks the sweat away from your skin real quick i add that to a nylon jumper and thats all i really need for even the coldest midwinter ride. super warm and charity shops purchases thus cheap as chips

however the sparks of static electricity thats crackle and pop as the acrylic rubs against itself is on a par with the aurora borealis

What about mudguards? Do those little numbers that attach to your seatpost work? Is it does anyone like any specific brand or model? Most of the ones I see seem to tbe the fat MTB type.

i get given/buy lots of cycling clothes and some of the best products i have used are: gore N2S windstopper gilet with removable sleeves, icebreaker merino base layer, gore xcr or e-vent jackets, rapha merino fixed jersey, shorts/trousers made by sugoi or sombrio, altura dryline trousers with lycra underneath for pissin wet weather commuting, northwave goretex shoes 1/2 size too big with room for sealskins and thin summer sock for warm dry feet on and off road.
i don't think i'll ever buy a synthetic base layer now as merino is better.

Alex What about mudguards? Do those little numbers that attach to your seatpost work? Is it does anyone like any specific brand or model? Most of the ones I see seem to tbe the fat MTB type.

Mudguards are a must.

I used to use the sks race blades that clip onto your seat stays - but one time i hit a pot hole pretty hard and the mudguard got sucked into the gap between my type and brake bridge, resulting in me doing a unexpected skid down the strand in pretty heavy traffic.

Now i've got one of the ones that clips onto the seatpost or in my case seattube - it definetly does a good job of keeping my back dry from spray

before...

now...

Nasty! I have full mudgards partly because the frame organlly had 27" wheels so it takes up some space and stops it looking so bad. The best option if you want to keep as clean as poss. not always easy or even possible to fit, worth it for the winter though if you can I think, look a bit hsit thoguh on most bikes. From my expearience with clipon mbt style mudgards they only do any good if you can get thm close to the wheel like damnham can. I see peope with them bolted to the top of their seat post just under the saddle and then tilted up at such an angle the protection they offer is minimised. Keep it tight out there.

Alex What about mudguards? Do those little numbers that attach to your seatpost work? Is it does anyone like any specific brand or model? Most of the ones I see seem to tbe the fat MTB type.

I use the 'rat tail' type on the fix because full guards wouldn't fit (track bike). It stops you looking like you crapped yourself and keeps your bag dry but other than that, everything else gets wet. E.g. I rode to hospital this morning = dry. When I left, without mud-guard, my arse is now looking like I sat in a puddle.

I have my Dad's old army waterproof. I don't think you can get better.

these offering from portland look pretty good for the money, and 100% waterproof to..knickers
£9 shipping to the uk.

I bought a skinny mudguard that goes on your seat post and if I hit a pot hole or leant my bike against anything it would move slightly, thus covering your bum in muddy water still. Then it snapped off after a few days. It was a cheap-o one so I couldn't make it any tighter than I had it already. It was about a tenner but can't remember the brand, sorry

31trum - the cut on those shorts doesnt look very good tho... but its cheap i suppose.

I'm after a decent looking black waterproof jacket for around 40 quid - anyone seen anything good? Currently using a Goretex thing i got on ebay for 30 quid but its bright yellow which doesnt suit my mood all the time ;)

ah, your right, keep your arse dry though.........jacket
oops, didn't notice the hood

Rapha softshell. Period.

^^^

I was looking at the Rapha Softshell in Condor last week but I wasn't sure how waterproof it would be - what's your experience of it?

On the softshell note, it's pretty damn good. pricey, but i got mine at the sample sale, so that cut down on the cost. water tends to bead on it in the rain and even while cycling through pouring rain, i was dry.

It never lasted the London to Southend weather though. My softshell gave up trying to be waterproof after about 10 miles of rain, and then it was just sodden.

If you can, it's worth spending money on good goretex or similar. I don't have a cycling jacket because I blew all my wet-weather budget last year on a Mountain Equipment goretex (triple layer, blah blah) for mountain walking. Cost over £200 normally (I got it sale price) but it is literally worlds apart from anything else I have ever worn. Dry inside, not too hot, no leakage and no sweating. If I was going to get a jacket for cycling I would look for something of similar quality.

Rapha softshell, got one cheap (relatively) a couple of years ago. Great with a thermal vest underneath. I tend to just let the bottom half get wet. Never tried sealskinz socks. When I was a courier I got these flouro green (it was fashionable then!) Jolly boots. They were made of Goretex, totally waterproof... the water used to run down your legs and fill them up. I used to have to take them off an tip it out before I went in to pick up.

I second MrSmith those northwave goretex boots are absolutely fantastic for London winters. They go on easy, strap up tight, cover your ankles and are 100 percent waterproof.
One of the best bike-related purchases for winter I have ever made.(boilers on any day over 15 degrees though)

If I ever do something as daft as the London to Southend ride again (the torrential rain, not the distance), I'm going to use carrier bags.

Woollen socks, with carrier bags over the socks, elastic bands sealing the top of the carrier bags, and then carrier-bagged feet into the shoes.

I'm not really convinced anything else would do the job against the water we faced that day.