Rain! What do you ride?

[Patrick Moore]

My interest may sound odd from someone riding in the desert, but precisely because rain is so relatively rare here (9" citywide average between 14" foothills and 5" Westside) that when it arrives, it's interesting.

We've had the earliest and rainiest start to our SW Monsoon season in years if not decades, considerably reducing the fire danger so great just a couple of weeks ago (when there was a bush fire just 1 mile south of me; and I live along the bosque). We must have had as much as 2" of rain in the last 2 weeks, with more forecast.

I wanted to ride in the rain to church yesterday morning, but was tired and late, and the rain kept off despite lowering clouds on morning's ride, although I carefully rode the Matthews 1:1 with new 4 1/2" front fender flap and carried my cape and so'wester.

On the way out and back I passed a group of young mothers along the bosque bike trail shepherding a large group of very small children having the time of their lives riding little bikes in the mud and playing in a big mud puddle. Funny, you don't see small children playing in the puddles nowadays, but I remember having great fun, age about the same as these children playing in the flooded, muddy field across the street from my house; rather like Christopher Robin in the WtP story.

But I'm curious, what do all y'all in rainy places wear and ride on in rainy weather? I find it fun to imagine the ideal rain bike: fixed gear (no damned ss freewheel to complicate things), full oil-bath chaincase, full fenders, with front extending 1/4 of the way around the forward curve of the tire, and flap skimming the tarmac, with skirts covering the spokes on the trailing 1/4 of the front wheel and forward 1/4 of the rear wheel; clips 'n' straps with toe covers; dyno lighting mounted sufficiently low to clear front and rear raincape overhang; have I missed anything?

Oh, and while I've found that rain capes keep you perfectly dry from neck to knee even in SW downpours with howling winds -- I commuted extensively years ago across town with various rain capes, waxed cotton, various grades of plastic --  (and so'westers keep one dry from neck to crown) my lower legs and feet get wet. I guess this is where Splats come in handy?

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Wesley]

I have extensive experience with this even though I no longer live in a rainy place.

You can ride any bike. Fenders make all the difference if you'd like to look presentable when you get where you're going. I would wear sandals because they dry out, or heavy rubber boots when I feel like having warm feet. Add a light rain shell to keep my upper body dry. Head, glasses, pants: let them get wet. They'll dry off soon enough.
-W

[Wesley]

I've owned (I think) four copies of the Marmot Precip jacket over the years. It's an excellent minimalist and inexpensive rain shell - just a single layer of GoreTex with a hood and zip-up armpit vents.

[Garth]

I don't ride a lot in the rain. If I'm out and rains it rains, if I'm home and it's raining good I likely will either wait or go for a walk. Back in the 80's I had some Bellweather pants and jacket that were just mildly rain resistant but I never died from ever getting wet. I've been wearing various hooded windbreakers since. I've wanted to get a packable rain jacket, but I never met one that I wanted to buy. Not a cycling rain jacket, I hate cycling specific jackets, just a all purpose rain jacket I can wear all year long, be very lightweight and packable to the size of a 29 oz. can of tomatoes, or so. It also had to have a trim fit and a well fitting hood that covers my chin and cinches around my face if I want. It had to be able to pass body heat vapor well too not only during rain but also when dry. This year I finally saw something that looked interesting, a Montbell Rain Trekker made with seam taped Gore Infinium Windstopper fabric. It supposedly was waterproof enough and pass enough body vapor not to die from heat exhaustion without the need for other ventilation, so I tried it. I've put it to the test real good, getting hammered by some sustained downpours in the 50's and 60's and worn it on a dry cloudy turned sunny day in the low to mid 60's. I was pleasantly surprised it did well as both, so good enough to carry with me in my bag, and weighs a mere 7 ounces in the large.

I do have a couple of pair of Sportful Norain Fiandre Pro bib shorts that are quite water resistant from the DWR surface treatment and it really does keep shorts from getting soaked, and they're lightly fleeced inside so don't get that chilling effect that slick poly/lycra does.

I like natural plastic clothing for bike riding as like everything else there's really fine fabrics and there's really crappy fabrics.

Other that, I enjoy the outdoors and if it rains start singing just because I can. One bike has fenders and one doesn't. I can't say it much matters either way to me, well no, I really prefer a plain ol' road bike w/o fenders.

[Patrick Moore]

A quick search and review of prices and features: this looks very appealing; thanks. Gortex and pit zips.

[Patrick Moore]

I've found that rain capes, at least in warm weather (and we get our rain in the summer) offer the best combination of protection from wet and ventilation. In fact, after using various Carradices, I fell back on the cheap, $30 (and no longer available, I think) lightweight nylon cycling cape from Campmor, since it best keeps the heat from building up (the worst was the Duckback waxed cotton cape), only I removed the horrible leg harness and sewed on a couple of stacks of big metal washers at the back to hold it down back there. It has a hood, and wearing the hood over a cycling cap, for the brim, helps keep glasses clear enough to see through while also keeping hair and neck dry. 

I don't like cycling in sandals, but I agree that legs bare from knee to ankle are fine left open to the elements. I would like to find a pair of Splats, though; also dislike wet shoes.

[Patrick Moore]

I should have said that I want a rain ensemble (bike + clothing) that decants me in presentable form at church or restaurant or store. And oh my, oh yes, fenders, please; nothing more horrible than -- it's not the water kicked up by the wheels that is so annoying, it's the mud and grit.

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[Roberta]

I'm like Garth--if it's raining when I'm out, I'll ride home in the rain, but if I'm home, I'll go for a walk.  If it's to rain during the business day, I'll  time my commute between the rain; again, I'll walk if it's heavy rain.  If I get caught, I have this and like it very much for walking and for shorter bike rides.  I did go up a height size recommendations because I wanted to be more covered.:  https://cleverhood.com/products/rover-rain-cape?variant=40416268124365  .  they also have it in solid colors.  I got a belt vs your weight idea to help with the flapping in the back, but your weight idea probably works better.

I'm looking around for foot coverings, and am considering splats.  However, I did find that there are a number of silicon booties that go over your shoes that look OK.  The complaints I see about the ones without zippers are they can be difficult to get on.  I'll probably be buying a pair with a zipper.  They can be had for ~$20.

[Brian McDermott]

I lived in Eugene, OR until a year ago. Fenders are essential, if you don't have them you might as well not ride because you'll be soaked within a minute or two. Aside from that, a decent rain jacket with a butt flap and good vents, water resistant gloves in the winter, waterproof/resistant boots (and maybe different shoes to change into when you get to your destination), and some rain chaps were the go-to. A simple bike like a fixed gear (or something with enclosed drive train etc) doesn't hurt, but isn't essential.