I'm a bit of a pussy when it comes to cycling in bad weather (usually switch to public transport) but I'll be staring a new job in september which is ideally located to commute to by bicycle (10km each way, nearly all of it perfect car-free cycle paths) so I am thinking about getting some bad weather kit so I don't have to worry about rain.

Are there good waterproof SPD/SPD-Sl shoes anyone can recommend? Or are shoecovers a better/cheaper option?

Any recommendations for rain-pants (to wear over other pants) that aren't super baggy (i.e. that will fit over normal straight-legged jeans)? I know bibs may be a better option, but I don't want to go through the hassle of changing clothes at work, especially not for such a short commute.

What about cycling-specific rainjackets (with hood), preferable ultra light and black, may be expensive goretex stuff?

Other tips?

Change at work

(It doesn't really rain that much in theis country, despite the shite summer we're having)

I find that anything waterproof/breathable or otherwise makes me sweat even more than my current blind-lesbian-in-a-fish-shop levels and I end up wetter than the rain would have made me in the first place. Get a brolly.

dhb waterproof overtrousers aren't baggy. and they are very cheap. £15 from wiggle i think.

i wouldn't have thought you'd want a hood on your jacket (limited visibility? wind resistance?) wet hair isn't the end of the world. my altura jacket is great, not too pricey and completely waterproof.

leave your work shoes at work, and take spare socks if its pouring.

+1 Change at work

You'd rather go through the hassle of buying a load of shit you don't need?

Get wet, HTFU

1. On days when its warm and unlikely to rain carry a tiny micro compressed jacket .....just in case.
2. On days when it is warm but likely to rain, use a rain cape. PVC under £20. Otherwise you'll get soaked inside out by sweat.
3. On days when it is cold and wet either goretex jacket and cycle-cut trousers (ie Endura) OR get the tube on that day.
In reality there are very few days when it is actually raining a) heavily b) when you are travelling.
It would be unusual to be soaked more than 5 times a year.

Oh, and before I forget........... Use waterproof overshoes and most important mudgaurds. Most of the water actually comes from the road not the sky!

over shoes suggestions, i hate wet feet, help me out.

I carry an orange endura breathable rain jacket mostly to be seen but also because I don't like to sweat inside not breathable fabrics I carry endura breathable trousers for really shitty days but honestly I can't wear them more than a handful of times as to feet I have shoes at work and carry dry socks - to be honest 10klicks is fuck all you'll be alright with just a jacket - but whatever you do don't use mudguards because they are very uncool only used by school teachers and vicars

dont get the northwave waterproof ones, i did they're shit and are already falling apart
I think the neoprene type onese are better, but obviously a lot warm - will be getting some this winter tho

this is because you are a little girl and you need to grow some

just bought some winter kit while the sales are on. endura heavy duty neoprene booties look wicked. lightweight goretex jacket, 100 grams. thick leg warmers. never been a fan of overtrousers, always seem to leak :( , although Jos was raving about some a couple months back (and if i was working all day in the rain i'd invest).

what jacket did you buy ?

i got an endura event

which cost a bomb

but is alright if you like looking like a lollipop lady

its orange

montane, big special on chain-reaction. all the other stuff in endura.

Are you a lollipop lady too ?

one hundred sod cheaper than the endura and the the endura gets pretty mucky pretty damn quick

black. looks very well made, seams sealed and good zip etc

oh no but then you'll get run over when it rains coz no one will see you and that'll be sad

I wish I'd bought the blue endura I don't fuckin like orange

black n blue is much more ninja

flouro acts as a target for some (most) drivers ;)

part of my commute is a 18 klick blast through unlit countryside

those countryfuckers are permenantly lit up on moonshine

and I have to wear flouro and carry jetlits



just to be seen through the mist

but think I might buy the blue endura for my training rides

in and about the fanshionable suburbs of paris

?
Where do you live?
I may not actually be in London (or the UK), but as far as I know Belgian (where I am) weather isn't much worse than UK weather and getting soaked is something that would happen more than 5 times a year here when you commute by bike.
Of course if you have the luxury of waiting one hour or so for the heavy rain to pass you may be able to avoid getting soaked but a)I like to get to work early so I can b)leave early and waiting for rain to pass seems like a waste of time. Plus I know that there will be 10 hour+ working days at my new job (media industry=stupid deadlines-available time) which means I would not want to waste time waiting for rain to pass on those days.

I just wore regular jeans through the past two winters, was a bit rough as they were some mad rain storms when it was also freezing cold.

Never bothered with wearing waterproof jackets, couldnt afford one that worked. Adidas track top was the most comfortable.

The only thing that really bothered me that me shoes would remain filled with water for the whole day at uni/college.

Ive recently cracked on to the fact that formal trousers are ideal to cycle in. They are very lightweight, breathable, dry quickly, not hot. Many of them also have things like teflon coating & look permanently ironed!

In the winter some jogging/cycling leggings under some regular smart trousers would be perfect.

Ive also got myself some spds ready for winter specifically to keep my feet dry. I think any will do fine, better than old skool vans anyhow.

I remember reading some statistic that said if you rode every day of the year in the UK, on average, you'd get soaked 12 times.

yes, me too.

it's bollocks though, I got soaked twice a day for a week in october 2006, and a fuck's sight more than twice the rest of that winter!

I suppose if you don't get a chance to dry out, it only counts as one soaking?

FAIL!

Depends how you rate a 'soaking'

A soaking is one higher than a soaqueen, but less than a soaace.

Snap!

I don't get the rules to that game.

Game?
Rules?

Game?
Rules?

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