I have a running room jacket (for those of you from Canada) but I am looking for a good cycling jacket that will keep me dry… well as dry as possible. Does anyone have any good recommendations? It doesn’t have to keep me really warm. I can add layers for that. What about pants? I figure I will just be wet, but do people use rain pants fro cycling?
performance bikes has a nice CHEAP rain jacket…Good for running too!
As the old saying goes…do you want to get wet from the outside or the inside?
The lil $15 plastic jackets work fine until 10 mins into your ride when you start to sweat.
My recommendation is to go with Marmot rain line (which isn’t cycling specific)
Depends on whether you want waterproof or water resistent. If you want waterpoof, go with a cycling specific jacket that gives you a drop tail that you can use to cover your butt when riding, unless you have fenders. PRice shere range from $15 (Poly coated nylon) to $250 (Gore-Tex), so you have to determine your budget.
If you want water resistent, Peral Izumi makes the Optik, which is very lightweight and is coated with a lightweight DWR. You can sprya it down with Tectron for further protection too…
love my gore-tex cycling jacket from mec - not sure if they make it anymore. anyway, make sure it covers your butt and you can vent it; like everyone says, you’ll get sweaty on the inside. The gore-tex is also a bit warm for my taste but generally if its raining and I need a jacket, its cold.
pants - meant to get the mec tights but they never have my size. currently i just slop on a pair of old k-way plastic pants with lots of cuts/slices in them from falls that give me some, but not enough ventilation. In the summer I just wear a pair of poly pants I cut to shorts to cover my butt. Your feet get wet and cold; good booties make a diff but no matter what, be prepared to get wet.
There is a trade-off in that the most waterproof jackets don’t breath as well, but as a year round Seattle commuter, I need to stay reasonably dry. I have a nice Pearl Izumi jacket that has lasted for a few years, but I need a new one and I am going to get a Showers Pass brand one. Saw them in a store here in Seattle and looked to be well made for the price. Not exactly a racing cut, but again another trade-off: dry vs. stylish.
Take a look at their website: http://www.showerspass.com
Thanks. Lots of good ideas. I am looking at the Sugoi Hydrolite. Any word on this jacket?
I’ve always gone on the assumption that if I’m riding, I’m going to get wet (either rain or sweat), so I’ve always just used the clear poly type of jacket for when it is really raining. You may sweat (and it usually isn’t too bad) but most importantly it will keep you from getting cold. The only downside is that once it goes on, I don’t take it off until I get home.
For colder weather rain, I love my Sugoi Invertor jacket - worth EVERY cent!
My lighter/warmer weather option is a Nike wind/rain jacket that a found online a while ago, but Pearl Izumi have some incredible lightweight versions - Optik - I think, is the women’s version…
I have a basic Pearl Izumi jacket that I use to shed wind and raid. Over the years I’ve used PI, Sugoi, Castelli, and the cheap clear plastic ones. With exception of the cheap plastic jacket, the single ply windbreakers are all pretty similar- Relatively durable, easily packable, warm when layered, and enough to take the most of the bite out of pouring rain or gusty winds. I usually draw the line at the $100 mark for this stuff and as long as you don’t expect to stay bone dry, you’ll be fine. I’ve never used “rain pants” but have used tights with waterproof-ish membrane sandwiched in the material. The only time I’d wear these is when it’s cold and wet. You’ll find that if it’s just wet, your legs will do a pretty good job of staying warm so long as you aren’t just toodling along.
Something that I’ll suggest even though you didn’t ask… Get some fenders if you are really serious about riding in the rain, you’ll find that that the road spray from the wheels is FAR worse than the stuff that comes from up above.
I have a showers pass and would not trade it for the world. Best buy of 2003
A good rain jacket will also keep you warmer… but if it’s really cold…you need more…
The Agu Saecco jacket at Team Sales cycling is a great value and I’ve ridden with it in gail force winds with rain on the SF 300K this year and my upper body stayed bone dry. I never ride with rain paints as they always seem to constrict pedaling, - at least a little.
The Rapha Stowaway jacket looks to me to be the best that I’ve seen, - but I haven’t tested it under the same conditions as the AGU and it’s not cheap. That being said, every bit of Rapha gear that I’ve owned and seen is top quality, and IMO, looks better than anything else out there.
The Assos jacket also has an amazing reputation.
I agree that you should not be considering money when talking about rain gear, - don’t mess and get the best.