rain and cold weather gear

[benyl]

So I looked outside this morning and said I will enjoy driving in today. haha. My legs are pretty toast anyway.

What do you guys recommend for a day like today? A day with more rain? What about when it gets cold in the mornings in Sept?

[msommers]

Honestly, find something you like at MEC (plenty of good choices) or go into a bike shop, find a size and order online. I bought a pair of Pearl Izumi thermal pants online for just under $100 vs the $150 + gst at the bike shop. Plus I even got screwed harshly by UPS.

[benyl]

where? I walked into bow cycle last night as got scared by the prices of accessories. Everything they carry that MEC carries is 20-30% more.

[msommers]

Maybe try Sportcheck then? I dunno I thought MEC prices were pretty reasonable...

I have a pair of Roubaix pants from there and they're great.

[megavolt]

Get a pair of tights for the cold, waterproof pants for the wet (can be combined for cold and wet).

Same with the top, warm layer and waterproof shell.

Thing about the cheap shells though is that they don't breathe. I still get really wet on the inside because of the trapped sweat, but at least I'm not cold and wet.

For the really wet days you'll probably want the booties for your shoes too.

Then depending if you mind a wet head you might want a helmet cover (I usually don't mind).

Ya accessories can add up. I got all of my stuff at MEC.

[benyl]

Recommend a shell that breathes?

[J-hop]

Originally posted by benyl
So I looked outside this morning and said I will enjoy driving in today. haha. My legs are pretty toast anyway.

What do you guys recommend for a day like today? A day with more rain? What about when it gets cold in the mornings in Sept?

Today sucked riding in to be honest(wet and warm) it's these in between days that are the hardest to plan for. I got outside in just a t-shirt as the temp was still pretty warm, went back inside and grabbed my nice MEC rain jacket as I figured I didn't want to get wet.

I wish I had just gone with the t-shirt!! I was drenched in sweat by the time I got in.

I have yet to ride when it is super cold but for moderately cold temps I wear the same MEC rain jacket to cut the wind with a burton first layer underneath with extra layers if needed. On my legs I wear rain pants which cut the wind nicely and long johns for warmth.

I find with riding in the cold you can build up a lot of heat quickly so you don't necessarily need a giant down jacket but on that same note, the wind will kill you if you don't have good outer layers to block the wind. I find my knees are the problem in the cold, they get frozen and start to seize up, going for a thermal pant as mentioned above is my next step.

[phreezee]

Originally posted by benyl
Recommend a shell that breathes?

I've tried MEC rain jackets and pants and you end up soaked in sweat as much as you would get soaked with rain if you didn't wear any jacket at all. Sucks.

I wear a Jakroo Haze 90 jacket, swim trunks and MEC shoe covers now. Being chinese, buy a size up if you decide on these.
They are light, and fold up in a small pouch for portability.

http://store.jakroo.com/haze-90-rain...cket-p296.aspx

[Khyron]

I've never had cold legs, and I've been caught in april/oct cold/hail days where the garden hose feels warm. But I don't ride in winter.

For me, neoprene booties if your shoes are vented, arm warmers that you can take on/off, GOOD gloves (mine have mitts that fold back and into the glove). Then I have a helmet cover if I know the whole ride is going to be freezing cold. Never bothered with a shell except a couple of commutes where I wore a vented MEC snowboard shell.

Got caught once in Bragg and ended up buying elec tape and taping plastic bags over the toes of the shoes it was so cold, ugh.