I can confirm from experience that Rainlegs are utterly brilliant, I think I've used mine for more than an decade and they are still standing strong. I've gifted them to a lot of people and all looked confused initially but loved them once they had used them. Part of the usefullness is that they need only very little room - so they are a "just-in-case" thing that you can take with you easily even in the summer as a standard. They do even fit under the Brompton saddle if you like. And they are surprisingly effectfull in avoiding that you get soaking wet.
If heavy rain is a probability on the Brompton I do however prefer a poncho. Quickly on and off, no sweating, not much space needed either. I do use the
Carradice ProRoute - it fits easily in on of the small backs on the backside of a Brompton bag and is in my eyes well worth the price (usually
available at SJS way below list price).
Clearly way less sophisticated than the Tucano but fits my needs very well. Once more the Brompton proofs to be somewhat different from other bikes.
Thanks - seems everyone loves them! Keeping an eye on some used ones on
ebay and might give them a try if I can get some cheap
I've always dismissed ponchos as a bit of a bodge in the absence of "proper" waterproofs; however as with many things in life now I'm actually in a situation to which they might be a solution, their benefits appear more obvious. Will give that some thought too!
But you bring it to life!
Thanks
Yesterday turned out to be "fun"... spent the day slightly chilly in my base layer, occasional fleece and 3/4 lengths. I'm thinking that the zip-off alternatives are a more versatile default choice for the commute; but I don't regret buying these as they'll do well for hot days and leisure rides on other bikes. Might try to pop into Mountain Warehouse later and buy some of the zip-off variant.
I got tasked with a delivery to a client a mile or two away; which was completed just before the heavens opened. The rain continued unabated until pub O'clock, and I turned down the generous offer of a lift down there / back to the car afterwards as I figured I had to bite the bullet with the rain sooner or later.
Not that I particularly wanted to use it for fear of rucksack abrasion, but I'd brought my nice walking jacket just in case - and was glad I did as everything got pretty wet on the short journey to the pub..
After a couple of jars (and getting paid very generously for the bike I fixed for a mate a while ago) the rain had died down a little and I made a move while the weather window looked good / there was still a reasonable amount of natural light.
While it could have been worse, it wasn't fun. The rain was still enough to be unpleaseant / quickly saturate my shorts and I was pretty much running on empty with my legs clearly not used to this much consistant mileage / lack of sleep. I took the most direct route through town to Wolvercote where I joined the tow path to head back to the car.
A bit of a breakdown as to how all the kit handled the rain:
As usual my Osprey rucksack gave fine service, its slightly awkward rain cover ensuring that its contents remained dry. The bagsket predictably got largely soaked along with its contents.. but that didn't matter as the stuff inside was either waterproof or bagged up.
My Mountain Equipment jacket fared well (as one would hope given the price) although as above I don't really want to wear it for riding in. Still on the fence a little about its fit, but that's not really relevant here.
I'm somewhat disappointed by the state of the bike by the end of the ride. The whole rear end is now covered in muck from the bottom bracket rearward; including (somewhat counter-intuitively) the top of the mudguard:
I've shamefully abused the flap trying to get it out of the way of the ground during folding and recall being told by another forum member that the absence of the flap can cause muck to be flung up one's back (something my up-until-this-point-immaculate coat can also attest to
) so hopefully the fitting of a new flap might help in this regard.
It seems that there's no way that the muck could reach the areas of the bike it has under its own momentum; so I suspect that it's being sucked back onto the bike / my back by the low-pressure void I leave in my wake as my not-inconsiderable bulk is forced through the air.
I'd really love something akin to the SKS longboards I have on other full-size bikes; however am mindful that such an approach would be limited by the bike's requirement to fold, as well as access to the rear wheel.
There's also a good dose of filth on the BB; which again strikes me as odd..
While the large front mudflap seems to be doing a great job of preventing crap being flung back from the wheel and hitting the BB directly,
I'm wondering if it's creating a wake that's sucking the muck up onto the bike, or maybe this is again the result of the vacuum behind me...
I'm tempted to try one of these lower-profile
Fahrar mudflaps; pity they don't do one for the back too..
Either way it won't stand as it is, since repeatedly smashing the tyre into all that grime every time the bike's folded is going to ruin the finish on the BB. I've cleaned it up for now and removed the gaffer tape as that evidently wasn't up to the job. I'll look to source some proper tape soon; was looking at "3M" stuff on Ali Express however fap knows whether this is genuine or not and I'm tempted to just buy some non-branded stuff from ebay for similar money for the sake of expediency.
In other news, when the bike goes in the back of the car it's laid flat; and I've been doing so on the handlebar side; which seems like a good idea from a contamination / damage perspective since the backs of the bars evidently don't get caked in shite.. so there's less chance of muck here damaging anything as everything vibrates during the car journey.
Once I'd got the bike home I also noticed that the seatpost was very gritty when operated near the end of its extension; so that was stripped and cleaned to avoid it getting scratched (any more). Not sure how the mud's finding its way into that assembly; but it's doubtless something else to look into.
I adjusted the saddle at the same time as it has a habit of tipping back during use a certain amount before settling; so this time it was set with a bit of a forward slope to account for this.
I think that's all on last night's efforts; this morning's were thankfully less problematic. Having got to sleep fairly quickly last night as I was utterly shattered, I still woke up an hour earlier than necessary. At least this meant an early departure and I was out of the house by half seven - albeit in a foul mood.
Mindset was further degraded by a few dickheads on the road whilst in the car then a bit of chill in the air and more rain once on the bike. However, as the journey progressed the sun started to break through the clouds and my mood mellowed in the face of the largely decent folk on the tow path (all but the stupid woman with a pram who seemed unconcerned for either my welfare or that of the small dog she made zero effort to prevent blocking the tow path in front of me...)..
I reached the city early and stopped in the covered market for some meat products for breakfast from the excellent butchers therein - highly recommend their fantastic cooked sausages
It was then onward to the park for a bit of a stretch on the equipment before finally arriving at work in good time..
The rain continues sporadically outside but the weather's forecast to be reasonable later in the day, so fingers' crossed for the journey home..
