Waterproofs

[Lion]

Firstly Sorry if this has been done to death on here.
Right well seein as im new a short intro - I've recently come back into cycling after 5 years of being bone idle and using my car everyday, i've had enough, so bought myself a new mountain bike a Falcon Optima Storm (Not nearly as nice as some on here, maybe 1 day i will treat myself) But ive tarted it up a bit and its actually a nice ride both on and off road.

Anyway onto my point, I've no idea where to look for quality clothing, so i thought id sign up here, I've been looking about in Halfrauds, Millets etc but all ther waterproofs seem to be the same non-breathable anorak style material, i want something that will be reasonably light and more importantly that doesnt get me too hot underneath. I'd rather have something that is mostly waterproof and breathes, and something i can wear over my jeans, so i can take them off when i get to work.

Thanks for any advice

 

[Auntie Helen]

On the CycleChat ride on Saturday in Essex it was a definite advert for the Altura Night Vision range of clothing! There were about 6 Night Vision jackets on show! It's not cheap (jacket £50ish, trousers £40ish, gloves £25ish) but having used all three all winter, including in rain, snow and general grot, I think it's been well worth it for me.

The only thing I suspect is that the jacket will be too hot when the weather warms up quite a lot. At that point I'll probably not bother with a waterproof jacket anyway as a rain shower in the summer doesn't really matter, I doubt I'll get cold, but that stuff has been just fantastic for the winter. I went out today in the rain without the waterproof trousers and felt cold for ages afterwards - it really hammered home to me how you can cycle in pretty much any weather as long as you've got the right clothing.

 

[Lion]

Thanks for the reply.
Price isnt really an issue, id rather pay say £50 for a good pair of trousers that will last, and do the job well, than keep trying cheap ones that are rubbish.
Just one question, can they be worn comfortably over a regular pair of trousers?

 

[HLaB]

I found the night visions over trowsers great till I washed them however I don't commute far I don't know how breathable they'd be on a longer ride. The last pair I bought are Montane, weight wise, size wise (fold down to the size of an apple) and breathability wise they're great but I guess youre loosing something in durability/ waterproofness.

 

[Auntie Helen]

Well I wear my Night Vision trousers over lycra generally, but I have worn them over large cotton jogging bottoms and they worked OK. Mind you, I did buy a very large size of overtrouser anyway (and am a gal) so there was plenty of room over whatever I was wearing. I do have to unzip the sides, though, to get them over my SPD boots when taking them off.

When cycling for a longish time in them (say 45 mins or more) I do find that they get a little sweaty inside. Not badly so, but there's definite moisture within. However not wearing them today showed the vast difference between slightly damp backside (I'm on a recumbent trike, thus sitting on my backside like in a deckchair) and completely soaked legs overall, and I'd much rather the former!

EDIT: I've seen HlaB's comment. I've just washed my NV trousers and they are fine. However I used some special German waterproof-breathable Waschmittel which is designed for this kind of thing, and I did it at the temperature they recommended (40 degrees). No normal washing powder/liquid went anywhere near it. i've also done the yellow high-viz jacket twice and that still looks yellow and high-vis although the oil stains on it didn't go away in the wash.

 

[HLaB]

EDIT: I've seen HlaB's comment. I've just washed my NV trousers and they are fine. However I used some special German waterproof-breathable Waschmittel which is designed for this kind of thing, and I did it at the temperature they recommended (40 degrees). No normal washing powder/liquid went anywhere near it. i've also done the yellow high-viz jacket twice and that still looks yellow and high-vis although the oil stains on it didn't go away in the wash.

yeah that was my mistake and listening to a bloke in a lbs he advised me to wash them with normal non bio liquid to get rid of the oil stains and then to wash with a special waterproofing liquid (grangers I think). Yeah it done a great job of getting them clean but damaged the internal lining/ waterproofness . Durability wise until this they were great.
As for wearing them over trowsers, I wear mine over the top of my trowsers no problem, with the night visions I went for large and medium in montanes.

 

[Arch]

If you are looking for waterproof trousers to wear over jeans, I recommend Rainlegs. They protect that bit that you need protecting most on a bike, the top of the thigh, and as they are only chaps, they don't overheat you. Yes, they don't cover the bottom of the leg, but it's mostly the thigh that gets wet anyway, and if it's really chucking it down you might as well take trousers to change into.

Also, they roll up small, and if you think it might rain you can wear them like a belt and unroll them really quickly if it does, but not be lumbered wearing them if it doesn't.

 

[4F]

As Auntie Helen mentioned as well there was a lot of people wearing the hi-vis Altura jacket. (I've nevr seen so much hi-vis!)

Tell me about it, my retina's are still hurting

 

[ed_o_brain]

I tend to dress to stay warm. I've given up trying to stay dry.

And more importantly keep the engine topped up with fuel. That way it generates enough heat to keep itself warm.

I'm now on my third cycling jacket. Although the first two were fine, the zips tend to go after about eighteen months commuting. I've now got an black endura cycling jacket and water seems to get in through the seems making for very wet arms. The stitching on both cuffs is coming undone.

I do have some cheap aldi waterproof trousers. They are actually the second pair - I accidentally ripped the first pair which were waterproof - with the second pair i still get wet in heavy downpoors.

I find waterproof trousers tend to get me hot. And nothing ever seems that truly breathable.

Warm and wet is fine by me.

 

[Noeyedear]

Another approach would be waterproof trousers and forget about the jeans. It will depend on how image conscious you are. In winter I wear a pair of Rohan wind and waterproof trousers, they perform very well and are much better for cycling in than jeans, they just look a bit old fuddy duddy, as I'm now 51 I can pull it off with aplomb. Although I often take a pair of jeans or trousers along as well to swop over at destination, I'm not going to be completely middle aged until I'm 60, old age about 80+.
If you see a grey haired gentlemen stripping off and changing in the Forum toilets in Norwich, it's most likely me.

Kevin

 

[Lion]

Another approach would be waterproof trousers and forget about the jeans. It will depend on how image conscious you are. In winter I wear a pair of Rohan wind and waterproof trousers, they perform very well and are much better for cycling in than jeans, they just look a bit old fuddy duddy, as I'm now 51 I can pull it off with aplomb. Although I often take a pair of jeans or trousers along as well to swop over at destination, I'm not going to be completely middle aged until I'm 60, old age about 80+.
If you see a grey haired gentlemen stripping off and changing in the Forum toilets in Norwich, it's most likely me.

Kevin

Haha! It must be good to be that age where you can pull it off. I seem to get odd looks as i always wear a helmet and trouser clips, and make sure im seen at night, most 22 year olds near me favour the black hoody approach!
Thanks for the replys, I think i'm going to go with the Altura bottoms and Jacket.
Its more for commuting to and from work i need something quick, i can just whip off and stuff in my bag whilst not having to completely change into my office cloths.

 

[Noeyedear]

Haha! It must be good to be that age where you can pull it off. I seem to get odd looks as i always wear a helmet and trouser clips, and make sure im seen at night, most 22 year olds near me favour the black hoody approach!
Thanks for the replys, I think i'm going to go with the Altura bottoms and Jacket.
Its more for commuting to and from work i need something quick, i can just whip off and stuff in my bag whilst not having to completely change into my office cloths.

I would rather be your age and not be able to pull it off.

Kevin.

 

[PrettyboyTim]

If you're exerting yourself and it's cold and wet, there's nothing that's truly 'breathable'. as you sweat you'll be producing water vapour which will condense on the inside of whatever waterproof you're wearing. Obviously some fabrics will let some water vapour through, but when it comes down to it, it's just physics: if it's cold outside your outer layer of clothing will be cold and water vapour hitting it will condense.

When it comes to riding in the wet, I prefer to make sure I've got a change of clothes and then I can concentrate on staying warm rather than dry. I have a waterproof jacket for wet days and rainlegs like the ones Arch mentioned. When it's very wet, I wear sandwich bags between my socks and shoes so that my feet don't get frozen.

But as long as I'm warm, I always know I can just change into dry clothes at my destination.

 

[gavintc]

I just let the bottom half get wet and concentrate on keeping the top half dry. I find that if you wear normal clothes and a waterproof layer, you end up so hot that you are damp from sweat. I change at work from cycling clothes into real clothes. I realise that will not suit everyone and that it will depend on how hard you cycle and how far you are travelling etc.

 

[Noodley]

Okay, this will be the best bit of advice you ever get (unless of course I give you some other advice ):

Endura Superlite.


It always surprises me when nobody else mentions it.