Rain Gear?

[Kiwi Stoker]

I tend to forget about water repellent and go for layers.
I usually have a wool undershirt and a long sleeved jacket with wind blocking. Yes both get soaked but they stay warm. The main part I find really annoying is water in my shoes sloshing around. So I wear Seal Skin waterproof socks and overshoes with long tights. That normally keeps most of the water out of my shoes. I also clip on the visor to my helmet and have a polar fleece buff (it repels water) around my neck which I can pull up if my cheeks get too cold.

However if you really want a good rain jacket look at the She Shell from Ground Effect (www.groundeffect.co.nz). This jacket has pit zips, a roll away hood and packs into it's pocket and has a wait band to attach it. Comes in hi viz colours and members of my cycle club swear by them. If fact a whole group have orange ones.

[Melalvai]

I have a cycling specific rain jacket and rain pants. I mainly wear those in the winter as the outer shell wind blocking layer, and try to avoid riding in heavy rain. (It's a Phantom but I don't see that one here anymore...the current Phantom is not water resistant.) It's gore-tex and I did learn that it looses its water proofness after a couple years but if you toss it in the dryer for a little bit the heat reactivates that.

[Crankin]

I have a Showers Pass jacket. Not sure which one, as I got it very cheap on some weird web site. I think it's the "commuter" version.
I have only tested it once, and it was far above the old plastic-like Performance one I have. I use that one for regular rain wear.

[MollyJ]

This is a useful thread. I am going to ride a charity ride on this coming Saturday which will start out cool and progress to a little warmer and WINDY (if the weather man doesn't change his mind). Kiwi Stoker, I'm thinking your approach is probably going to work well for me. If it gets too rainy on my road bike I probably will get skittish--kind of like my bike.

[Meowkungpow]

I already have arm warmers, and i will try to find the showers pass stuff. when i went look for water proof things that were light everyhing was like 300. But its probably a good investment piece. I am still losing weight and didn't want to go for an XL when i may be down to L in a week or two. Maybe I should still order up so there is more room for layers! thank you everyone for the advice!

Now I know i can somewhat confidently ride in rain it may be worth investing in the gear, because that is just more times i can ride! Now i just need someone to tell m how i should treat my bike post rain. Im still pretty unclear on a lot of general maintenance, I do dry it off, and brush of mud, but i am unsure of the gears/chain after the rain
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[Owlie]

I already have arm warmers, and i will try to find the showers pass stuff. when i went look for water proof things that were light everyhing was like 300. But its probably a good investment piece. I am still losing weight and didn't want to go for an XL when i may be down to L in a week or two. Maybe I should still order up so there is more room for layers! thank you everyone for the advice!

Now I know i can somewhat confidently ride in rain it may be worth investing in the gear, because that is just more times i can ride! Now i just need someone to tell m how i should treat my bike post rain. Im still pretty unclear on a lot of general maintenance, I do dry it off, and brush of mud, but i am unsure of the gears/chain after the rain
....

After a rainy ride, the chain and cassette will need to be washed and re-lubed. Grab a bottle of degreaser (or degreaser concentrate, and mix up according to the instructions) and either a rag (or several) or one of those chain-cleaning contraptions. You want the chain to be silver again, rather than black. (You won't get it to factory brightness again, but get close.) Then clean the cassette and get all the gunk out of there. Wipe off the chain rings too. Then relube the chain with your choice of lube, and you're good to go. (Just don't put too much on there. A drop or two on each "bump" should do it.)

[Velocivixen]

I live in Oregon where it rains a lot. I bought the REI brand of waterproof pants. They sell pants that have a special reinforced area on the inner right leg (presumably to resist wearing out riding the bike, crank, chain, etc.). I also have an Endura brand "Luminite" biking jacket that has a built in flashing light on the back of the jacket. I wore both of these during a 35 mile, downpour with heavy winds ride and stayed completely dry. Well, my feet & hair got wet. Only thing about the jacket is that it doesn't allow your perspiration to "breathe" out and it can end up getting damp/wet on the inside. Most waterproof jackets will say "Breatheable" but I'd say most don't breathe well, so it's a trade off. I waited until the Endura jacket was on sale at my LBS because it was last years model and saved a lot. Hope this helps.