Hot answers tagged rain
24
They're fine. I live outside of Vancouver so I'm already riding in wet a few days a week some weeks. Just this morning I was coming down the backside of a climb at 70km and they were totally secure.
Since the tires are so narrow they don't suffer from hydroplaning. The biggest thing to worry about is painted lines and manhole covers (or other metal covers ...
16
Lightweight polyester or microfiber materials do the job. Pearl Izumi is my favourite. Bike specific rain jackets are a must if you are looking for comfort. Generally they are very thin and have air vents in them. There is no reason to wear heavy rain jackets. Instead, layer up up with a base layer (often merino wool or synthetic thermals) + mid layer + the ...
12
3 great answers here already, but I'll just add: ride more cautiously. You can ride safely in the rain, but you have to remember that the road will be a bit slicker and your brakes will likely be much less effective. Don't corner too hard and brake earlier than normal. When I know a stop is coming up, I usually give the brakes a light squeeze early on to ...
9
It's (almost) completely safe, but you can help yourself:
Avoid manhole covers, you'll often wheel spin if you're not careful
be wary of coloured road surfaces and lines, London has just ludicrous amounts of painted tarmac (and the new 'cycle superhighways' are some of the worst)
take a wee bit of speed off, you'll still get there, but give yourself a ...
9
Rainclothes designed for cycling, preferably in a material that "breathes" (Goretex being the best known, I think). You will still get wet from the inside if you go too fast, but this type of material is way better than "non-breathing" varieties.
I have a Gore Bike Wear Path jacket and pants that I am pretty happy with. Rainclothes for biking is essential ...
9
I bicycle year round in the Pacific Northwest and follow the mantra: there is no inappropriate weather, only inappropriate clothing. (Well, snow and ice may be inappropriate weather for bicycling) Despite commuting daily, I only purchased dedicated cycling rain gear yesterday -- and only did that for better visibility and more convenient pocket locations.
...
8
Being aware of your weight distribution can help a lot. You want to make sure you are not leaning forward and taking pressure off of the rear tire.
You can also help keep your rear tire planted by giving a slight downward twist on the handlebars with your wrists. Kind of the opposite of a bunny hop.
As far as braking technique goes, try to be ...
8
You are getting some good advice here on rain jackets, but the part of the accessory for cycling in rain that I find critical are a good quality overshoes - especially for commuting. There is nothing more annoying for me that arriving to work and have the shoes and socks wet, there is no chance for them to dry completely before the journey back home so you ...
8
No. It absolutely isn't.
You know what happens when an umbrella catches the wind.
Imagine that on an unstable device doing 30 mph.
Even without wind the rain will be blowing in your face most of the time so you'd have to place the umbrella right in front of you for it to offer any kind of effective shielding from the rain. How are you supposed to ...
7
The only way that I've found to get them to stop squeaking is to burn the water off. Big steep hill and stop at the bottom.
As for performance, I don't notice any difference in the feel of my BB7's in the wet vs. the dry after a couple seconds of use. Even in rain puddles up to the bottom bracket.
7
I agree with Daniel R Hicks, my bell also gets a lot dampened in the rain, and this will happen with any bell.
But even so, some bell properties might influence:
Steel is denser than aluminum, so a similar-sized steel bell could have more mass and ring longer;
Bigger rings might also ring longer, because of the relation among size, mass, wall-thickness, ...
7
No. Cycling while holding something in your hand is inherently dangerous. You have much less control over the bike and you can only operate one of the brakes.
You can buy various contraptions for attaching an umbrella to a bicycle. There's also the Uberhood:
However, this got a poor review in The Guardian Bike Blog:
once open atop the bike it ...
5
From my experience the biggest loss in grip between MTB tires and slicks is on the sand (especially sand on tarmac), mud and snow. On ice there is no grip in either case.
On wet surface the slicks are actually better and this makes the border conditions thinner, you either grip well or skid completely.
5
The other answers covered this quite well, but I ca speak from recent personal experience. I got a Bike Friday Tikit with skinny, treadless Kojak tires earlier this year, and I had the same concerns you do -- should I ride in the rain or not?
As you can see in the picture, I do ride this bike in the rain and it grips wet pavement as well as the tires on ...
5
Biking raingear is always a compromise. Do you want to get wet from the rain or from sweat, or a little bit of both? I use a Foxwear jacket and pants, and I stay dry if I go slowly and don't work up a sweat. The material is warm but somewhat wicking and water resistant. In the summer I'll be more likely to change into lycra for the ride and just get wet, ...
5
Maybe you could strap one of these to your helmet.
Then at least your hands are free and it's always pointed in the right direction. It'd probably get torn away in super high wind (hopefully not with your head).
I couldn't find a picture but you could even try it with one of those deep, shoulder width, clear umbrellas too. Then your shoulders would be ...
5
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/radar/index_e.html
Use the moisture radar, it's your best tool to see when the rain is coming and when it's going with great detail. If you take the time to familiarize yourself with it you'll start to get a feel for how different types of rain look on the radar and where it's going to hit.
4
As you ride in the wet, try to plan your trip around all of the slippery surfaces already mentioned. When you cannot, try to stop turning and braking until clear of the bad stuff, then get back on it.
I wanted to comment on surfaces others have mentioned, with "that's the worst" or "this is even worse than that!"...but anything besides clean pavement can ...
4
Slick tires are better in the wet than treaded tires. The best explanation I've seen is here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html Car tires have tread to stop them aquaplaning in the wet, bike don't get fast enough for their contact foot print for that to matter. As I sometime ride my cross bike with knobby tires on wet road I can assure you they're much ...
3
I keep extra socks at work, and typically turn my commuting socks inside out and place them and my shoes on top of my computer tower under my desk to dry them out. When the weather goes chilly, I adopt these techniques:
polypro sock liners
wool socks
plastic bag keeps cold water out, blocks cold breeze
ankle hiker or other leather shoe
low gaiters, with ...
3
Recently introduced by 'Altura' (the poor British man's 'Endura') is the 'Pocket Rocket':
This jacket is distributed by Zyro and widely available in British bike shops. Visit a stockist and try for size wearing what you expect to be wearing underneath, i.e. more than a T-Shirt. Remember that when buying from the LBS you may pay RRP rather than 'online ...
3
The main compartment of most handlebar bags waterproof when closed. Better models have pockets to keep passports dry. There are also plenty of models on the market that have padding for cameras and lenses.
The brand most synonymous with waterproofing is Ortlieb. They make handlebar bags and camera kit inserts for them. There are plenty of other makes on the ...
3
In my personal experience, anything you wear while riding that is even moderately water proof will trap heat and sweat and for me, I will end up just as wet if I had ridden with or without the jacket.
GoreTex and the like are just riding an edge of being helpful. Short rides, cool temps, perfect. Long rides, doesn't matter, you are going to get wet. From ...
3
And, of course, once you've got where you're going, you'll feel a lot better about yourself if your belongings are dry.
I have an excellent Ortleib, courier style bag, which is totally waterproof, sealed by folding over the top. If you can change into dry clothes (in particular dry socks and shoes), embracing the wet is a lot easier.
3
I usually just put up with the wetness. The best are clothes that don't absorb water, and therefore don't get heavy when they get really wet. If I'm going to work, I have a change of clothes anyway, and otherwise I'm usually just going out on a recreational ride, and will be back home after I'm done. One thing I would recommend is a pair of gloves with ...
3
Bike tires are treaded to grab on customers rather than the road. Obviously, different tread patterns will perform differently off road, that is: on earth, mud, gravel, sand, roots..
BUT - contrary to popular belief - on the road, whether it is concrete, tarmac or asphalt, treads will do nothing except offer a slightly slower ride and at the same time, less ...
3
There are other brands and fabrics, I've used a few
eVent is very similar to GoreTex. Wind stopper, waterproof, breathable, my rain pants are made with eVent. I love my clothes and gloves made with WindStopper, a little cheaper, but not waterproof. When I first started commuting by bicycle, I got a Nylon jacket, made with coated nylon and taped seams. It ...
3
This is a really good question, and one that I found myself asking only a few weeks ago. The aforementioned posts are great if you feel like restricting yourself to "Goretex" as the main construction fabric of the jacket you're looking for.
You can find a lot of technical information about Goretex online, but one of the most basic facts about the fabric is ...
3
I will share how do I commute in rain to work. I haven't tried an umbrella, however. A long raincoat, plus short pants and sandals keeps me dry during the wearmer months. If you go this way, pаy special attention to the hood - ideally it should have two adjusting straps - one for face aperture (the one on the picture has) and one for depth of the hood - it ...
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