Just a stupid idea/question/thought..

[Bigtallfatbloke]

..as the wet weather approaches my thoughts are turning to keeping warm and dry. I know that scuba divers often feel the same way but they have th eoption of a dry suit (rather than a wet suit)...so....wait for it.....why dont cyclists have a dry suit option......erm...or do they?

 

[Steve Austin]

I used to use neoprene gloves in the winter. Nicked them off a mate who used them for Motocross, they were jet ski gloves i think. bright pink, and i looked great

I suppose you could. Lead and others may follow

 

[tomb1960]

I think that diving/windsurfing dry suits are very very waterproof, and they have some hideously uncomfortable bits like rubber round your neck and wrists (frankly unsuitable attire outside a fetish setting!). I expect that means that they hardly 'breathe' at all. If you are anything like me BTFB most fabrics struggle to keep up with the moisture I produce at even modest effort levels, I think I would probably drown in a dry suit!

 

[pieinthesky]

Agree with Toomb 1960.

Canoeists use breathable waterproofs fitted with dry suit seals at wrists and neck. You can go completely underwater without any water getting in. A sort of half way house between a drysuit and a cagoule.

I would suggest that something similar for cyclists would still get extreamly sweaty unless you cycle very leisurely.

I find its best to wear a good quality waterproof to keep the worst off and just let everything else get damp. As long as you dont have to stop for long you dont get cold. When the rain stops you soon dry out.

 

[pieinthesky]

Going back to my Canoeing days again, when carbon paddle shafts started appearing, their biggest advantage over aluminium was warmth. During the winter the insulating properties of Carbon over aluminium kept your hands significantly warmer.

I cant afford carbon handlebars though so I dont know if it will make any difference on a bike!

 

[domtyler]

Going back to my Canoeing days again, when carbon paddle shafts started appearing, their biggest advantage over aluminium was warmth. During the winter the insulating properties of Carbon over aluminium kept your hands significantly warmer.

I cant afford carbon handlebars though so I dont know if it will make any difference on a bike!

Did you never consider gloves and/or tape?

 

[Joe24]

Agree with Toomb 1960.

Canoeists use breathable waterproofs fitted with dry suit seals at wrists and neck. You can go completely underwater without any water getting in. A sort of half way house between a drysuit and a cagoule.
.

Completely? Mine gets wet when i roll. The seal at the bottom is not as good and lets water in.
They would be useless for cycling though. i get hot just standing still indoors with one on. And moving around makes you even hotter.
Drysuits would make you too warm, and the whole thing will be wet with sweat at the end of a ride.
Metal paddle shafts are ok, you just have to wear gloves. Ray Mears cracked an egg on an aluminium spade and it froze, ok he was in some place very cold.(cant remember where though)
I would have thought the cork and the material used on the handlebars would be enough to insulate the hands, but the wind would cool the hands down more.