The 'stay warm but still get wet' quick-drying clothes topic

[Jonathan86]

Hello all,

After walking my commute every day last winter I have come to the conclusion that no matter how much I spend on waterproofs, sooner or later I'm going to get wet and become miserable. I shelled out over £300 a couple of years ago on Rab waterproof gear, and even those can only hold off the rain for so long. Even if they do keep me dry, the sweat gets me instead.

As such, since getting my bike I've since changed my approach for this winter to more of a "bugger it, I''m going to get wet anyway" one. As such, I'm looking for gear recommendations for clothes that aren't necessarily waterproof, but will keep me warm and then dry quickly.

As far as the top half goes, I'm still going to stick to wearing a wicking top with a waterproof/windproof breathable jacket.

What I am clueless about, however, is the lower half. In order to keep vaguely warm, I'll probably opt for a pair of traditional skin-tight cycling shorts under some quick-drying baggier shorts (for warmth and insulation)

So, for under the outer, baggier shorts, should I be looking at those multi-sport compression shorts or padded riding shorts? or, are they much the same thing?

Also, as far as wet feet goes, I've heard that overshoes only do so much and it's only a matter of time before water drips down your lower leg into the top of them. What kind of things should I be wearing on my feet to ensure warmth and fast-drying-ness?

Any advice is sincerely appreciated since this will be my first winter commuting by bike, and feel free to point out any flaws with my plans!

Muchos thanks!

Fake edit: I also forgot to ask, are there any brands which are particularly good?
Proper edit: Ooh, had some weird formatting errors

 

[Theseus]

For feet - Sealskinz socks. warm & dry. I wear mine over my usual socks.

For the arse & legs - any one of the cycling shorts in the drawer (even the bib shorts) with a pair of close fitting trackster stirrup trousers. Adequate for most conditions but the coldest, then add another layer.

 

[Norm]

My wear last year was similar to yours, only I use polycotton walking trousers (mostly Craghopper Kiwis) for the bottom half.

 

[gaz]

Full length mudguards keep a hell of a lot of water off your legs and feet!
Full length lyrcra tights also keep your legs nice and warm, look a specific winter ones which are a bit thicker.
Waterproof overshoes work well with full length mudguards

 

[buggi]

Corinne Dennis do a range of thermal quick drying roubaix tights that keep warm in the wet. i've got them, they are great. (they also have a turn up which can be turned down if you have long legs).
they also do some thermal jackets that stay warm when wet, and some long sleeve tops the same. i've got a couple of those too.

I'm with you, better to be wet and warm than wet and cold, and no waterproof lasts my journey anyway.

www.corinnedennis.co.uk

Edit: Neoprene shoecovers are my choice. keep your feet warm when wet.

 

[3tyretrackterry]

Ron Hills tracksters or bikesters and MTB cycling shoes was all i wore last winter though i did stop cycling for a fortnight when the snow was frozen solid. I will admit that my commute is 5 mile ew and i do have access to showers at work which really helps as i know i can get properly warm before i start work.

 

[Spinney]

+1 for overshoes

Even if your feet do eventually get wet, the overshoes stop the wind causing wind-chilled feet.

Warm, wet, sweaty feet, lovely!

 

[400bhp]

Full length mudguards keep a hell of a lot of water off your legs and feet!
Full length lyrcra tights also keep your legs nice and warm, look a specific winter ones which are a bit thicker.
Waterproof overshoes work well with full length mudguards

Exactly the same as Gaz for me (not his actual clothes mind).

Anything else is pointless.

I personally don't like waterproof jackets, they make me sweat too much. I prefer windproof and carry a raincoat in my back pocket if it threatens to rain.

And probably the most important point - check the hourly weather foreacst the night before/before the ride in (if poss) and before the ride home. IME, at a rough guess, the BBC 3 hourly weather updates are about 80% accurate up to 12 hrs in advance.

 

[Norm]

And probably the most important point - check the hourly weather foreacst the night before/before the ride in (if poss) and before the ride home. IME, at a rough guess, the BBC 3 hourly weather updates are about 80% accurate up to 12 hrs in advance.

Better still, IMO, check the radar on www.raintoday.co.uk and you can see the systems coming through and choose a good window between downpours, if that's what you want.

 

[palinurus]

I don't mind wet. I don't like cold. Overshoes are very useful (on a wet December day it can be some way above freezing but once wet your feet can get incredibly cold after a while), similarly windproof/ waterproof jacket. Covered legs don't get especially cold even when wet. I use legwarmers and shorts mostly, for colder days bib tights over shorts. For legwarmers, shorts and tights I often use Santini brand stuff from Prendas- not expensive and works for me.

Although I don't mind getting wet while riding it is really unpleasant putting on wet shorts at the end of the day. I keep a spare pair of shorts and legwarmers at work- not worth buying any for this purpose but after a while you'll have some old pairs that can be put to this use.

 

[Tynan]

dry and warm wins

wet and warm is stacks better than cold

winter bib tight are plenty warm and don't really get wet, the dhb ones offa Wiggle are good if you're on a budget (I am)

 

[gaz]

the dhb ones offa Wiggle are good

i'll second those. Perfect value for commuting.

 

[slowmotion]

I wore a pair of these on a really rainy seven hour ride to Brighton. I had never worn this stuff before.

http://www.tenn-outdoors.co.uk/mens-bib-front-cycling-leggings-with-moulded-pad--blackgrey-s

I got very wet but stayed warm and comfortable. It surprised me.

 

[Arfcollins]

For feet - Sealskinz socks. warm & dry. I wear mine over my usual socks.

I wear these all through the winter, wind-proof too so not just for the rain.

 

[fossyant]

My main priority for a daily commute is - keep the shoes dry. Why, if wet and not dried, they start to stink and degrade. If you get wet shoes, get them dry - i.e. if no facilities, then get a desk fan under the desk to dry.

To keep shoes dry..

If wet, then use a good over shoe - BBB hardwear Aqua Shields have sorted this for me !

OK really hissing it down rain - then I use over pants - yes bad "look", bit hot, but it stops the rain getting into the top of the overshoe. Stops the shoes getting manky. - Works for me.

Out on a training run, then it's a rain cape, just to keep half dry and warm - if it's cold/wet then overshoes, but my shoes are hung up in the airing cupboard to dry. Have weekend shoes, and commute shoes !

The daily shoes need to be dried ASAP otherwise they will get minging. My daily shoes don't smell, because I try as best as possible to keep them dry from the rain.