Category: Clothing

photo credit: richardmasoner

The rain is starting to pick up and mercury is falling. Often the signal for the end of the riding season.

There is often to reason to stop riding, even when the weather gets very miserable.

Just as prevention is better than cure works for colds, so good preparation can make riding through the worst of weather pleasant or at least better.

I have to deal with the cold, with fluctuations in temperature during a ride, and rain. All suggestions revolve around these. I’ve never ridden in snow (well once and that was not heavy snow) but that is a whole other ballgame.

Bike parts for the rain

So what can you do to your bike to make it better at handling adverse conditions?

Waterproof and water-resistant parts. Sealed headsets, sealed hubs, sealed bottom bracket, sealed pedal bearing and basically all sealed bearings, which is the standard on most bikes, are good for consistent bike operation when the torrent comes.

Cables should be lubricated well, or be of the Teflon variety so the extra inner coating will keep things moving smoothly. Same applies to brakes, unless you have hydraulics.

Tires should match conditions. More tread will give more grip, if you are on full-slicks avoid riding on the white lines when turning corners. Avoid grates, manhole covers and other metal things on the road surface that are super-slippery when wet. Use a bit more caution around corners and remember you braking distance is increased, so keep your eye ahead and widen the following distance.

I wouldn’t have been caught dead with fenders a while back, but are making more and more sense. Spray from the back wheel will cover your back or whatever you’re carrying on your back with water and mud. The best are the full cover style, which stretch as far down as the bottom bracket on the one end and to almost the same level down on the other side. On the front end, the spray from the front wheel will get in your eyes, cover your front with water and mud, and aid in wetting your shoes.

I have neither of these yet. But I have ridden a bike with them and immediately noticed the difference. I’ll report back on how those go when I get a chance. Might just rip the crummy ones off my other bike and see how that goes.

Clothing for the cold and rain

photo credit: johnthescone

No wooly sweaters needed for rides anymore, or animal skins for that matter. There is a huge range of choices for good clothing, keeping heat in, keeping cold and rain out.

• Booties: keep the rain and cold off your shoes, and if happy feet = happy rider, then cold, wet feet = ??? (well, you get the idea)
• Waterproof pants: keep the rain out. For shorter rides they’re probably unnecessary, unless commuting, on longer rides the comfort really helps. Downside is that they retain a lot of heat.
• Waterproof shell: just a jacket to keep the rain out, same applies to these in that the heat that is retained can make the inside just as wet as without it

There is a host of stuff available, but these should do for just handling a bit of cold and rainy weather. Taiwan weather is typically humid, so wearing anything creates your own personal sauna pretty quickly. For now I just use arm extensions and a T-shirt under my cycling top and that has been fine so far.

How do you prepare for what mother nature has to throw at you?