What do you wear on your legs in the rain?

sian_c
sian_c Posts: 101
edited July 2009 in Commuting chat
Considering the typically British summer weather we're having of late, I thought I'd ask what the general consensus was on leg gear when it's raining?

There's the just shorts option, which is fine except for the chill. There's the waterproof trousers option but they tend to get rather clingy (or are you only meant to wear them with tights underneath?)

What do others do? Any solution??
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Comments

  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,716
    Leg warmers.
  • singlespeedexplosif
    singlespeedexplosif Posts: 1,564
    skin
  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    Skin. Waterproof and very breathable.
  • sian_c
    sian_c Posts: 101
    jamesco wrote:
    Skin. Waterproof and very breathable.
    Do you just go commando then!? ;)
  • Roastie
    Roastie Posts: 1,968
    Depending on temperature and ride duration: skin -> kneewarmers -> legwarmers -> tights
    David
    Engineered Bicycles
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    I wear shorts i really don't get cold so bar winter it's simply not a issue.
  • wantaway
    wantaway Posts: 96
    bib tights
  • MrChuck
    MrChuck Posts: 1,663
    Just shorts, waterproof trousers are just a non starter even in winter IME (although I reckon some of the eVent shorts might be a goer) so not even worth thinking about in summer.
  • Greg T
    Greg T Posts: 3,266
    I don't put anything on my legs other than what I'd normally wear for the temperature.

    Shorts in summer

    Shorts and bib tights in winter.

    I'm a binary kind of guy.
    Fixed gear for wet weather / hairy roadie for posing in the sun.

    What would Thora Hurd do?
  • JonS123
    JonS123 Posts: 171
    I tend to wear lots of muck and road grime on my legs when it rains, in the colder months I do put some form of tights on though
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    Same as Greg, but I don't wear shorts under my bibtights.

    If it's really going to hoss it down, I try to wear as little as possible - some of my bibshorts are shorter than others, you see, and the shorter the shorts the less lycra you have that has to dry during the day!

    If you're cold, cycle faster! :P
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • robmanic1
    robmanic1 Posts: 2,150
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    Same as Greg, but I don't wear shorts under my bibtights.

    If it's really going to hoss it down, I try to wear as little as possible - some of my bibshorts are shorter than others, you see, and the shorter the shorts the less lycra you have that has to dry during the day!

    If you're cold, cycle faster! :P

    "Ding-dong", Greg?
    Pictures are better than words because some words are big and hard to understand.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/34335188@N07/3336802663/
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    It's summer so the rain is warm. Shorts it is.
  • Paulie W
    Paulie W Posts: 1,492
    I'll tell you this much: the rain certainly wasnt warm yesterday evening!
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    Mine was, including the huge brown puddle that a tractor splashed all over my right leg on a corner between villages. It was another fun warm wet windy ride home last night.
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,120
    In the quintessentially dry English summer - shorts. S0d the rain, just dry off when you get there and change. My legs need all the exposure they can get...
    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • Dudu
    Dudu Posts: 4,637
    Roastie wrote:
    Depending on temperature and ride duration: skin -> kneewarmers -> legwarmers -> tights

    +1
    ___________________________________________
    People need to be told what to do so badly they'll listen to anyone
  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    sian_c wrote:
    jamesco wrote:
    Skin. Waterproof and very breathable.
    Do you just go commando then!? ;)

    Hehe, commando only happens when I get to the office and realise I've forgotten to pack spare undies.. :wink: Like someone said, it's summer, so the rain is warm and pants aren't necessary. The number of people pootling about at the moment dressed head-to-toe in all-weather gear really is baffling.
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    Bibshorts and rain water.

    Any more and it is just going to get wet, heavy and uncomfortable.

    When cold, it is a balance of decision between the cold or the discomfort of wet tights. Eventually keeping warm wins.
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • Greg T
    Greg T Posts: 3,266
    Robmanic1 wrote:
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    If it's really going to hoss it down, I try to wear as little as possible -

    "Ding-dong", Greg?

    The Minx.

    Anyone for a Martini?
    Fixed gear for wet weather / hairy roadie for posing in the sun.

    What would Thora Hurd do?
  • sian_c
    sian_c Posts: 101
    Ok, so what about footwear?? I've got the cheap overshoes at the mo that act a bit like a wet suit - your feet get wet a bit, but the idea is you warm up the bit of water that gets in. My feet really suffer from the cold though, so was wondering if the 'GoreTex' type overshoes really do work, as in do they actually keep your feet properly dry? Anyone tried them?
  • jonginge
    jonginge Posts: 5,945
    sian_c wrote:
    Ok, so what about footwear?? I've got the cheap overshoes at the mo that act a bit like a wet suit - your feet get wet a bit, but the idea is you warm up the bit of water that gets in. My feet really suffer from the cold though, so was wondering if the 'GoreTex' type overshoes really do work, as in do they actually keep your feet properly dry? Anyone tried them?
    I've got endura neoprene overshoes for wet days. Toastie.

    Concur with most above: at the moment it's shorts + overshoes on the wet commutes. May put a dhb gilet over my S/S jersey if it's really chucking it down.
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    I wear sandals, going back to the 'as little as possible' approach, so they don't need to be waterproof... they dry pretty quickly.
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • jedster
    jedster Posts: 1,717
    (although I reckon some of the eVent shorts might be a goer)

    funny you should mention that. I thought the same and got a pair of the DHB ones recently. WOrn them a couple of times in heavy rain (over bib shorts) and they work pretty well - the combination of the breathable fabric and venting through the legs stops me getting too sweaty and I tend to sweat a lot.

    I'm only likely to wear them occassionally in very wet weather so VFM is a little questionable but they do work.

    J
  • sian_c
    sian_c Posts: 101
    I'm only likely to wear them occassionally in very wet weather so VFM is a little questionable but they do work.

    Sorry to be thick, but 'VFM'??
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    Value for money...
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • sian_c
    sian_c Posts: 101
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    Value for money...
    Aha... Thanks!
    Might take a look into those then. Don't have a drying room in work so something fast drying could be handy.
  • rhext
    rhext Posts: 1,639
    Another one for 'whatever I'd be wearing if it wasn't raining'. Bib shorts in summer, lycra leggings in winter.
  • hisoka
    hisoka Posts: 541
    rhext wrote:
    Another one for 'whatever I'd be wearing if it wasn't raining'. Bib shorts in summer, lycra leggings in winter.

    +1 but just plain shorts (no bibs for me, with reasons), not sure about winter yet as got to get that sorted out when I learn what cold actually feels like.
    "This area left purposefully blank"
    Sign hung on my head everyday till noon.

    FCN: 11 (apparently)
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    My only concession to dryness in the summer rain is gore-tex shoes if i'm on a mtb or sealskinz if i'm on my roadie, the rest drys quickly enough.
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred

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