Waterproof trousers reccomendations?

mattward1979

Hey all,

Bought the DHB waterproof leggings from Wiggle, and they are ridiculously short on material around the thighs...

Ordered a size up to allow room for tights, but they were still cutting off the circulation around my thighs even with nothing on underneath.

So, anyone have any reccomendations of some decent waterproof trousers?
Preferably windproof but breathable, although I can tolerate a bit of boil in the bag effect.
Knee space, Thigh space and reinforced butt are a Nice to have bonus

budget of £40ish quid...

gkerr4

sorry, this might sound like a stupid question, but what do you want them for?

to go over a suit on your commute or something?

I just can't see why you would want waterproofs on your legs - lycra or roubaix tights don't hold "that" much water and riding in waterproofs must be an awful experience?

father_jack

Because when it's wet and cold, the last thing you want is cold freezing legs being cooled by hard pounding rain. And you don't wear lycra when it's cold

gkerr4

Father Jack wrote:

Because when it's wet and cold, the last thing you want is cold freezing legs being cooled by hard pounding rain. And you don't wear lycra when it's cold

what do you wear when it's cold then? - I wear "roubaix" material tights or 3/4s all year - am i doing it wrong? is this why my winter training is so painful??

do people seriously put waterproofs over their tights?

dodgy

In 30 years of riding I don't think I've ever had cold legs and I ride in all weathers and have never owned waterproof trousers for cycling, though I do wear them when walking in the hills.

Perhaps the OP has something else in mind, maybe he does commute in a suit or something. We'll have to wait for him to confirm. Either way, not our place to judge, we all know what works for us personally.

emerywd

If I'm out and it really is cold .ie something around freezing, I'll put Ron hill bikesters over super roubaix longs. 3/4s don't work at any kind of speed at this temperature and it's as much about keeping the wind off you and not exposing skin.

If it's really wet and cold I only tend to head out for for shorter rides. Ive got some altura things from evans . Not brilliant, but ok. I've just got some endura single track pants for the mtb. Yet to test them , but again I wouldn't plan anything much longer than an hour or teo if it was cats and dogs.

If you really have to ride from start to finish for 3 or 4 hours in the pissing rain, use some embroication and man up like the pro's!

There's a turbo inside which avoids the worst of the weather

emerywd

Ps wiggle used to sell things called rainlegs. They kept the rain off your thighs.

No idea if they worked, but at least you didn't have to worry about flappy eater proofs catching in your chain

father_jack

what do you wear when it's cold then? - I wear

Windproof tights, but they have quite a bit of material to them when soaking wet, wouldn't like to wear them when they're soaked through. And of course you may have a base layer.And the annoyance of arriving at work with everything soaked through, it won't dry by the time you finish. So with waterproofs they stay drier, at least only damp from your sweat. I don't get too much boil in the bag feeling because don't go at full pelt (and you shouldn't in the wet anyway)

I only wear waterproofs if it's cold whilst it's raining. If it's hot sunny day and raining I don't except for waterproof overshoes. Since your legs are getting exercise, I don't find legs getting wet that bad, it's your chest so waterproof jacket would be the first thing to come on.

It depends on how hard it's raining, the temp. on which waterproof (or not) I wear. If it's raining hard, it's cold, and windy I would wear waterproofs- since the wind cuts through thin lycra tights, and thicket windproof tights have more material to them so will stay sodden for the whole ride.

gavintc

I have never ever worn over trousers when cycling. The most I will wear will be bib tights. The weather is never that bad. Even at just below zero temps, this works for me and any lower, I reckon it is too risky to cycle.

Over trousers just get you sweaty. Personally, I change into work clothes when I arrive at work and do not cycle in a suit / similar clothes. Lycra tights are perfect for me - in heavy rain, they keep you warm, not dry - skin is waterproof so the requirement is to maintain body temp.

father_jack

The weather is never that bad

I reckon it is too risky to cycle.

Contradicting yourself there.

emerywd

"keep you warm, not dry". You'll stay even warmer with Ron hill bikesters over your longs in that case. Still wet mind.

emerywd

Having mulled this over this whilst eating a croissant and watching the giro de Lombardia on eurosport, from the dry comfort of my sofa, I think I have the answer...

These boys do 260km with 3/4 Or knee warmers. Therefore, I must conclude that neither warmth, wind or water proofness matters. What does matter is style.


There is an answer. http://www.rapha.cc/rapha-jeans/

Problem solved, happy riding

gavintc

Father Jack wrote:

The weather is never that bad

I reckon it is too risky to cycle.

Contradicting yourself there.

Not really when you get to very cold below -5C, what you are wearing is unimportant because there is a good chance of ice on the roads. I have cycled below this level - but still do not believe that over trousers are appropriate or necessary.

dodgy

I wear 3/4 length Merston bibs from Wiggle even on the very coldest days. My legs simply never get that cold, not even the exposed parts just below the calf. But again, everyone's different, my wife is always amazed to see me go out in sub zero temperatures with 3/4s on, but I'm fine with it.

No need for everyone to find the same solution.

gkerr4

dodgy wrote:

I wear 3/4 length Merston bibs from Wiggle even on the very coldest days. My legs simply never get that cold, not even the exposed parts just below the calf. But again, everyone's different, my wife is always amazed to see me go out in sub zero temperatures with 3/4s on, but I'm fine with it.

No need for everyone to find the same solution.

yeah - I agree actually - I like 3/4s for a large part of the year - so much so that while i was reading this thread this morning I was actually contemplating a set of rapha 3/4s (not the 'cross' ones - the roubaix ones) but this thread got me thinking if I should look at windproof ones - they have a fair few to choose from in Wiggle - Gore ones look good.

Chris65

SOme years ago when I was mountain biking I bought some Endura Stealth tights. I know that they are outside your buget but I can recommend them. There are two small problems:-
They did catch slightly at the knee
You must wear overshoes or boots with the tights or your feet get launched.

Go to a shop and try them on as they may be a bit tight.

mattward1979

Didnt realise Waterproofs were such a hotly debated topic

I would like them just as a backup to my tights for the VERY cold mornings, and potentially rainy as hell nights... Im at Uni and my lecture times range from 9AM starts to 6PM starts, so I am out and about at all hours, in all weathers.

Im sure the tights will be warm enough, but if I get stuck out in a torrential downpour, I would like something to slip into that adds a bit of warmth and keeps the rain away from my skin.... There always seems to be a nasty wind blowing right in my face no matter which way I ride, and this wind chill would really make me think twice about cycling through winter unless I had the wardrobe for all occasions!

Cheers =D

cougie

I'd not wear 3/4 when its really cold - all it takes is a flat tyre or a mechanical and you'll get cold quite quickly.

Never worn waterproof trousers either - you'd just boil in them. Roubaix longs for the winter for me and if you're cold - pedal faster.

WierdBeard

Tights, 3/4 lengths over the top and waterproof socks always done the job for me.

amaferanga

I have some Roubaix tights for the very cold days, but its not often that its actually cold enough for them. When its cold and/or wet I often get cold feet, a cold face and cold hands, but can't say I've ever had cold legs to the extent of it being a problem.

Don't see the point in waterproof trousers or windproof tights.

huuregeil

I totally agree that roubaix tights + maybe ronhills if it's terrible are both sufficient and the best option in the worst of the weather. However, putting moist tights on at 5pm when leaving work is not a pleasant experience - trousers do have their place if commuting and you don'thave the means to dry your clothes! In this instance, I whip out my eVent mountaineering trousers which are excellently breathable and there's no boil-in-the-bag effect going on. Unfortunately, decent waterproofs do cost money but they do work very well and you'll get years of service out of them.

danowat

I think also the length of your commute has a bearing on this, my commute is 18 miles each way, and I find that after 18 miles, I am as wet in waterproofs as I am in non-waterproofs, even breathable ones.

I think the most important places to keep warm are your "trunk", your head, hands and feet, cold legs aren't a problem for me at all.

Pross

Only time I would consider waterproofs would be for my commute as there's nothing worse than putting wet kit back on to come home. I've never had cold legs when riding in tights and even when tights get wet they get warmed up by body heat. Even with top quality waterproofs when mountain walking I find I get wet from sweat and I can only imagine this would be worse on a bike.