Cycling in rain (tips? bikes?)

petcar

Hello!
I'm another newbie and have been so amazed at how much I've learned from reading through the various threads. What a wonderful resource!
I just started riding again after more than 10 years, and I'm shopping for a road bike for fitness and weight loss. I'm very heavy at 5'4" and my current bike is a 15 year old Univega Alpina hybrid/mtn. I'd like to find something a little more comfortable that I can ride to train for distance riding, not racing. My goal is to complete a local 100km ride in mid May. Not sure if that's do-able in so short a time frame in this climate, but I'd like to try.
I live in northern California where it rains a lot, and am wondering if anybody has any specific tips or recommendations for continueing to ride in the rainy season. Do people train through the rainy months? It's not really cold, just wet! Also, are touring bikes any better for riding in the rain than the faster road bikes? So far I'm looking at the Specialized Dolce and Sequoia, and the Giant OCR (mainly because they are in my price range)
Any advice about bike selection and wet weather riding woud be great!
Thanks!!!

sogood

Riding in the rain is no problems if you have good tyres and brakes. The problem is in the maintenances. You need to remember to tip the bike up side down and get all the water out of the frame after each ride, or they'll collect and cause damage in the BB. You should also be aware that riding in the wet will significantly shorten the life of those bearings. So it's wise to have them repacked more regularly, preferably with water resistant grease (eg. Marine grease).

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alfeng

FWIW. While you can "clip" some fenders on to a ROAD bike, a TOURING bike (or, HYBRID) will allow you to use a wider array of tires (e.g., larger tires) AND fenders.

Also, a touring-or-hybrid will often have braze-ons for mounting racks, etc.

Aussie Steve

It's important to remember to shower as soon as you finish your ride to avoid chill... but with your bike, spray some water repellent (WD-40 or whatever equivalent you have in the USA) onto the headstem, brakes, etc and try to dry the bike out. Also I tried one of those raincoats but cant use it because you cant get any airflow to your body and they are incredibly stifling... i found its better to put up with getting wet. The usual cycling jerseys are great for reducing windchill especially when wet, far better than cotton...

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threaded

My regular commuter bike has drum brakes. In bad weather other types of braking system need so much constant maintenance and/or replacement parts that I tend to avoid them. Example: drum brakes on the commuter bike last me a year, disk brake pads on my cross-country racerwill last 6 hours on a race in bad weather. I know not quite the same usage, but hopefully you get the picture.

Try to keep the water/sand mix off the crank, chain etc. so full length mudguards/fenders with a flap on the front one, and a full covering chain guard. Clip-ons look clever, but they only serve to reduce the mud splatter the rider receives, they do next to nothing for the mechanics of the bike.

Unless you like constant cycle maintenance an internal gear hub is more efficient over time. Deraileurs are better for only the first 5 minutes in the wet. Although I use a deraileur system myself, this is because internal gear hubs that can take the torque I generate make the bike a thief magnet.

Unless you know exactly what you're doing WD40 should not be used anywhere on a bicycle, you'll wreck stuff faster than you know and potentially make your bike dangerous. Just stick to a hose pipe, not high pressure, just a regular garden hose, and a brush.

If you ride in the wet you'll get wet, not much can be done about that, unless you spend silly money on specialist wet weather gear, which only serves to stop you getting quite so wet. The cheap stuff causes condensation to build up and feels even worse than just getting wet and drying naturally when the rain has passed.

Sealed bearings are good. In extemis: replacing one ball-bearing with the odd ceramic ball is even better, although now you're talking silly money, it really does make those bearings stay efficient for a good while longer if you often experience bad weather like I do.

Do take into account that these tips are for if you intend to cycle day in, day out, all year round. For a 100km fun ride, don't fuss it, just find a bike you feel comfortable on and can control. Don't bother with anything with dropped handlebars.

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jhuskey

Don't brake while in curves, brake before. Set up for curves by taking a wider angle.
Stay off of painted lines and wear dark colored jerseys.
Personally I avoid getting wet while wearing clothes.

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TheDarkLord

So, I suppose that you are ok with biking in the rain without any clothes on?

Jokes aside, I too don't like biking in the rain. If I have to ride in the rain, I do it with an umbrella. As long as you don't have to shift chainrings, you can do all the shifting/braking with the right hand...

jhuskey

The worst part for me is having vision. You can't see with glasses, you can't see without them.
I tend to wear them and look over the top of the lenses.

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TheDarkLord

Having an umbrella will avoid that problem, since the glasses will not get wet. Of course, I'm not sure if it is feasible biking on a road bike with an umbrella. I don't have a road bike, so that's not an issue for me.

jhuskey

A 30 mph decent could present a problem, even for a skilled rider.

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Over 6 million squirrels attempt suicide each day.