I 100% agree. I tried everything when I used to commute in all weathers. Only a cape works. The only draw-back is on very windy days you get knocked about a bit - maybe not so good for bikes with small wheels. In China, every cyclist I saw put on a cape when it was raining. I bough mine while I was there for about a fiver. It's better than any of the lower priced ones you can get in the UK.I have a Vaude poncho that ticks all the boxes in terms of keeping me, my hands and everything else dry no matter what you throw at it....It's waterproof! .. very simple....end of story!...no need to invest in expensive £100+ claims to be breathable(Goretex etc) that ultimately will have you soaking wet after 45 mins in a downpour.
Bargain
At this time of year, a soaking is never far away! Gore-tex is only as good as it's seams. With brand new Gore-Tex outer shells, I've found waterproofing to be very good. At the moment, I use my old very heavily wax impregnated leather motorbiking jacket, with a heavy red supposedly waterproof non-Gore-Tex jacket on top. Thanks for the link. I'll definitely look into buying a much smaller packing and lighter poncho, though I might spray on additional waterproofing before use.
I know what you mean - I've got one of those single-use polythene emergency ponchos in my rucksack, it's remained in there for years. Sometimes when I've needed it, I've forgotten it's there
How about these, lace up rubber ankle boot with wetsuit socks just in case some water does get in:
For traction? TMI! (Rodney Dangerfield reference).
I've been shopping too, bought an ultrathin plastic raincoat to cover my very old 80's Travolta Saturday Night Fever batwing collar ultrathin leather cycling jacket, because boy does that need hiding
It fits again, now that I've shed over three stones. I've recently had two 9 x 12 inch inside pockets added with double lockable zips, so my devices don't fall out while cycling. Also heavily waxed.This is a major concern, because my bike is set up to rapidly get me to 25km/h ASAP and keep me there. Hence thin small packing placcy anorak. And dry bags for phone and tablet.
.Pretty well sums up my situation, plus I know I have my cape somewhere, but finding it could well be a task too far.So why not used for years? Well, I'm retired and if it rains that much I don't go out and my touring days are now fond memories only. If I commuted though, I'd give it serious thought providing the traffic I was in could tollerate the odd sideways 'sway' in inclement weather
I used to use one of those for commuting on the coldest sub-zero days in winter. The problem is that they're too warm for cycling. No matter how cold it was, I always had to unzip it a bit to let some cold air in. Mine has reflectice strips all over it that seems to scare the motorists to death at night time. It was very annoying when they wouldn't overtake me; however, in the daylight it transformed into an invisibility cloak, when they were trying to run me down from every direction.
