Rainsuit/wet gear recommendations?

[BMWST?]

I have IXON brand overgloves. I put them over my wet weather jacket sleeve and pull the drawstring tight. This creates a really good seal where the water runs down the sleeve to the glove area. Have ridden up to 4 hrs in torrential rain (Sth Island west coast) with dry gloves at the end. Ride most of the year with summer gloves and put these over to prevent wind chill at night too. Don't like bulky winter gloves unless I have too.

are they a "mitten" type of overglove?

[backinthesaddle]

are they a "mitten" type of overglove?

Yeah they are a mitten glove. Thats why I prefer a thin summer glove underneath so you've still got a reasonable amount of flexibility and feel with them on. Really waterproof - they dry out in minutes when you hang them up.

[PrincessBandit]

Yeah they are a mitten glove. Thats why I prefer a thin summer glove underneath so you've still got a reasonable amount of flexibility and feel with them on. Really waterproof - they dry out in minutes when you hang them up.

On our ride home from New Plymouth yesterday (in the pissing rain - all the way!) we tried an experiment of having Balu's gloves and mittens on with his sleeves coming down over them. It worked brilliantly except I had to do up his zip cos his fingers weren't able to grab the zip tab! (One day he'll learn to dress himself....)

[duckonin]

Rainbird. From Para Rubber. Not always in stock but Christchurch branch, I am reliably informed, has quite a lot of it.

Fully waterproof - I have been using it for yonks and never had it fail yet - lightweight and compresses to SFA.

Two piece and no I have not had water get between top and trou.

I shall fully endorse that, (Rainbird) and in the event you have a problem, which I would doubt then rainbird replace no Q's asked....

I have a thin Hi vis rainbird that we used cycling in the South Island, it is now four years old has had a lot of use and it is still 100% waterproof, I put it on over top of my leather jacket in the rain and use it as a wind breaker, sure we look like glow bugs but hey we can be seen!!!

[Blackbird]

I have Rain off overgloves ( http://www.rain-off.com/ ) I put them over my gloves and under my rain jacket and have not been let down by them yet.

+1 - fantastic bits of kit. Also have good cordura riding gear but for serious rain, I still prefer my Spool plastic 2 piece. It's the only bit of gear that keeps me 100% dry and was cheap to buy. You do get a touch hot and sweaty in it sometimes but no big deal. For boots, I have some SIDI waterproofs which are probably 5-7 yeaes old and have never let me down. If you have leaky boots, the old bread bag trick as temporary liners never fails!

[PrincessBandit]

I'm going to try out my old Kathmandu two piece which has kept me nice and dry (although NOT warm!!) in the past and see how it goes with my leathers. My cordura is one big heap of soggy mess at the moment and the thought of putting it back on today makes my skin crawl.

Kathmandu and leathers - right, I'd better be off if I'm going to get this experiment started.

[backinthesaddle]

On our ride home from New Plymouth yesterday (in the pissing rain - all the way!) we tried an experiment of having Balu's gloves and mittens on with his sleeves coming down over them. It worked brilliantly except I had to do up his zip cos his fingers weren't able to grab the zip tab! (One day he'll learn to dress himself....)

Thats the way to go normally - If you've got someone to dress you that is. How do you find your Gsf 650? Took a mates for a spin a couple of weeks ago. Very impressed. If I needed a Commuter bike (which is what he's got it for) and something to scream around on one up I'd seriously consider one. Good value for money too.

[PrincessBandit]

Thats the way to go normally - If you've got someone to dress you that is. How do you find your Gsf 650? Took a mates for a spin a couple of weeks ago. Very impressed. If I needed a Commuter bike (which is what he's got it for) and something to scream around on one up I'd seriously consider one. Good value for money too.

My bandit is a dream bike (for me). If you want a more expert opinion ask Pussy - he took it for a wee blat on the weekend.

I have Pilot Road 2s on it and never once had any complaints about them - most of the riding we did on the weekend was in shit weather; bike held beautifully on the road and basically my speed wasn't that much slower than I'd have been going if it had been fine and dry.

She did look extremely dirty coming out of the unsealed bit of the forgotten highway - had to ride through thick deep bog for a small section, had mud caked in between my pipes and flicked all up the back. The heavy continual rain from Whangamomona onwards kinda cleaned it a bit though.....

Handled really nicely through the twisties, just gentle pressure on the bars even with my broken collarbone. So easy to ride!

p.s. back on topic....I might have to get my son to turn the garden hose on me in my leathers and Kathmandu 2 piece as the short ride I did today wasn't really long enough for a good trial.

[slofox]

I had a rainbird jacket that was really good, but 3 days solid wet weather riding it had flapped itself to bits so I dropped it in the bin when I took it off.

I'm surprised to hear that. I have done mega miles in mine with no problems...

[Rosie]

... It worked brilliantly except I had to do up his zip cos his fingers weren't able to grab the zip tab! (One day he'll learn to dress himself....)

Don't count on it. I was on stretch-rainsuit-cuffs-over-gloves duty for someone yesterday

[backinthesaddle]

Glad to hear you love your 650. I run Pilot 2's as well on my 1200. Great tyres. Good mileage and great handling in all conditions. The dual compound makes them ideal for touing and sport riding. Have found though it does pay to keep a regular check on the pressures though, especially when two up. Can cause unnecessary wear quite quickly when they're down (even just 1-2psi) and pushing it quite hard around the place.

I'm on my second set at the moment. got 16,000km out of the front tyre. Haven't finished the first rear yet as put a new one on to do the South Island (only had about 1500-2000k's left in it) Didn't want to get half way round and find I had to wait a day or two to order one in or plan to be somewhere just to replace it.

Let us know what sort of mileage you get out of yours. Be interesting to see what you get with a (slightly) lighter bike.