Can riding in the rain be not miserable? Also related safety questions for bad weather cycling

[Cowsham]

I took my cape on that 6 day cycle holiday a couple of weeks ago but I don't think I'll bother with it next time because of it's weight and bulk.

If there's rain forecast I'll just wear Lycra and change into dry clothes when I get the tent set up.

It's very bulky and heavy but I was advised to get a heavier one cos the lightweight ones aren't actually waterproof. I think I'll sell it.

[ANTONISH]

I'm not sure why, but I've fallen out of love with the cape.

Capes are terrible. They act like a massive sail making them dangerous in wind, they obscure the bars (and therefore lights, computer, bar bag & map*), you need full mudguards otherwise you just get a cold spray directed straight up into the cape, they make bike handling and signalling tricky and you look like a dork.

*delete as applicable

It's one of the bits of cycling history that most people are thoroughly glad has been consigned to the dustbin and replaced by nice lightweight and well-cut fabrics.

Of course this is in your opinion.
In 1960 I came off a rough ferry crossing at Holyhead and started on my ride home to Kent down the A5.
I had one of the old oil skin capes and a Sou'wester- the weather was wet and windy.
I was fairly dry and comfortable - and it was some hours before the wind and rain died down.
Nowadays as I've said upthread, with the present traffic conditions I don't find a cape safe for signalling.
As for modern lightweight materials my experience is that they work well enough when new but the rain is always testing any gaps. At present I have waterproof overtrousers which are cut downt to just below the knee and a modern water resistant jacket, a crash hat with a rain cover. waterproof gloves and some "sealskinz" overshoes.
That's quite a lot to replace what I was wearing in 1960 and IMO it isn't as good.
Again as I said upthread I last used a cape on the Danube cycle path and I rode all day in steady rain without getting wet.

[Bmblbzzz]

I still might cut the mesh lining out of the Lowe Alpine over-trousers and give them a go

Go right ahead is my advice. I used to have a Lowe jacket where I was fed up with the mixed taffeta and mesh liner, took the scissors to the liner it and never really regretted it.

The main* point of mesh liners on coated or two-layer fabrics is typically to give a degree of protection to the waterproof layer, but it turns out that while that's useful it's also viable to accept a shorter working life and lose the extra weight, bulk and putting-on/taking-off faff that comes with the liner. The coatings on the likes of Triplepoint Ceramic waterproofs are actually reasonably stout, and Lowe later took to making their lighter waterproofs without liners (getting one of those prompted me to cut the liner out of my heavier mountain coat).

And especially if it's an old pair you're not using much otherwise there's not much to lose, and it may well make them more useful.

Pete.

* the main functional point... the other point is marketing: it turns out that lined waterproofs sell better at least in part because visible seam-taping makes unlined jackets appear "unfinished" to your your typical buyer. Form over function, in other words.

While yes to all that, it also depends on what you tend to wear underneath the waterproof. If you wear long sleeves, fine. But if you wear it in summer storms with just a t-shirt or base layer underneath, the direct contact between waterproof and bare skin feels cold and clammy, and seems to (perhaps dependent on materials, temperatures, etc) encourage either condensation and/or leaks.