Rainlegs?

[Tom B]

I love mine - just the job for the around-town riding I mostly do. WOuld take them cool-weather touring, too. They make riding in (most - not yesterday's or Tuesday's) rain almost a pleasure 

They are easy to put on. I don't care what they look like and, being black over black 3/4s, I don't feel conspicuous going into shops etc wearing them, certainly less than i would with hi-vis or skintight gear. And are they any more nerdy or outre than other cycling gear?

Yes, certainly one of the best bits of cycling stuff I've ever bought

[LEE]

Just in general conversation with people who use these things, Rainlegs seem to me to get a higher approval rating than any other piece of cycling kit I can think of.  Higher for instance than Schmidt hub, or Brooks saddle.

Someone doesn't like their Schmidt Hub? 

[Greenbank]

Look out in the classifieds section. I may be selling mine as I've never used them and can't see a need for them¹.

1. I dress such that I'm warm even if I get wet (ooerr) rather than trying in vain to stay dry which simply doesn't work on long rides (Putney: Dry, Chertsey: wet, Alton: dried out, Stockbridge: soaked, Salisbury: still soaked, Yeovil: dried a bit, Chard: completely drenched including cycling 100m through 18" deep water, Honiton: pretty much dry).

[citoyen]

Rainlegs are more useful when you're a bit underdressed and not cycling so intensively, or for putting over ordinary trousers.

I use Rainlegs over normal trousers, for which they are great - not perfect but great. I hadn't even considered what they look like to other people.

d.

[Secretcyclist]

Interesting to read opinion is divided based on style only (functionality not in doubt) – surprised this should be an issue at all – how many cyclists have mistakenly overlooked other great products due to perceived lack of style? After thinking a lot about the cycling spats mentioned yesterday (which would complement the rainlegs in very poor weather) – think many people may have missed a trick by ignoring some of the more traditional gear (eg carradice clothing such as pro route/duxback) – perhaps we’ll find  the traditionalists will be laughing the longest and loudest after all…

[andrew_s]

It happens all the time.
Just look at what roadies say about mudguards or triple chainsets

[pdm]

Amen to that!

Personally, I think helmets look a lot more naff than rainlegs.... 

[microphonie]

Never tried Rainlegs but I do use overshorts: maybe a good compromise between efficacy & style?

Mine are by Freestyle.

[border-rider]

Interesting to read opinion is divided based on style only (functionality not in doubt)

If you read back, my objection is based on me never having felt in need of them, and that they look awful.  If I needed them, I'd wear them - of course.

Maybe they are useful for people wearing ordinary clothes or people who are pootling in the rain.  As Lee, GruB and others said though, if you are moving briskly then lycra keeps your legs warm enough and dries out PDQ when the sun shines

[Sergeant Pluck]

I've had a pair of Rainlegs for ages. I have hardly ever been arsed to bring them with me on a ride. On none of those occasions have I ever been arsed to put them on.

Hope this helps.

 

[Deano]

My opinion was based on them looking awful - but also on my straw poll of one very wet cyclist who said (and I paraphrase) "I don't know why I bought the bloody useless things" as we squelched into Kirkby Stephen a couple of years ago. 

As far as I'm concerned, it seems to be a solution in search of a problem, since they're not something I've ever thought I'd need.  However, if they do a job for you lot, I am very happy for you.

They still look rancid, though

[andrew_s]

If you read back, my objection is based on me never having felt in need of them, and that they look awful.  If I needed them, I'd wear them - of course.

Maybe they are useful for people wearing ordinary clothes or people who are pootling in the rain.  As Lee, GruB and others said though, if you are moving briskly then lycra keeps your legs warm enough and dries out PDQ when the sun shines

Do you not do any utility cycling?
If you go to London, are you going to change into full lycra to ride your Brompton across town?

[Andrij]

Bought a pair back in April/May.  They regular reside in by rack bag and have been used a few times.  I think they're great. 

[border-rider]

Do you not do any utility cycling?

Yes, but living here utility cycling=big hilly miles. Like I said ^, if you pootle in non-lycra then fine, Rainlegs may be for you.   I don't, and they aren't.

If you go to London, are you going to change into full lycra to ride your Brompton across town?

Yes, because I have to do 35 k to the station on it first

But if I didn't, the answer would still be yes  - because the cross-town dash leaves me sweaty and hot and that's not a way to be in your meeting clothes

I worked in London for several years, commuted every day and managed remarkably well sans Rainlegs.  In fact I never bothered with more than a Pertex jacket in the rain as it's very rarely Snowdonian in nature, you're very rarely in it in central London more than a short time and the pace you need to move at to stick with the cars means you'd boil in weatherproof clothes.

[alexb]

I bought mine, in black, after PBP. The cold wet weather was part of the reason my knee got so bad I had to bail. I've also bought knee warmers for commuting as well.

Rainlegs do look terrible. The black ones don't look too terrible. They do keep the cold off your knees very effectively though. Rolled up you just don't notice them - in fact they keep your lower back warm and can be hidden under waterproof tops!

As for merino wool knee warmers, anyone who sees the Solo add and decides to buy a pair, remember that after a few rides the elasticity goes and you get baggy knees whenever you stop and straighten your legs. This goes away once you wash them, but it's not pretty.

Vanity has to give way to function at some point I think.

[Pedaldog.]

Well! Much divided opinion to the question. I have done the obvious thing and bought a pair anyway!
I may never wear them but for people too fat to get lycra they might be some use to me.

[Pedaldog.]

NEXT QUESTION..... Waterproof overshoes?
I take a size 10 and a bit in shoes and have never found any overshoes that will fit over anything but cycling specific skinny footwear. I want some (SPD Compatible) that I could get over the SPD walking boots I have. Any ideas?

[Biggsy]

The old fashioned Carradice ones might fit if you're lucky.  Still sold by St John Street Cycles, last time I looked.

[alecstilleyedye]

rainlegs are a dragons' den reject. make of that what you will.

[jellied]

NEXT QUESTION..... Waterproof overshoes?
I take a size 10 and a bit in shoes and have never found any overshoes that will fit over anything but cycling specific skinny footwear. I want some (SPD Compatible) that I could get over the SPD walking boots I have. Any ideas?

I use Altura - large size I think that fit over my Shimano shoes and trainers. SPD gaps are there, but they only just fit.

They only work if you wear trousers over the top - otherwise the either chafe like hell or your socks are above the top and act as handy sponge to draw water into your shoes.

[Biggsy]

rainlegs are a dragons' den reject. make of that what you will.

I think that says more about the Dragons than Rainlegs!

It wasn't actually Rainlegs, though, was it?  Looked like a copy.  As well as laughing at the product, the Dragons were not happy with the business plan, etc.

[pdm]

NEXT QUESTION..... Waterproof overshoes?
I take a size 10 and a bit in shoes and have never found any overshoes that will fit over anything but cycling specific skinny footwear. I want some (SPD Compatible) that I could get over the SPD walking boots I have. Any ideas?

These Overshoes are my favourite at present. They fit fine over my Pearl Izumu MTB style shoes as well as road shoes.
Soft, easy to put on, stretchy back bit, warm and they keep the feet dry...
On very cold winter days (-4C or worse or when there is a prospect of freezing rain on the peaks) I use neoprene overshoes with these on top as two layers.

[citoyen]

rainlegs are a dragons' den reject. make of that what you will.

I think that says more about the Dragons than Rainlegs!

It wasn't actually Rainlegs, though, was it?  Looked like a copy.  As well as laughing at the product, the Dragons were not happy with the business plan, etc.

IIRC the fact that a similar product (ie actual brand-name Rainlegs) was already on the market was one of the things that put the Dragons off.

d.

[PrettyBoyTim]

I have rainlegs, but to be honest I can't see what all the fuss is about when it comes to their looks. I've never had anybody take the piss about them, but I have had quite a few people comment on them as ask me where I got mine. To be honest I find the idea that a bunch of people who like to prance about in lycra think they're funny-looking pretty amusing.

As for how well they work - they're quite good, with some reservations: They're only worth wearing when it's really pissing it down, and obviously if you're wearing trousers you don't end up as dry as you could be.

On the front around the waist they've got a strip of breatheable fabric which is fine if your waterproof jacket falls down past that area but I have sometimes found with mine that my jacket just deposits water onto the non-waterproof bit of the rainlegs, leaving me with a wet strip across my waist. Also, The water sometimes runs down the inside of the thighs and onto the upper inner thigh/crotch area of your trousers making you look like you've wet yourself when you arrive. Perhaps I should have got the next size up, as I would have preferred there to be an inch or two of extra material there to prevent that from happening.

[Biggsy]

IIRC the fact that a similar product (ie actual brand-name Rainlegs) was already on the market was one of the things that put the Dragons off.

I watched the programme twice and didn't hear any mention of the Rainlegs brand or any similar product already on the market.