How to: Cycling Apparel - Rain & Wind Protection

Tak, tak, tak! Just as you're about to hop on your bike for a spin, you hear water dripping on your helmet from above. Good thing if you've got rain wear at hand. It not only protects you from rain but also from wind and splash water. Thanks to modern materials and cuts, it still lets your sweat evaporate while maintaining your full mobility on the bike. 
If you've always wanted to know how good raincoats and rain pants manage the balance between breathability and rain protection while cycling, you're in the right place. We also provide practical tips on what to look for in rain gear specifically for biking, so you have fun on your mountainbike, road bike, gravel bike, or e-bike even in nasty weather. 

Water Repellent: The Coating

Advertising images often symbolically demonstrate waterproofness with beading water droplets. However, this effect is not achieved by the waterproof membrane, but by a water repellent coating – called DWR (durable water repellent). It's especially important for the breathability of rainwear. Without it, the outer fabric layer would saturate with water across its surface and restrict the passage of water vapor. If that happens, for example, because the coating has worn off, it often creates the impression that the jacket is no longer waterproof – even though it's "just" accumulated condensation moisture on the inside. DWR also protects against dirt and thus premature wear of your rain gear.

Wind Protection while Biking

Besides its excellent protection against rain, rainwear also offers outstanding wind protection, but often a little less will do. Textiles that are completely windproof but not 100 percent waterproof offer clear advantages in terms of weight, pack size, and breathability. Reduced to the size of a tennis ball, lightweight wind vests and windbreakers fit into almost any jersey or saddle bag. This way, you remain flexible on the go and can quickly pull over protection against the wind, for example, before a descent. 

High-quality wind jackets – as well as certain softshell jackets – also have a membrane installed, which is highly water repellent (but not waterproof!) and one hundred percent windproof, while also allowing maximum water vapor passage. The term "windproof" actually refers to a permeability value that doesn't let the skin feel any air movement (< 3 liters/m2/second). 

Rain gear for every purpose 

The different cycling disciplines, with their varying riding positions, pose requirements on the cut and fit of rainwear. But even beyond that, rain gear differs for MTB, road, gravel, e-bike, and everyday cycling. Of course, personal preferences are more decisive than the bike you ride. Here's a short list of points that might be important for you: 

• Durability – If you often ride with a backpack and in mud, then the jacket should be more durable, or the outer material should be abrasion-resistant at key points. If it only comes into contact with water, you can save weight with lighter material. Rain pants are heavily stressed in contact with the saddle on a bike and are ideally reinforced there. 
• Ventilation openings – Zippers under the arms of jackets and on the sides of pant legs are very helpful to regulate temperature during intense activity (e.g., uphill). Foregoing them saves weight and reduces pack size. 
• Pockets – Want to quickly stash away gloves or have your smartphone handy? Pockets increase everyday practicality. 
• Hood – A simple hood can provide additional protection during breaks. Some cycling rain jackets have hoods that fit over the helmet. Jackets without a hood offer more freedom of movement in the neck, especially in a stretched riding position. 
• Pack size and weight – If you want to take rain gear as a backup on tours, then it shouldn't be too heavy or bulky. 
• Streamlining – If aerodynamics is important to you, then you should also pay attention to a tight fit in rain gear. 

The layers under the rainwear 

For optimal functionality of rain gear while biking, what you wear underneath is also important. It should be breathable functional clothing that doesn't hold moisture but wicks it away to the outside. A tip: Pay close attention to how you feel temperature-wise before you put on the rain gear and shortly after putting it on! Often, you can do without a layer underneath and then ride with a better body climate. 

Rainwear is always the outer layer in the layering or onion principle. Here you can learn specifics about the other middle and inner layers: How to: Cycling Apparel - Hurrah for Mid-Layers and How to: Cycling Apparel - Base Layer, the Layer on the Skin.