Monday, May 19, 2008

Performance Bike's cycling rain coat


This weekend a wet start was predicted. Normally I would not be concerned about getting a bit wet, but the ride started at 3am and the predicted temperature was also rather low at around 40F. I thought about wearing my Arc'Teryx Gore-tex XCR Theta shell, but didn't want to deal with carrying it after the rain abated a few hours in to the ride.

So, I checked performance bike because I had heard they have lots of rain gear with their own brand for reasonable prices. I opted for their cheapest, minimalist jacket for $14.99. It's bright yellow (they also have clear) with venting from the wrist (underside of arm) all the way to the armpit and down to the side of the waist. The venting is a few inches wide and a mesh material. The rest of the jacket is made of something very similar to a PVC shower curtain. It goes down far in the back to protect your butt. There is a reflective strip across the entire back for visibility at night. Elastic cuffs on the sleeves. Velcro holds it closed all along the front. Definitely no bells and whistles.

Does it keep you dry? YEP! It worked perfectly, and after it wasn't needed it packed away nicely into the rear pocket of my jersey. Not bad for Fifteen dollars.

Highly recommended. Save your hard earned $ and get this instead of the fancy gore-tex shell!

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