Neoprene's closed cell structure works for immersion/water sports by body heat warming the trapped moisture. Yes hard to put on once wet, worse is how it begins to smell from being ever-wet. Over enough time the oils in perspiration oxidize or rancidify. Paddlers have all sorts of secret potions to unstink their neoprene wet gear and are careful to clean before the fatty acid breakdown of the neoprene begins.
I rode an unintentional century in October, meeting friends of my wife's who were beginning the GAP/C&O in Pittsburgh. It was cooler (low 50s-high 40s) and wetter than presumed but they had some emotional let down for this start of their beautiful trip and a few minor but necessary mechanical touch-ups that kept me riding with them beyond getting through the sort of complicated urban portion of the trail. They planned their first night at Linden Hall near Dawson and I bid farewell to them at the road crossing there and rode home. What I had for my hands worked great: a pair of wool liners from my old leather Army gloves with a super basic Gore Tex mitten shells I got at REI. Since it was intermittently heavy rain I wore my Ventile anorak, a mid weight merino sweater from a garage sale over a Riv Wooly LS jersey knit crew and a Smartwool SS T-shirt. I wore my trust Pearl Izumi Amphib tights and shoe covers to round things out. Might have been a bit over dressed, but I was able to unlayer/uncover as conditions allowed and I was in better shape for the duration. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 12:20:06 PM UTC-4 Touriste-Routier wrote: > Neoprene can work well, but the danger is you get wet from perspiration, > since it doesn't breathe. Wet isn't a problem per se, but if you get cold > from being wet, that is another story. Of course you'll be cold and wet > without proper gear too... > > The biggest problem I had with my neoprene cyclocross gloves (all winter > gloves actually), is trying to put them back on with sweaty hands after > needing to remove them (stops, repairs, etc.). Lesson learned, I always > ride with spare gloves on winter rides. > > Brian Ignatin > Pineville, PA USA > > On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 9:11:15 AM UTC-4 a spen wrote: > >> As a cold weather cyclist in Maine in the 80's, with Minnesota and the >> Appalachian mountains more recently, I'll add to the OP's revelation >> regarding neoprene that a set of neoprene pogies (or bar mitts) on the >> outside, coupled with wool gloves on the inside, gets me through everything >> from 40 degrees and rainy, to -20 and breezy. I simply match the >> thickness/warmth of the inner wool gloves or mitts to the conditions, and >> if it's 50 with wind and rain, just pogies alone will keep my paws warm and >> toasty. I've experimented with all manner of thick and clumsy arctic >> military mitts (compliments of my time spent in Uncle Sam's Navy) to boiled >> wool mitts (compliments of my time spent on a Maine "lobsta boat") and >> found an outer layer neoprene pogie supplemented with the aforementioned >> woolies underneath provide the greatest comfort & flexibility for a range >> of temps and conditions while on my ride. >> >> Al - VA >> >> On Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 6:54:45 PM UTC-4 Patrick Moore wrote: >> >>> This by the way, but here in usually very dry ABQ, NM it has been >>> raining off and on for a few days and the humidity during my afternoon ride >>> was over 70% which mean that 45*F + wind felt much colder than at 35%. But >>> a wool jersey + a wool + nylon cycling jacket kept me over-warm (those >>> wool + nylon panel jackets are very warm indeed, I find). >>> >>> Usually at 45* I can get by with a very thinly lined cycling shell over >>> said jersey and may have to open the pit zips. >>> >>> Over and out. >>> >>> On Tue, Mar 21, 2023 at 1:33 PM Toshi Takeuchi <tto...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> That is a great idea. The rain/air would exchange heat far less than >>>> the ocean, so I would imagine that even if you are wet underneath that you >>>> would remain quite toasty. >>>> >>>> Toshi >>>> >>>> >>>> On Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 8:32 PM Jason Fuller <jtf.f...@gmail.com> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> That's interesting, I might give some a shot this spring. I get the >>>>> feeling that much colder than low 40's would be too cold for most >>>>> Neoprene >>>>> options but I don't really know. Usually when it's 45+F I am pretty happy >>>>> with wool and a shell that's at least waterproof enough to keep the >>>>> majority of water out - not much ends up being truly waterproof in those >>>>> conditions. I can certainly believe that the water-going folks are onto >>>>> something though. >>>>> >>>>> On Friday, 17 March 2023 at 07:39:34 UTC-7 Jim S. wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Folks on this board might already have this information, but it was a >>>>>> revelation to me. >>>>>> >>>>>> It was 48 and heavily raining on, Tuesday I think, riding from Goleta >>>>>> to Oxnard, CA. We (my son and I) were uncomfortably cold, with many >>>>>> miles >>>>>> to go. >>>>>> >>>>>> We came upon a surfing shop. I know nothing about surfing or scuba, >>>>>> but I bought the socks, gloves, and a hat that surfers wear with their >>>>>> wetsuits. Wow, what a game changer. We were instantly comfortable. For >>>>>> heavy rain in cold weather, neoprene is great for cycling. >>>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2a914a44-47f6-4a21-945b-21fa656275can%40googlegroups.com >>>>> >>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2a914a44-47f6-4a21-945b-21fa656275can%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>> . >>>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>> >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAGB59xwyDyj_nUEM7wL-Ak-ttFfYmq8AGgnBFUx0YcSMfyyysQ%40mail.gmail.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAGB59xwyDyj_nUEM7wL-Ak-ttFfYmq8AGgnBFUx0YcSMfyyysQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Patrick Moore >>> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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