Brooks have 30 per cent off this cape, it is the big one, like a sale, £200 down to £140. Go on, someone buy it I want to see it being cycled around Edinburgh. With someone in shorts and t shirt underneath?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Brooks Oxford cape
(20 posts)-
Posted 8 years ago #
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I have the 'Cambridge'. been meaning to do a review.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I always figured that anyone wearing a cape on a rainy day in Edinburgh would get a free carbon-neutral flight to Denmark. Or more likely Little France.
I mean I've been blown off the bike standing still in a braced position.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@srd, the Cambridge looks good. It is pack able. No reduction £115. But many many colours
Posted 8 years ago # -
I got mine 30 or 40% off a few years ago. no colur chice though.
its great as long as not too windy. much preferable to boil in bag.
main dounside is hood is huge and baggy and obstructs my view.
i also cant figure out how to roll it up and attach to my saddle.
i also don't find the magnetic straps very effective.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I quite like rain capes. I have a couple by Carradice (one waxed cotton, and one in bright yellow 'oilskin' nylon); the whole family have a variety of coated ployamide rain capes by Jeantex, who don't seem to be in business any more. All of these have traditional fabric tapes to go over your wrists while cycling, and some also have waist tapes to stop the cape flying up over your head in a sudden gust. Some have clear side 'windows' in the hood to aid visibility when your head turns but the hood doesn't...
Capes are practical to carry 'just in case', though as noted above, a bit trying in windy weather. Good for summer touring or gentler rides. Also, they keep your saddle dry!
Posted 8 years ago # -
Rain capes and bar-mounted umbrellas were everywhere in China, though the rain was definitely not a degree off vertical and the ground not a degree off horizontal. Hills and winds would no doubt change the attitudes people had.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@crowriver, saddle dry being a bigger deal for a brooks saddle I imagine. Hence brooks selling two types of cape and indeed two types of saddle cover. They do a nice line in panniers probably outsourced to carradice and vaude (I am guessing). They are roll top but with a curious side closure strap. One in waterproofed canvas with separate front compartment and the other in the waterproof material vaude/ortlieb use, that isn't rubber, I can't remember the name. - Cordura? There is a mildly funny video on their site where a chap packs his front and back panniers and shows you how to work the closure then he is about to set off and the rain comes on and he unpacks and has to take the cape out (actually that is as funny as it gets). You think the panniers are actually a good price 90 for back and 80 for front but actually that is not for a pair, just for one.
Posted 8 years ago # -
My mum is sending me a rain cape she bought this week in Aldi. I will report back when I've tried it.
Posted 8 years ago # -
"saddle dry being a bigger deal for a brooks saddle I imagine"
Also just if you don't enjoy having a wet bum. :-)
Posted 8 years ago # -
While we're on the subject of trying to get other people to buy something first, would someone please buy one of these Decathlon capes and tell me if it's any good.
They've always looked tempting for slow, flat, wind-free cycling.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I have a Lidl or Aldi rain cape. It has internal tapes as described by crowriver to keep the thing on. It rolls up nicely into its own pocket. I keep it in the Brompton pannier. I admit I don't use it when it it is very windy!
Posted 8 years ago # -
So my new Crane (Aldi) poncho arrived today. First impressions: it's well made in a lightweight material with the kind of waterproof inner surface that was common before Goretex. It has a very close fitting hood so I doubt you could wear a helmet with it. The hood has two tranparent side-panels which I think work pretty well.
It's very baggy until you sit on a bike (upright type) at which point it pulls tightaround you. There are two elastic loops about 20cm from the bottom, on the inside, about a handlebar width apart. I thought these would go around the brake levers. But they don't stretch that far on my bike. Wrapped around my wrists they ride up my arms. I'm not sure what they are for.
I could use this on a fully equipped tour but for shorter rides it's a bit too bulky to carry. For Audaxers though it would be a luxurious alternative to the traditional bin-liner.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Sounds as though the cape may be slightly small for you. Especially if the wrist tapes are riding up your arms, and the cape feels tightly stretched on an upright bike (it should feel a bit like that on drop bars, but not an upright). Can you cover the bars with the edge of the cape?
If wearing a helmet, I suggest either not wearing the hood (use a waterproof helmet cover in very heavy rain), or placing it under the helmet.
Posted 8 years ago # -
crowriver, the upright is a stretched out road bike. I think it may be too short to use on that. The edge does go beyond the front of the bars but I'd have to hold it there and it's all a bit too tight in that arrangement.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Aha. Yeah, you'd probably need a slightly larger size to fit comfortably on that steed. One of the benefits of rain capes is being able to drape the front edge over the bars (or hoods) without having to hold them in place with your hands. Keeps your hands dry, and your bar bag/basket too. I do find a cape the best rain gear in a real downpour: think central Highlands, mid-summer... :-)
Posted 8 years ago # -
These Gendarmes demonstrate optimal cape cycling aptitude (especially the one at the back). I not though their capes have openings to allow arms to emerge...
Here's a more contemporary example, but really this young chap need mudguards or he will get wet from below...
This last fellow looks like he might be a randonneur:
Posted 8 years ago # -
Interestingly, not raining in any of those cape photos.?
Posted 8 years ago # -
Maybe cameras don't like rain. I can see from the photos that the cape will work on my mountain bike, especially as it has full mudguards to prevent wet from below.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Surely Scottish cameras are used to rain? What i think is that a dry cape is a good advert for capes but a soaking wet cape, puts potential buyers off, despite the fact that the Capist will be dry and snug underneath?
Posted 8 years ago #
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