Not sure what to wear to cycle in the rain? There’s an app for that

The comments on the What To Wear Cycling app are both hilarious and sad. Hilarious because way too many commenters are in an uproar over a £1.99 app. We are talking about £1.99, right? But seriously, it's not about the £1.99, is it? It's that somebody made an app centered around your precious sport of cycling and dared to charge for it.

Yeah, we're on the sad part now. Sad to continue to have to defend cycling against the all-too-acurate rap that the sport is overrun by sanctimonious social retards. We call them douche bags in the states and it's one of the reasons good people stay away from cycling. Can anyone out there shed light on why cycling attracts so many paranoid and defensive types? Bottom line: keep your £1.99 and keep pedaling in another direction because no one likes you. Okay, I'm done. You may now attack me.

For the record, the developer's name is Christopher. It says this in the actual article that we're all commenting on, but apparently people are posting without actually reading the article.

I don't get the anger, either. I came back here to forward the link over to a friend in Belgium (now *that's* a place with challenging weather), and saw the volume of new posts. So bizarre! The app really is pretty great. And the guy who made it does seem like a decent and clever guy, and he's knows a lot about cycling. He's made something very useful for fellow riders--why get so annoyed by that?

It's one of the cheapest cycling products I've bought, and I'm really glad to have it.

I really can't comprehend why people are having their shit gripped by this app. It's a weather app that's been tailored to display the results in a way the purchaser of the app would like them.

If you prefer millibars or hectopascals or whatever then, you know, "there's an app for that".

You may not own claw gloves or overshoes or any other dedicated deep winter or foul weather gear but I do. You may be tough as boots and can just ride regardless but I ride to work everyday and can't afford to let weather beat me so I dress accordingly.

So I have to reverse the apps suggestion back into a ....er weather app??

Since I don't own lobster mitts, nondoflex leggies, Roubaix panties or cycling boots ( tbh I don't even know what that stuff is) how am I supposed to react to the apps advice.

My wardrobe is short sleeve jersey(summer) long sleeve(winter), base layer, vest, arm warmers, gloves(winter), long bibs ( winter) short bibs ( summer), wool buff. Most of which goes with me in the appropriate season even if I don't wear it.

I'm not sure how I would react to being told I needed to buy a load of new stuff, the above has served me well for a long time.

@mike, do you know the developer?

First time using the app 8am yesterday morning. The forecast said there might be rain in the afternoon, but it was sunny and dry setting out. The app said 'wear everything' - lobster mitts, boots, Roubaix tights, full-on jacket - the works. Now going on my experience of 6,000km+ riding in a 50-mile radius each year and paying close attention to the Met Office weather app and rain radar, I'd have normally gone one layer down - normal tights, or two layers of gloves, maybe a baselayer, long jersey and gilet, eschewing the boots. There was a modicum of gentle mockage from my riding partner.

Boy, am I glad I followed the app's advice.

After 3hrs of riding in increasingly nice weather, getting a bit warm with 13 degrees and intermittent sunshine but nothing that couldn't be unzipped away, shit got real. Within a 15 minute period the temperature went from 13 to *zero*, wind picked up from 10 to 30MPH, and biblical proportions of hail and sleet descended - enough to make drifts on exposed road corners. This went on for the last 20k. I am 100% certain based on bitter previous cold/wet experience that had I not been wearing the lobster mitts I would have had to stop or slow dramatically as the ability to shift/brake would have left my useless, clawed hands.

Now I'm the first to say the plural of anecdote is not data. But this happened.

Well the app own today. I chose to ignore the need to include a rain cape and it rained. Actually, I got wet, but it wasn't too bad.

But other riders got it badly wrong today - fingerless gloves and shorts. The shorts weren't so much the problem, but they were complaining about the gloves.

It works and it saves the guess work. You don't have to obey it, it is just a guide.

I love this idea of people paying for an app like this. It reaffirms my belief in the stupidity of the human race.
Totally cheered me up.

I don't like the cold and hate being wet, so I need an app to find a hobby more suited to my needs than cycling.

The problem with this app is the inaccuracy of weather forecasts. I checked last night before putting my kit ready for this morning and was expecting heavy showers. Still waiting for the rain to break through the sunshine

I think it needs an additional algorithm developed by Simon Mottram and Gok Wan that analyses the whims of contemporary fashion, the colour of your bike, length of stubble (men and women, face and/or legs) and whether its a Shoreditch fixie or a Surrey Pinarello vibe you want, to ensure you're always 'on trend'

I've over heated badly doing the Etape du Tour. I've had to stop at a garage at the bottom on the Horseshoe Pass when it turned so rainy that my gloves were not sufficient and I got frozen fingers which were unbearable. I've mistaken a bright sunny April day for going to warm up as I rode but it never did until the last 30 mins of a 4hr tide, so I froze in 3/4s and arm warmers.

I've made mistakes in my 25yrs of riding, and I still occasionally make mistakes. Yes, most of the time I get it right (ish) but if this app was on Android it might be of interest. It's £2 & no one is forcing any one to buy it so god knows why some people are being so negative.

Now, does anyone have a view to whether I should buy a new car or not???

Wow. Who knew this would be so contentious?

IanW1968, you captured my view perfectly. I completely agree with you.

As for me, I can barely boil water at 6am, much less decide what I'm going to settle on when I'm about to spend a few hours on my bike. The app helps.

And if I don't agree with the app (which I really haven't yet since playing with the temperature tuning), I get the final say anyhow.

£2 well spent.

I like the idea of this. I do check the weather, I try to plan ahead, but sometimes I forget stuff. If it's written down then all I need to do is check stuff off at 6am when my brain is fuzzy.

In the main I usually get it right, but something which saves you the work is no bad thing. My kit is extensive and covers most conditions, and those it doesn't, I can double up on, but it's nice to know that your estimate on conditions will be matched.

Kiwi-Mike: I think you're right to take a bit of offence. People think it is fair game to come out with snidey sarcasm instead of debating the issues. Too easy to knock something than properly engage with an argument.

Gents, you are trying a little too hard to convince the world they need advice on how to dress.
I'm sure the developer is a thoroughly nice chap and your support for his work will be appreciated right up to the point you come across as a plonker, then he may wish you kept out of it.

So there's an app it tells you to wear a vest or not, it's very clever, some may like it others won't.

Can't really be much else to say?

I suppose this may be useful to someone who doesn't ride much, but then they're not likely to have a huge cycling wardrobe, are they? In other words....chocolate teapot.

www.forecast.io (free) and the ability to think (free) highly recommended

Can see this application having some use though, used with a pinch of salt and the ability to see it as 'suggestions' rather than fact. Which is the point, after all.

An Aqua Sapone Zebra skinsuit, Mapei socks and a Carrera denim cap?

Are you app-solutely sure?

If you are really determined to heed the internets advice however, you could do so for FREE at:

http://www.bicycling.com/whattowear

@KiwiMike: I actually *do* use this app, and quite often, as I have since I read about it on The Washing Machine Post. I've found it incredibly useful, mostly for taking the work out of sorting though options pre-ride at the break of dawn. I just check it and go. The £2 price is worth it just for that. Plus, I spend at least £2 per ride when you consider bars, gels, drink powder, and all that, and we all know where that ends up. I think the app really fills a need.

Oh, and apart from being a solid app, the guy who made it actually seems like a nice guy (imagine that) who apparently also rides. I noticed he and the Sustrans NE folks were quite silly about it when I looked at the Twitter link (Roadcc overplayed that a bit). He also answered a question (imagine that!) when I asked post-purchase through his site. All in all, I'm pleased.

Winter Kit/Summer kit? What about all the Spring/Autumn kit. The more kit the better.

This week was the "First Day of Spring" and the legs came out of wraps for the first time this year at least 1 of 5 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szbB-vLVnoQ
epic

Winter Kit/Summer kit? What about all the Spring/Autumn kit. The more kit the better.

This week was the "First Day of Spring" and the legs came out of wraps for the first time this year at least 1 of 5 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szbB-vLVnoQ
epic

Can you imagine the legal liability for the app writer when the app tells you what to wear and it is wrong? Think about it - you have paid good money for some sophisticated software which analyses the weather and your wardrobe, and tells you what to wear. You go out in cold weather gear and it warms up. Or when you go out it is warm and then cools down. You are in the wrong clothes so what can you do? You blame the app of course!
Obviously the app will have a sign in page where you agree to absolve the author of all liability for errors and for not thinking for yourself.
Maybe there will be a module that helps prevent people cycling onto motorways too - oh wait, that's the common sense module which is usually turned off these days.

I could do with one of these for work wear too. Too often I've taken my cashmere sweater when all I needed was the cotton twill shirt and a neckerchief.

I know part of the fun of cycling is the kit and the gadgets and the latest must-have 3D printed out front cnc'd GPS mount anodised to match your chain ring bolts.

But there is something to be said for simplifying your life and freeing yourself from the tyranny of excessive choice. If you need a smart phone app to choose your clothes I think that may be a sign that the balance is off a bit.

Each to their own, of course.