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Cycling Cape Design
How dapper you look depends on how much you want to spend. There are a few independent manufacturers making cute rain capes for cycling and hiking.
Standard yellow-rain-jacket-type capes exist and are a smart choice for safety reasons, what with their bright colors and all, and they’re often the least expensive. But better-looking options are certainly out there.
The Center for Appropriate Transport in Eugene, Oregon, USA,
a hub of clever cycling, fabricates their own waxed canvas cape.
It’s a nice alternative to synthetic fabrics, but it’s also much heavier.
They offer optional hoods, bump outs for messenger bags, and fleece lined collars.
Cape Considerations
Cycling capes are longer in the front to fit over the handlebars and provide a big waterproof tent with good ventilation beneath it.
Rain capes for cyclists are quasi-ponchos, smaller and sometimes longer on the front. They're supposed to go over the handlebars and seat. Depending on the cape design, often it will obscure your lights, particularly on the handlebars. You may adjust for this, such as mounting your light to your helmet instead.
A cape without a rear cinch will fly up in the wind. A waistband and hand loops keep them from flapping in the wind. A hip tape at the back part prevents blowing up and fluttering in the wind.
In the breast pocket you can accommodate small items, or pack the rain cape into it. The breast pocket is often designed to be a belt pannier at the same time. A volume-adjustable view window hood prevents visual field restriction.
With the driver-hand hold loops, you can ride a bike comfortably while keeping the cape down in the front. Elastic loops built into the front of the rain cape that go over your wrists, and in the back there's a waist loop to keep the rain cape in place in windy conditions.
Open sides (photo: Hock.de)
Hand loops keep it in place.
Wear your hood up or get wet.