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Actually PGH gets the same amount of rainfall. And sunlight. Lovely.

Get fenders. They do a lot more than clothing ever will. Depends on the kind of bike you have as to what you can use.

The problem with rain clothing is that above 60F or so you just end up sweating inside the clothing and end up just as wet.

Get a clear rainjacket. They cose $20 and you can cut the sleeves off for warm weather rain and not feel bad about it.

I'm pretty partial to the Craft stuff if you can find it on sale. Pearl Izumi does does a nice job too.

Wool is your friend. Keeps you warm when wet, stinks less than synthetics when sweaty and foul.

+1 on mayhew's comments re: sweating in the rain clothing and utility of fenders. Also, adding a nice fat mudflap to your front fender will help keep your feet and drive train cleaner and drier.

+1 on the wool.

+2 on fenders.

old school Sears Roebuck wool for fall, winter and spring. new, expensive wools fall apart at the seams for some reason. wool flannel on ebay is quite durable.

in the summer it's board shorts and a light shirt. On a warm day, I welcome a nice cool shower.

The best rain gear I have ever used is by Showers Pass, out of Portland. It breathes well enough, but more importantly has tons of zippers for venting.

However like Mayhew and Dan said, if its above 60 then jackets don't help too much cause you sweat. But well, summer doesn't last forever so look at the showers pass gear.

http://www.showerspass.com/

-Joe

Rainfall totals are similar in Pittsburgh and the PNW, the styles are not. No thunderstorms there. It's mostly slow soft rain. The streets are wet most of the winter. +10 on the fenders.

Have fun in Portland, I love the north west. I would do a search on the Bike Portland forums and see what the locals have to say.

thanks for all the advice, ha guess i'll have to figure out how to get fenders on my trek t1!

Sks Race Blade.

I use the sks race blade xl. They will accept up to a 32mm tire. They arent full coverage fenders so you sacrifice a little bit there, but they are light and dont rattle or get in the way like full fenders. I had Freddy Hardcores before and love the sks compared to the freddys.

yeah, the only thing i'm worried about is clearance,

but i plan on getting a mountain bike when i get out

there so i can definitely get something for that.

What do you mean clearance? The Race Blades are meant for road bikes. They will do just fine on a track bike.

You can buy a seatpost mounted fender. Those work well too. I have two problems with those though. One, I always break one in the winter when I swing my leg over to dismount and hit the brittle fender. Two, they spray the person behind you, which is specifically why I use the SKS on my road bike. (still sprays although not nearly as bad)

thanks...even though i've rode through many pittsburgh winters, i never knew much about fenders...so i will definitely check the race blades out.

haha basically i was never that smart and got wet alot.

And here you are scared about Portland when Pittsburgh probably has worse weather!

I have a Briko rain jacket that I spent way too much money on. It is nice, but it doesn't have vents, so unless its very cold outside, you still get soaked with sweat. It is very waterproof, light and easy to store, but I picked up a clearance wind breaker from Target for 8 bucks and sprayed it with silicone water proof spray that I wear more.

That's a really good idea to use waterproof spray, ndromb. How could I forget that!

Any recommended brand?

Any recommended brand?

I have used a few different brands from REI and Dick's. I haven't really seen much difference between brands. Although, the different brands I have used on different fabrics; tent rain flies, panniers, textile motorcycle gear, nylon...

Great! Thank you so much for the info, ndromb .