Cycling Rain Jacket Gravel - Burgundy

We asked the long-distance cycling community to co-design this jacket via our DECATHLON COCREATION website and help us make the best choices (design, colour, fit, cuff shape, etc.). Their contribution enabled us to make decisions based on the experiences of numerous cyclists.

The community wanted us to design a waterproof cycling jacket that would pack down so that it could be used on treks lasting one or more days, and that had a comfortable cut.
When folded into its waterproof side pocket (something the community asked for), this jacket can be easily tucked inside your bike-packing bag or another small bag, where it will remain protected even if water gets inside the bag.

Jacket weight in size M: 427 g.
Jacket dimensions, in size M, when folded into its pocket: 20 x 13 x 8 cm.Jacket dimensions, in size L, when folded into its pocket: 23 x 13 x 8 cm.

This jacket's cut and style mean it can be used throughout your trip on rest breaks, at food stops, at your accommodation and on tourist visits.
This was something that was really important for the community so they could still look appropriately dressed even when not in the saddle.

Again, we had 2 options:
- Over the helmet.
- Under the helmet.

We opted for a hood that goes under the helmet and is shaped to your face in order to offer the best protection from the rain, retain more heat around the neck, and above all enable you to turn your head to check the traffic behind you.
This also keeps the hood on your head when cycling into the wind.

The main problem with rain jackets is managing perspiration during exercise. To limit perspiration, we have given the jacket just 1 back pocket with a side opening. Why? - To reduce the number of layers over the lower back.
- To avoid adding layers over other clothing, such as overtrousers, tights, base layers and even your jersey
- To make it easier to pack the jacket away into this watertight pocket.

To see whether a fabric is breathable, we test its evaporative resistance or RET (based on the ISO 11092 standard). The lower its resistance, the more it lets water vapour produced by the body escape, therefore the more breathable it is.
• RET <6: extremely breathable, suitable for the most intense workouts
• RET 6 to 12: very breathable, designed for moderate exercise
• RET 12 to 20: moderately breathable, not enough for exercise
• RET >20: little breathability, unsuitable for exercise

The resistance of a fabric to water pressure is expressed in mm of a water jet (test based on standard ISO 811). The higher the pressure, the more waterproof the fabric. These are the waterproof characteristics of the 900 jacket: 15,000 mm before washing, 10,000 mm after 10 washes.

It's not just the fabric that's important for the product's waterproofing; the construction is just as big a deal. The seams on the RC900 are sealed and we have chosen to use the waterproof YKK waterproof zip paired with storm flaps.

The RC900 jacket has a triple-layered fabric with a membrane.

The membrane is a type of very thin micro-perforated plastic film (polyurethane) which makes the fabric both waterproof and breathable. It is also very supple, lighter, more durable and more breathable than a fabric with a coating.
Coating is a layer applied to the interior of the fabric which makes the fabric waterproof. It costs less than a membrane, and requires a lining to protect it.