Had to admit defeat today after some biking - my feet were useless blocks appended to my legs.
Do overshoes work in keeping feet warm and dry, and if so which ones?
Ride with spds, today was mixture of snow, rain and lots of surface water so feet wer wet and cold.
'Worth it?' - Fekin' essential if it gets cold. Means the difference between me riding and not.
I use gore windstopper overshoes on the roadie if its cold, but not freezing.
I switch to some Endura neoprene overshoes once really cold - They make your feet overheat otherwise!
I use Endura neoprene on the MTB too - They are different. The MTB ones have ridged grips to allow you to walk in them. The road ones are lighter.
I have windstopper toe covers (i.e just half the foot). Certainly make a difference, but at 2 degrees this morning I had slightly chilly toes after an hour, but with only a thin pair of socks. They keep the wet out well enough and let you adjust the shoe still when they're on (I am inept at getting it right first time)
In reply to Pids: Got Planet x neoprene ones and really good. You still get wet after a bit, but stay nice and warm. As they are on offer they are super worth it IMO.
In reply to Pids: Yesterdays ride out on the road in dry but cold conditions necessitated; Smartwool liner socks, Assos spring/summer socks, road shoes, Endura neoprene overshoes. Toasty toes! If it gets really cold I would replace the Assos socks with Defeet Woolie Boolie's. However, the overshoes are the crux part, wind and waterproofing your shoes. Spd's are a bugger for cold feet.
In reply to Pids: Another vote for planet x neoprene over shoes, after years of toughing it out during the winter months i am now a 100% overshoe convert!!
In reply to Pids: Yes, just get some. My best ones cost about €14 from the Finnish equivalent of Halfords. Really cheap for the huge difference they make.
In reply to madbaza: Another vote for Endura neoprene. I actually have some Northwave ones now as they go over my Northwave winter boot things, but if you're in normal cycling shoes then the Endura ones are the dog's.
I dont think they are worth it in the long wrong. Have had a few pairs and they tend to get rips or wear out. After the 3rd pair I bought some shimano mtb winter boots which I use on road bike and MTB. Much warmer and drier.
Higher initial investment but I have had them for >3 years. Pretty sure I would have trashed plenty of overshoes in 3 yrs and they are much warmer than summer shoes + overshoes
Overshoes are fine for spring/autumn/random crap days but I much prefer my goretex winter boots.
In reply to Pids: Plus One for the Endura neoprene type, I finally caved in last week after a long period of religously following Rule #5, and man o man what a difference, the feet will still get cold of course in weather like we had today ( 0 C and snow on the ground with slushy roads) but if you put 'em on warm they will extend your comfort zone a lot. Cost me £25 at the LBS.
In reply to Pids:
I bought the endura road neoprene overshoes and had a couple of issues with them. The Velcro type tab wouldn't stay done up because the rubber tab was so thick and ridged and the zips have come apart numerous times.
If I was buying again I'd go cheap and cheerful.
In reply to gethin_allen: I think the model I bought was called the Endura Deluge or something, they are zipless one piece pull them on things, a wee bit tight to get on but not too bad and work well.
I've got NorthWave and Polaris ones for the road bike - think I've got some Endura ones for mountain biking which I've never used, as I got proper winter biking shoes soon after and they don't fit my current road shoes.
In reply to Pids: The thing about overshoes is they basically stop your shoes from getting sodden and cut the wind out. My ghetto student favourite was shopping bags which wasn't so bad when comuting through edinburgh in the winter, summer was a different matter
> (In reply to Pids)
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> Instead of overshoes what about sealk skin socks - already have these from walking/climbing
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> If I stuck a thin pair of thermal socks on then the sealkskins then feet should be warm and dry?
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> Any water ingress from stuff coming down the leg will just be the same if I was wearing over shoes anyway ?
I get mine from Aldi -- when they have the sale of winter biking gear. Cheap as chips -- I get 2 pairs and they last me all winter. It's not worth spending lots on them and you invariably wear out the underside of the toes whenver you put your foot down at traffic lights etc. Keep my feet dry and toasty enough.
> (In reply to Pids)
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> Ditch the spd's, get flats and wear winter boots = toasty feet
Yes, or walking socks inside waterproof socks inside baggy shoes/trainers.
The nicest helping of toast comes from wearing fleece waterproof mountaineering mits I think, it's worth cycling in the cold just to enjoy the niceness of warm hands while out in snow and ice.
and another yes to overshoes... but you are also using Spuds? spuds are a burgler for cold feet because the cleat is metal, connected by metal bolts to a metal plate inside your shoe... you sock / foot is then only a a thin foot bed away from a metal heat sink that sucks the heat out of your shoe. if possible put a better insole in to insulate the bottom of your foot too!
> (In reply to Pids)
>
> and another yes to overshoes... but you are also using Spuds? spuds are a burgler for cold feet because the cleat is metal, connected by metal bolts to a metal plate inside your shoe... you sock / foot is then only a a thin foot bed away from a metal heat sink that sucks the heat out of your shoe.
A very good point. Also, SPDs don't fill the entire cleat hole in the sole so you can get water ingress anyway. Once mine are in the correct place I always fill any gaps with silicone sealant.
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