Cold wet feet :(

[mrmr96]

After a great summer it's now feeling a lot more Autumnal outside! On my ride today my arms, hands n feet were getting cold. Arms and hands is easily fixed with full finger gloves and long sleeved top. Feet, however, I'm not sure of the answer.

Currently wearing Shimano R088's which are great when it's hot as they have plenty of breathable panels and vents:


But they also let in lots of cold air and spray.

So what's the answer to keeping warm dry feet in bad weather? Shoe covers? 'Winter' shoes? Better socks? MTFU?

Cheers

[barpilot]

Half the battle is keeping dry. I've found some waterproof socks such as seal skinz work very well. Not cheap but good value when compared to new shoes. Tried thermal socks but always suffer as soon as you find the first puddle!

[okgo]

Feet get wet regardless of what you do. However if you use neoprene then you get the wetsuit effect and feet stay warm.

[SoliD]

Northwave Artic Boots! If it is raining they will get wet from the top, but the bottom and fronts will keep them dry and toasty!

[WinstonWolf]

SoliD said:

Northwave Artic Boots! If it is raining they will get wet from the top, but the bottom and fronts will keep them dry and toasty!

^^This, so much better than any overshoes. I have the high viz ones, pretty funky

[markoc]

I had some sealskinz socks which lasted about a season before the waterproofing died through washing (probably did it wrong, but life is too short). Also, they were quite thick, which meant my usually snug shoes felt like they were going to burst - and my feet got quite hot in them.

I'm thinking of getting some overshoes to try and stop the splashing getting into my shoes - but think I might look like a bit of a clown...

[anonymous-user]

as others have said, half the battle is keeping them warm.

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLPXOSH/planet-x-neop...

i use these throughout the winter and my feet remain warm and dry, even if tis raining I dont notice my feet being wet. For the money they are superb

[Fugazi]

I bought a pair of Dexshell waterproof and breathable socks from Aldi a couple of weeks ago for about £10, think they were stock left over from an earlier promotion. Wore them yesterday and despite the rain, my feet were bone dry and warm. Even when I put my wet shoes back on to come home and again they kept me dry and warm and my feet never even felt sweaty.

[Daveyraveygravey]

pablo said:

as others have said, half the battle is keeping them warm.

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLPXOSH/planet-x-neop...

i use these throughout the winter and my feet remain warm and dry, even if tis raining I dont notice my feet being wet. For the money they are superb

I've had a pair for a couple of years and they look a bit scabby now. I've just bought a different brand, will see how they go.

And OP, if you're worried about looking like a clown, what are you doing on a bike in this day and age?!

Those Northwave boottees do look quite good, but at £150+ they frigging ought to be!

[WinstonWolf]

What price toasty feet? It depends how much you ride and down to what temperature as to whether they're good value or not. For me, they are

[Kell]

I suffer from cold feet so wear proper winter boots.

I'm now on my second pair of Shimanos. Can't remember what the first pair was, but they lasted 10 years and I only chucked them as the neoprene cuff had split. I figured £100 for 10 years' use it wasn't too bad, so I bought another pair of Shimanos a couple of years ago (MW80) and they still look brand new.



Man maths time...

I commute all year round, and being on the bike saves me £10 a day compared to parking and tube fares. So knowing I'm going to be have warm feet means I'm more likely to cycle - so they actually save me money over the winter.

My MW80s were also about £100 (maybe £110) and I see that Wiggle are doing the new versions (MW81) for £109 and Chain reaction have them discounted to £96, but have limited sizes. I know this as I was just looking for a pair for my mate today.

(ETA. The offer seems to have gone now, but it looked liked you could enter a code (TEN) at checkout to get a further 10% off at chain reaction.)



http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-mw81-gore-tex-spd-...

As said above though, your feet may still get wet - most of the water ingress comes from rain running down your leg and into the tops - but I've never been cold despite this.

Edited by Kell on Wednesday 8th October 13:26

Edited by Kell on Wednesday 8th October 13:30

[Shuttle Cock]

Decent mudguards to keep the spray down is a good place to start.