It’s not super cold here, but it does get down to the low 30s-high 20s at night here with occasional precipitation. I’m a little worried about the ventilation/mesh with my Sidis. I can feel the wind blowing in and cooling my feet in the summer, so I would expect that to be pretty sucktastic during cold winter nights. In the past, I would just layer up the socks with leather shoes. So what do I do now? I’ve been reading reviews of shoe covers/booties, and most of them are about 2/3 negative, especially in regards to them not being waterproof. What do you do?
BOOTIES!
Good wool socks and those little booties you pull over your shoes. They sell winter clipless shoes as well. Sidi makes some very nice ones. Are your shoes road or mountain style. The road ones are the worst in winter (mine have vented soles, at least).
They’re mountain style. What kind of booties do you recommend?
This is real ghetto, but my friend who had the same problem put duct tape over the mesh.
I think he said it worked, but keep in mind this was in Santa Cruz, which gets really mild winters.
Booties won’t keep your feet dry forever, but they are a lot better than nothing. They come in a lot of different weights that basically trade lightness/ simplicity against warmth/ waterproofitude.
It’s very important that your shoes have enough room for blood to circulate. It’s better to wear thin socks if there isn’t enough room in your shoes for thick ones + circulation. I’m very close to getting a somewhat-too-big pair of clipless shoes for winter riding.
Yeah, fit was something I was a little concerned about too. My shoes are pretty well fitting, and they are almost snug in the morning. I don’t know if my feet swell at night, or if the shoes just stretch a little bit or what.
plastic bags over your socks.
/thread.
I have a pair of Descente neoprene overshoes that I like. You can find them for around $40. They go fairly high up the ankle, which is a nice thing.
[quote=“conor”]plastic bags over your socks.
/thread.[/quote]
I end up with a bag literally full of sweat.
[quote=“conor”]plastic bags over your socks.
/thread.[/quote]
I did that a few times last winter, the cold-sweatiness was worse than just being cold. Such a horrible feeling.
My shoes can get tight too. Even using two layers of booties and thin socks, I’m used to coming home from LD rides on winter days with icicle feet.
DeFeet makes some nice thin wool socks, if your shoes are a little snug. Plastic bags have never worked for me, either.
I keep waiting to find a pair of the Lake winter cycling shoes on discount, but so far no luck.
you could maybe session some of those little heating packs. cost effective? no. With weather just in the low 30’s high twenties I would say a pair of socks plus booties should be good unless you are getting lots of precip. Wool would be the best choice, though if you are vegan (like me) you will have to look elsewhere unless you already have some decent socks.
vegans don’t use wool?
negative. comes from animals.
I think some people just eat vegan, but generally veganism applies to consumption and the things you wear. Vegans also dont use leather, so no brooks.
If you were a vegan and had chemotherapy and lost your hair could you wear a human hair wig? that’s pretty much the same thing as wearing wool socks.
as soon as you start justifying animal products like that, it’s really easy to justify milk, cheese and eggs. Not trying to get preachy, but are wool socks REALLY that important?
Wool socks are actually fairly important to me, as odd as it sounds. I am a big wool fan generally. I guess I get leather (and all the rest), but this one hadn’t occurred to me.
as soon as you start justifying animal products like that, it’s really easy to justify milk, cheese and eggs. Not trying to get preachy, but are wool socks REALLY that important?[/quote]
Yea they are. I have had several occasions where I have looked down and been like “Damn I am glad I have these wool socks on”, happened yesterday.