So, I went for a ride yesterday. Temps were around 35 degrees with some breeze. It wasn’t too bad, though my feet definitely started to get cold after an hour. I made to 2.5 hours, but I had planned to go longer. Certainly would’ve been nice to have my feet warmer. I wore my now aging pair of Assos winter booties which are usually great down to 50 degrees.
Of course, there are more extreme options… specialized winter shoes, battery operated socks/footbeds. The downsides of those is that they either require new shoes that fit differently or things that affect the fit of my current shoes.
Curious if anyone has tried just adding a second shoe cover. Thinking a lighter shoe cover - perhaps something a little heavier than a aero shoe cover, but a little extra wind protection.
Of course…all of the following can work…goretex sock and light booties, plastic bags over socks and booties, thick neoprene booties, a bootie over a bootie, toe covers under a pair of booties, winter shoes and booties, regular pedals and winter boots…whatever blocks the wind and traps air.
The key factors for me are whether I expect to only be riding or if I think I will end up doing a bit of hike a bike while mountain biking.
Yup, tried. For spring and fall though. Best I’ve done is chemical toe warmers, old shoe with about no openings, 3mm neoprene water/ windproof shoecover ( this one is less stretchy) and the normal 3 mm neoprene cover that can stretch over it. It’s better. Not perfect. I’ve considered heated soles but winter sets in so quickly I’m not sure it’s really worth it. Also, you sweat and it gets cold in there anyway.
A guy I know keeps on riding during the winter and he simply reverted to platform pedals and snowmobile boots and a crappy mtb.
Source: I’m from a town in the province of Quebec.
Yes that helps. However there might be other reasons your feet get cold that are simple to correct. One if you are wearing your tight racing shoes with thick socks it is counter productive because your shoe is extra tight restricting blood flow. Also if your feet sweat a lot spray some anti perspirant on them to keep them drier. Not sure if this is an old wives tale but when I used to ski race we would not wash our feet that morning believing the natural oils kept our feet warmer.
Yes, I have done exactly this. When it’s below freezing I use 2 pairs of full neoprene shoe covers. The first is the standard size for fitting over my standard shimano MTB shoes, the 2nd layer of neoprene bootie is at least 2 sizes bigger. Makes a huge difference in the extreme cold, adds 1-2 hours to my cold weather endurance.
If the weather is in the low thirties I use thick wool socks, plastic baggies over the socks in the shoe and two sets of toe covers. This usually keeps my toes from freezing although I get some cold and numbness until the temps rise.
Curious if anyone has tried just adding a second shoe cover. Thinking a lighter shoe cover - perhaps something a little heavier than a aero shoe cover, but a little extra wind protection.
I’ve used a heavy fleece sock, with a hole on the bottom for the cleat, as an inner shoe cover, then a heavy neoprene shoe cover over that. Worked, but I sometimes had problems with my ankles rubbing the cranks, so this was not ideal for me.
More recently I’ve taken to using chemical footwarmers on longer cold rides, plus the neoprene shoe cover. That requires a thin sock with my current shoes, but works OK. For shorter or less cold rides, I skip the chemical warmers and just use a thicker wool sock.
I bought neoprene socks for a 5 hour January mountain bike race that had a stream crossing in the first few miles. I rode through it, my feet got wet, then warmed up, and I was fine for the rest of the ride. This was some of the best money I ever spent on bike gear. During the winter I wear the neoprene socks, cycling socks on top of them, and toe covers whenever I ride. It has to be well below freezing for this setup not to work.
Chemical toe warmers + toe covers + shoe covers = The only way my feet can handle the cold (anything less than 40). Without the toe warmers I can last maybe 15-20 minutes before my feet are numb and as white as white can be. I’ve been diagnosed as having Raynaud’s, though my hands/fingers are typically ok.
Heavy wool socks…wind blocking shoe covers…chemical warmers placed over toe area…heavier neoprene shoe covers…road 3 hours last week when it was 19 degrees American
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a nice option is the winter mtb shoes with a nice big cover over top, i like the endura covers they are big and cheap. i’m using a shimano winter shoe w/ mtb pedals, good down to 20 and slushy
Plastic grocery bags! I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s gone to those measures. No breathing equals a lot of heat – which is exactly what we’re going for here.
Toe covers + booties is also a good one. Even plain shoe covers over top of the neoprene ones seems to help knock down the wind a bit.
