Looking for a solution to my cold feet in 20 degree F temps or colder. I have tried several different socks and Woolie Boolie seem best but I need more warmth.
Anyone use a specific winter shoe/boot? An over shoe?
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Bont Vaypor G SPD cleats and already taped the vent holes.
Pearl Izumi Amfib shoe covers work well for me. They’re quilted/insulated and reasonably water resistant (good enough for puddles and stuff but I wouldn’t say fully waterproof). Regular socks down to about 35F and wool socks below that.
Layer some newspaper, and a couple layers of aluminum foil to line the inside of the shoe. Worked when we were skating on natural ice as a kid.
Pearl shoe covers and chemical hand/foot warmers. I put my shoe on, then a chemical warmer, then shoe cover.
Vicks Vapor Rub on your feet
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Flats and safety shoes. Thick soles and steel toes make all the difference. Winter hiking boots are also good.
i’d say warmer shoes first (lake makes some warm winter shoes)
or
velotoze covers over the shoes before adding a shoe cover
velotoze are darn near impervious barrier and when you cover that with regular shoe cover (i use the pearl amfibs mentioned above) my feet stay pretty happy for a few hours.
Absolutely the best cycling booties available.
Any time your feet are cold, make sure your core is warm and your legs are fully covered. If your body temp is low or legs are exposed, your body will restrict blood to your feet and nothing will warm them up. Also applies to hands.
velotoze covers over the shoes before adding a shoe cover
This technique absolutely works, but if you’re going to use velotoze under another shoe cover as a vapor barrier, you might as well just use a plastic bag. It’ll do exactly the same thing, and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper.
Check out the line of 45 North shoes/boots.
Put plastic bag over sock before putting on shoe (grocery store bag, ziplock sandwich bag, any plastic bag). That is the only thing I need to do for my feet when riding below freezing.
Winter cycling boots. 45NRTH or similar.
The key piece is the chemical toe warmer. I wear a single pair of wool socks, then put the toe warmers ON TOP of my toes, then a full bootie cover. If you put the toe warmer under your toes then you are pressing on them with every pedal stroke.
I finally broke down and bought a winter shoe, the Giro Blaze. Not sure what took me so long but well worth it.
Some of these suggestions are unreal. Tin foil and Vicks? What a hassle. Just get some nice shoes covers and VeloToze. I use a combination of the two when it’s cold and/or windy.
Just to echo what others have already said.
There are some great winter shoes out there, Lake, Shimano, 45 North make them.
Personally I go with the wool socks, chemical toe warmers and booties, that works great for me.
I also go with the warmers on top of my toes inside the shoe.
If it’s more than just a few rides, I echo that proper winter boots are a game changer.
Northwave has been 50-80% off for months now, and I got these X-Celsius Arctic GTX for $100, and they’re just great. Magma XC Core also $100.
The other game changer for me has been bar pogies. You can wear lighter gloves, and have proper bike control when temps get close to 0F.
For both I’ve found that blocking the wind is more important than thick insulation. For booties or whatever, be sure you have a very good wind-blocking fabric on the outside in addition to a good insulator like wool socks inside.
Hot Hands toe warmers, wool socks and neoprene shoe covers keep my feet from totally freezing to about the mid 20’s.
As for my hands Bar Mitts are life savers although goofy looking.
I also vote for actual winter shoes. I live in MN and ride all winter.
I got some shimano MTB winter shoes last fall and they are very good. Less bulky than the Lake full monte, arctic boots that I have used up to now. I have only used them in temps down to 10° american (it’s been a mild winter) but they do the job well at that temp.
Whatever you do, avoid trying to jam thicker socks into your existing shoes. It’s my experience that you’ll just restrict blood flow and be even colder than if you had normal thickness socks. If you get winter shoes, get at least a size bigger than normal so there’s room for thick socks. If you go with shoe covers, then heater packs will have limited value. They’ll have to go between the shoe and the cover - and they work via oxidization. If you cover them tight with a shoe cover, then the chemical reaction that makes them warm will fairly quickly come to a halt because they won’t have a fresh air source.
all that being said, there was a time before good winter shoes existed. Dismounting every few miles and running to get blood back in your toes is somewhat effective, though stiff road shoes are not going to be the best for that.