I bought a pair of Shimano TR-01 tri shoes last fall and I’ve found them to be extremely comfortable to ride sockless. So I always ride them sockless, regardless of distance, and I love it. HOWEVER, they’re really starting to smell gamey. I usually keep all my riding gear in my SUV, so I never forget anything. But those shoes! I can’t keep them in the car. So keep them in the garage, but my neighbors are starting to suspect that I’ve got corpses buried under the house. My group ride buddies don’t seem to mind when I skip my turn to pull (they like me in the back, waaaay in the back).
No ideas on getting rid of the smell, just a warning. DO NOT TRY FEBREEZE! I tried it on my shoes and for the next ride they smelled peachy. But then it got worse…it was awful - more like a dead skunk! I hosed them off and they are now back to tolerable. Well, IMHO. I just remember to not leave them in the car in the heat…it’s the kind of smell that can ‘stick’ :lol
Clean them with water take the insole out and clean it real good let them air dry separately (might need to put them in the sun). Repeat as necessary. By the way that is disgusting.
Go to any good men’s shoe store. Get the small (actually as large as will fit) cedar blocks to fit in your shoes. When you’re done riding, put the cedar blocks in right away. No more smell.
Same shoes, same problem. Wear them always without socks. Rode in the rain on Saturday and left the shoes in the car. When I went back into the car the next day I thought I’d have to throw away the car, much less the shoes.
Post-race or ride: a small spray of Lysol, and a gentle interior wipe-down with a lightly moistened rag. I think they probably smell better than they did when I raced in socks, and skipped these steps.
Have for years raced all my TT’s – even when it’s very cold – sockless. Cleared this with the head judge before racing at the USCF nationals a few years back, and he had no objection as the rulebook apparently doesn’t require them
Buy my (glovelike) Carnacs a tiny bit smaller than I otherwise would, and love the resulting extra “grip” feel in the front half of the shoe while hammering – like the feel of a perfect grip on a wooden baseball bat (anyone remember those?).
Wash and scrub the shoes and insoles in a sink full of cold soapy water rinse out the soap and let them air dry with paper stuffed inside. After wearing them, always let them air out with the foot beds removed. Water should not be hot and do not use heat to dry them. GOOP, dish soap or another degreaser type of soap works well on really nasty synthetic shoes. If you have real leather cycling shoes ( and wool cycling shorts no doubt) use leather cleaner instead of harsh soap so as not to dry out the leather. The problem is the synthetic materials in shoes do not absorb water very well but they do absorb oil. Body oil gets in the fabric and harbors bacteria. This is the same perma-stink you get with old style polypropelene clothing. I used to work as a cobbler repairing outdoor footwear and occasionally we would have to tell people to go clean their stuff before bringing it in for repair. The usual culprit was rock climbing shoes because they are also worn sockless. Don’t forget, heat is the enemy of shoes. Most glues used in shoes release at about 140F.
I have a pair of Saucony Xterra shoes that I wore barefoot. After a while thay stunk so bad I was embarrassed to wear them, but they were still in great shape and I just couldn’t part with them. Good thing, too, for I found MiraZyme at Campmor.comhttp://www.campmor.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=226&prrfnbr=7638027. This stuff is great. I purchased it to remove the stink from my wetsuit. Since I had to fill the bathtub for the wetsuit, the shoes went in. It is super concentrated, so it’s a great value. It can also be made stronger for the real tough stink. So far, so good for me. Give it a try.
OK this will sound nuts. At least it did to all my tri friends. I bought a new pair of Women’s Nike Altea’s. Sockless dreams. I knew the stink factor would come into play so here is what I did. Crazy I know…
I went to Whole Foods, bought some 100% cedar wood chip cat litter. The only thing in the kitty litter is tiny wood chips. The bag cost all of $5. Then I purchased some reusable 100% cotton tea bags (also from whole foods). I stuffed each bag with the cedar wood chips and stuck two bags in each shoe. I stick the tiny bags in my shoes whenever I am not in them. Absolutely, no smell whatsoever!
It has something to do with the cedar. Heck they make something similar for men’s shoes in shoe horns so I figured why not! And it really works.
I use a very complex system to take care of the smell. First, take off the shoes. Second get some water, I use warm but not hot, this can be purchased at most local faucets. Third, add some soap or similar substance, I use laundry detergent because it is near the sink I use. I suppose if you do this in the kitchen sink dish soap would work. Fourth, wash the shoes. Fifth, air dry stuffed with newspapers which can usually be found laying next to my chair in the living room. My Sidi’s have been washed numerous times and show no signs of wearing out.
And by the way, socked or sockless, when you ride hard and sweat a lot your shoes get soaked in sweat. If you ride in the rain you have got to get them out of the car. No matter how recently I have washed them, wet cycling shoes sitting in the back of a hot Jeep really ferment into a killer stench.
In the past I’ve ran and biked sockless. I have recently started running with sock however as my office mates probably wouldn’t appreciate the wonderful smell. Cleaning the insoles is good, as is keeping them in the garage. My wife always made me shower directly after a run due to the lingering stink of the feet even when the shoes are out in the garage. When I’m in the car I keep a few plastic grocery bags to put the shoes in post workout until I get home.
I use a method whereby the stale sweat is rinsed out by fresh sweat. Admittedly, this doesn’t really work that well on the stench but one can’t argue with the ease of the procedure.
