This winter I’m riding a lot more outside and I can’t figure out how to keep my feet worm.
I’m now using neoprene overshoe. It’s not the extreme wheather ones though. They kinda help but my feet are still very cold and they get completely wet from the sweat.
I could try “artic extreme wheather” overshoe but I’m not happy how wet my feet get with the current overshoe and I’m guessing it will only worsen it.
Does anyone have experience with winter shoes (are they breathable?) Or have any other solution?
I’m currently riding in +7C ish conditions. I’m using the lightest gloves you can imagine… But my feet feel like ice blocks.
I don’t ride in the cold anymore but occasionally like to hike in the winter.
The best way to handle cold feet while hiking is VBL socks. Here’s how and why it works --.
I haven’t seen VBL socks specifically for cycling, but here’s a DIY article that may meet your needs –
@ridgerider2 really interesting reading and it makes sense, although not for cycling.
As Andrew Skurka point’s it out “For high aerobic activities like running, skate skiing, or alpine touring (AT) racing, I find it almost impossible to avoid sweating and therefore VBL’s are probably inappropriate in this context.”
Sweating is one of may main complaints with the overshoe.
Is the problem occurring on all cold weather rides or just those with higher intensity workouts?
I think sweat varies a lot between individuals based on how you are built, tolerance for cold and heat, hydration, adjusting outer layers, etc…
I found it interesting the DIY cyclist created partial VBL socks that solved their problem.
If you want to experiment with VBL you can test the concept with a couple of bread bags.
If too clammy try thin socks as a base layer, then VBL, plus another pair of thin socks over the VBL Try that without the overshoes.
Could be sweat but have you ruled out other sources of water e.g. road spray, depending on conditions… I’d make sure the overshoes are both water and windproof, and that there are no holes in the bottom of your shoes to allow water in (or tape them up, since most do have them for airflow in warmer conditions)… that also reduces airflow through the shoe which is sure to make your feet cold, whether wet or not
Water / sweat can also come in from above depending on socks and legwarmers. Check that you’re not funneling sweat from your legs into your shoes… and if you’re sweating too much, maybe you have too many layers on? you should really feel quite cool / almost cold at the start of a ride, until you warm up, and ideally come back pretty much dry
If it’s really sweat and your feet are too warm, have you tried not wearing overshoes at all…?
Make sure your shoes are big enough and don’t tighten them as much as you do in summer… helps blood flow
Get breathable socks… merino wool works well… potentially as an under-sock, maybe with a neoprene one over that
For MTB especially I find the metal connection through clipless shoes / pedals conducts heat away v quickly, so try not clipping in… or alternating between clipped and unclipped… and maybe wearing rubber-soled shoes with different pedals
Last Sunday I went for a field day and I got decent results.
I’m that kind of person that is always feeling hot, so it was strange to me that my feet got that cold and the weather was not that bitter cold. I’m using only a thin fleece kinda of gloves and in contrast my feet were abnormally cold.
Reading the recommendation to untie a bit the shoes to get blood flowing made me realise that I might have poor blood supply to my feet on the bike. I spend most of the 3h on the saddle.
This time I left the shoes a bit loose, putted on some hiking socks, used the overshoes AND got a lot more out of the saddle.
It was a lot better, still a bit cold, but intearly bearable. The temp was +8C though.
