I was reminded today of how much of a challenge keeping feet warm is when the temps fall - and I even felt my feet getting cold at 60 degrees F today.
I have put my feet in plastic bags before (like sock linings) inside my shoes to keep the wind from getting through, but the plastic doesn't let my feet breathe.
Another problem area is the soul of my shoes. I use SPD cleats/pedals and the open air, for one, plus the temperature transmission through the cleat, secondly, make the bottoms of my feet hard to to keep warm.
The neoprene shoe "covers" that zip over shoes up to lower legs seem interesting, but they leave the bottoms open for the cleat to attach to the pedal so they do nothing for the bottom insulation - from the open air and conduction from the cleat/pedal. So maybe on the "keeping wind out" front they work well and allow better ventilation/breathabilty than the bag method?
Just for the heck of it I have been looking at some "boots" that have SPD cleats. One example is this pair:
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/n...NhdDEwMDM0MA==
They seem like decent boots for the price, considering they have cleat mounts.
If I could ride with platform pedals I have all the boots I'll need, but I have to ride with clipless pedals due to past knee problems. I worked too hard to fix my knees to risk things "going back" (and it was all due to platform pedals - only pushing pedals, no pulling to balance my leg strength). I suppose toe clips/baskets/straps aren't out of the question entirely, but I am so accustomed to SPD's now its just normal for my feet to use them.