milton banana

I'm ready to spend the cash for some winter shoes. I'm sick of fighting the booties for limited results. The coldest I have ever ventured out has been mid 20's. Most of the time freezing is my limit. I can test fit the Sidi Zero at Colorado Cyclist. If this is not enough for my parameters what you suggest?

79pmooney

A cycling boot I really like is the 45North Fasterkatt. Rated to around 20-25F and in practice good to those temps easily for me (and I am long limbed and skinny. Cold feet and hands are a way of life.) I find them very comfortable and easy to walk in, My feet do not sweat in them, even if I spend hours wearing them indoors. (I bought mine oversized relative to my regular shoes so for a good fit, I need to wear fairly thick socks. Riding, I just forget about them once the difference (relative to my other shoes) wears off.

They feature a not very aggressive MTP stye tread and are SPD 2-bolt cleat pattern. The price is real. I paid over $200, not on sale, in a bike shop.

Friday I will wear them for my now annual Black Friday ride, 34 miles to the base of the coast range, then gravel logging road as far and high as I feel like, turn around and ride back. I;m guessing the temps will be in the 40s with rain. I made gaiters for them that consist of stretchy, non-waterproof but quite windproof outdoor fabric. They fasten in back with velcro. I sized the top to my ankle/lower calf and the bottom for outside the boot, using separate velcro strips for the top and bottom. I put them on under ,my tights and over the boots. Stops the cold air down the tops and around my ankles entirely. And no water has ever gotten in save a little when I put the boot under in a deep puddle. Between those boots and the gaiters, it's foot comfort I never dreamed possible.

Ben

Cuyuna

dabac

How sensitive you are to cold varies considerably from person to person.
I rather liked the Lake MXZ 302, in wide.
But since I have Raynauld's, I've gone to Wölvhammer. The Lakes gave a funny fit in the size needed to accommodate extra socks. Wölvhammers seem to maintain proportions better when going one size up.
Keeping the legs warm do improve foot warmth some, so consider thicker/more windproof pants/tights as well.

milton banana

I've done short rides in the 20's. Freezing is about the most I like to push it. I was talking to a salesman about the Sidi Zero. Gore tex lining but no additional insulation. He said, "Just put some booties over them for the cold rides." If I'm spending 250 bucks I'd better not need booties. I'm looking for something rated from about 20 to 45 degrees. And, I might add I don't ride when its wet at all.

Marcus_Ti

That is a huge temp range, especially if for fair-weather (for winter) cycling.

My only experience has been Lakes. But both the 303 (coworker has them) and 400 (I have them), even with summer-weight socks, are far too warm for above freezing if there isn't rain/sleet. Probably the highest up their lineup you want to go are the 145 level--but neither I nor any of my coworkers are familiar with them

mcours2006

With my Spec Defrosters they're fine without neoprene covers down to about 32F. Down to about 20F you're still okay with covers. Below this temp you're looking at shoe covers AND some chemical heat packs. YMMV.

Catmanran

PaulRivers

Are you looking for road (3 bolt) or mountain (2 bolt with tread) winter biking shoes? It's pretty easy to find mountain (2 bolt) insulated winter biking shoes. When I looked up the Sidi Zero I got a road shoe. Hard to find insulated road shoes.

Insulated mountain (2 bolt) shoes - specialzied defrosters, 45nrth makes a whole range of insulated mountain shoes, almost every brand has at least a lightly insulated version.

If it's road shoes best I know of is 2 things:
1. But a warmer shoe that's not vented (problem with regular shoes is they're usually specifically designed to try to bring air into the shoe and cool your foot down)
2. Use warmer socks for insulation. This wool/nylon blend sock is what I use with un-insulated shoes for winter biking in minnesota below freezing:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZWLFRS/?coliid=I2QCD5XOI2UA0S&colid=3MJLXD9W55BJ0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1&psc=1

FITS makes thinner less insulated socks, and thicker more insulated versions as well. Far easier to change socks than to get the shoe covers on and off.

milton banana

As I go through the process of deciding what to buy I've come across some confusion with sizing. On the Competitive Cyclist site I've noticed a problem with the estimate of America men's size compared with EU sizing. For example using size 12 as a base line here's how the EU size stacks up per manufacturer. Sidi is a 47. Shimano is a 48. NW is a 45. Lake is a 46. Fizik a 12 1/2 is 46. Mavic is 46 2/3 is a 12. I have had to return stuff to them before so that's not a problem, but damn.

Riveting

Shimano MW81 GoreTex....Good from 45 F down to 5 F with proper wool socks, and sometimes supplemented by a chemical toe warmer across the tops of the toes.

on the path

I have the 145 road shoe, 3 bolt pattern. Today my feet were warm enough and temps were mid 30s. I'm still tweaking the number and weight of socks I use. Today it was 1 pair med weight merino under a heavier pair of Merino socks. There is room in my shoes to do this. Also there is sort of a wearing/fitting routine which I'm also tweaking. I made sure the shoes were fairly warm before I put them on and also didn't crank the BOAs too tight, to keep the blood circulation going. The group was going fairly hard (for me) so I had plenty of body heat to dissipate. I'm not sure my feet would be warm enough with temps in the 20s, but I'll likely be giving it a go considering how cold it's gotten around here already.

milton banana

Great info thanks. The 145's are in the lead at the moment. Only manufacturer that I can tell that offers a EE width.

aggiegrads

Catmanran

Bat56

I go with a mtb shoe that is two euro sizes too big. I wear two pairs of wool socks with a doubled over plastic grocery bag in between (over my toe area) (socks are darn tough over the knee, one ultra cushion mountaineering and one reg cushion). This is good down to about 20F. From there down to -20 I wear the Lake 303. Colder than that I usually do not go out.

Porten2

I use sandals (Nashbar Ragster, or Shimano has some) with socks and neoprene booties. I can regulate just how much warmth I need by the sock choice. For me, the key advantage of this approach is the ability to grab the toe of the sock and pull some slack. Keeping the sock loose around the toes keeps them much warmer than if they are tight.

parkbrav

Not to change the subject too much, does any one have any experience riding a winter bike on waterproof hiking boots?

rumrunn6

yes, I use what ever I already have. such as light hikers or waterproof hikers neither of which are insulated. when it's really cold I use my insulate boots, but not sure I would call them "hikers"

light hikers


waterproof hikers


Columbia snow boots

cj19

As you've figured out by now there are a lot of approaches. I went though the same info-gathering and inputs that you did and it finally occurred to me that I was not interested in some half-assed solution that required 5 steps, repeated purchases of warming packets, or some combination of approaches. I just wanted guaranteed warmth in a simple package that worked well. So I purchased a pair of 45NRTH Wolvhammer boots. They have been everything I was looking for and even more. Wearing nothing more than 1 pair of Woolie Boolie wool socks, they keep my feet toasty warm down to 25 deg F. If it's colder than that I might slip on a second, lighter pair of socks over the wool ones, and that's been good down to 18 deg F. Better yet, the Wolvhammer is supremely comfortable with a nice wide toe box, great coverage up to the shin, and a nice easy closure mechanism. They also clean off extremely easy. I've taken to just wearing them as the default any time I'm riding in the winter at 35 deg F or below. Easy on & off, no hassles, always warm & comfortable. They're not cheap (wait until they go on sale via REI or other retailer) but they are worth every penny.

Viich

I use these:
Wind River Yukon XL
Toasty warm. Don't slip on ice.
I'd love to have SPD, but I'd end up buying pedals and cleats every 2 years because of the salt, I'm sure.
Rate My Treads website (grip of winter footwear)

CliffordK

I like those too. Neoprene tops. They get wet, but do reasonably well in wet, as well as cold. And, have generally flexible tops and are comfortable.

The only issue I have with them is they have an elastic strap inside that the previous version didn't. I have to be careful it doesn't get tangled.

milton banana

I completed a 19 mile ride the other day. I had on a summer sock under a PI wool winter sock with Castelli's Extremo shoe covers. Temperature was high 30's. My toes started to get cold at the end of this ride. After stripping everything off my socks were damp. I don't have a lack of insulation or warmth problem I have a lack of moisture management problem. Any ideas on addressing this problem?

rumrunn6

a wicking sock liner, then a nice warm sock. here's an example

93% Coolmax Polyester/6% Nylon/1% Spandex
FoxRiver Therm-A-Wick Sock Liners

when it's really cold, I'll add a toe warmer between the socks



had a cold ride few weeks ago (high 20s). zip neck synthetic base, synthetic fleece shirt, synthetic fleece vest & a Marmott windstopper jacket. after the ride the only thing that was wet was the thin fleece liner of the jacket. base shirt dry, fleece shirt dry, fleece vest dry. I was like "cool". turned the jacket inside out to evap & washed the shirt that was next to my skin for good measure

aggiegrads