Ridingtolive

Hi, I have tried lots and I believe my diabetes may contribute to my feet being cold. What I have decided to do is just go with flat pedals (those ones with the little spikes in them) and just get some good winter boots. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good boot that is not too ride invasive. Winter riding for me is not about speed, but just being able to ride in the winter. I just want to get miles in and keep my feet warm, Moosemitts have done the trick for my hands now I need to tackle the feet.

I have used hiking boots with the flat pedals but they are only good for about 5 miles in Michigan winter riding temp ~27 degrees F. Would like to do something that would get me 20 miles - to around ~20F.

Any suggestions would be great.

cyccommute 

That can be a problem with just about any shoe that is meant to be water and wind proof. Plastic makes the problem worse but anything that protects your feet from wind will be sweaty.


Try aluminum furnace tape. Just about any hardware store should have it. Put it under the insole and it will block the cold from the slots as well as reflect back a little bit of heat. Insulate insole can help as well but they may make summer shoes too tight.


Yep. Shoe covers can get sweaty as well. You eventually learn to deal with it.



You may want to look a little further. The velcro closures like on those shoes can be hard to seal and the velcro wears out quickly. That also seems like a steep price for that shoe. There are better prices out there for even that shoe. Take a look at 45NRTH Ragnoroks as well. They aren't quite as warm as some other boots but how cold do you want to ride? I have Lake MX145 that work very well down to about 30°F but aren't super hot when the temperature gets to 55°F or so. I also have a set of Lake MZ303 which are great below 30°F but get hot any warmer than that.

Final tip: Buy the shoes a size larger (or 2) than regular shoes. You want room for extra socks and/or thicker insoles.

gecho

I've been relying on electric heaters since about 2012. Without them my maximum time outside in the winter is 45 minutes to an hour. It is difficult for me to recommend a specific product at the moment. There are numerous heating methods being used. For older types such as the Hotronics heater I started with, the heating element is concentrated in a small spot. Newer products use inexpensive flexible carbon fiber as the heating element which allows a larger area to be heated. The availability of carbon heated gloves seems to have exploded this season with everybody selling them, but it doesn't look like that is the case with heated insoles yet. What I'm using now is semi-DIY from a discontinued product.



This one on Amazon might be decent for the price.
https://www.amazon.com/Thermrup-Elec.../dp/B07K9ZCG78

Pros:

• trim to fit portion (unheated) is all at the rear.
• large heating area.
• 7.4v 2500 mah batteries (more voltage generally means more heat, many products are 5v)
• multiple power settings

Cons:

• battery pack attachment system looks a bit hokey
• heat appears to be concentrated in the middle of foot, outside of foot might get cold, ideally there would be full width coverage around toe area.
• might be on the thick side

Another pro would be the battery packs themselves which could be used for a DIY heat project since the controller is built-in. You could get some cheap heat pads from ebay or aliexpress and plug them straight into the battery pack for a custom solution that puts all the heat at the front of the boot. My current setup uses heat pads similar to THESE taped to the front of my insoles, but those specific ones don't have the correct connector. The battery pack for the Amazon insoles is probably a 3.5 x 1.35 dc barrel connector.

Wolfhaven

Thin pair of wool socks, waterproof wool socks and winter boots by Baffin. Keeps me warm when it's well below zero. My feet will sweat no matter the temp so the wool helps keep me warm anyway. The waterproof wool locks in the heat my feet are putting off. For the hands I pick from the ice fishing gloves. Different styles and warmth levels plus all are wind/waterproof. Can be difficult to dry unless you get removable inserts.

H.Franco

Exactly you can use waterproof wool socks thats really work

noglider 

A big factor in what works is how long your ride is. I used to have a 70-minute ride, and nothing I tried worked on the worst days. I didn't try everything possible, and I might have found a solution if I had stayed at that job. Right now, my commute is 35 minutes, and my feet don't get very cold in that time.

Jim from Boston

Keeping feet warm? I have frequently posted, in this case about fogging eyeglasses, but relevant to other gear winter:

berner

Aerotech's web site has quite a few different types of shoe covers. https://www.aerotechdesigns.com/cycl...oe-covers.html

79pmooney

Feet don't really need to breath. But keeping socks dry is critical to maintaining insulating value (unless you are wearing neoprene socks). I push the critical temperature for my regular cycling shoes by 1) using a pair a size larger and 2) using plastic bags both inside and outside my socks. My feet go into produce bags. Then my usual insulating socks. Produce bags and a thin pair of socks over. Liner socks stay dry and work far better.

For below freezing, the 45 North boots work very well and are very good riding. Sadly they do not come in the LOOK 3-bolt pattern so I can only use they with my least used bike/cleats/shoes. I live in Portland, OR which rarely gets "cold" so the Fasterkatt boots (down to 25F) work well for me.

Bah! Posted this a month ago. Sorry.

Ben

dougiet

Cold Weather rides are better with Costco Merino wool blend socks. $14.00 for 2 pairs. They are big enough to slide two pairs on each of my 13-inch 'snowshoes' [feet]!

roadsnakes

Toe warmers
WOOL Socks
Plastics bags
Shake and heat packets
If that doesn`t work, add one more layer of plastic.
If that doesn`t work, Stay Home.