First, keep the clipless even on snow and ice. Clipless allows you to use more body English if the bike starts to slip. Additionally, the last thing want to do if you start to slide on ice is to put your foot out to “catch” yourself. You won’t and you’ll end up injuring the leg you “put out”. I’ve popped a hamstring doing so. Better to just fall to the ground than causing a longer lasting injury.

Winter biking and clipless does require some preplanning, however. First, get another pair of shoes but get them 1 to 2 sizes larger than you would normally wear. Summer shoes fit close and adding in a thick sock can end up cramping your feet which makes them colder. A larger size shoe has more room for extra socks.

Second, wind is not your friend. Cold weather riding is made tougher by evaporation of that sweat you are collecting. It’s more important to protect against wind than it is against sweat and, possibly, cold. Summer shoes are very well ventilated. Try to find shoes that are less well ventilated. Luckily, this usually means cheaper shoes. And, again, get them in a larger than normal size.

You may also want to use shoe covers or a neoprene sock. Shoe covers are difficult to use since they tend to be too small for larger feet (>46 European) which makes them difficult to put on. I use these socks in addition to a thin wool sock for fall and warmer winter riding. I also use a pair of waterproof Goretex Shimano shoes when I don’t use boots.

Finally, you probably will need to block up the holes in the bottom of the shoe. I use aluminum furnace tape and cover the whole area of the sole below the insole. I also use an aerogel insole something like these. These will greatly lower the temperature in which the shoes are comfortable. I also use the same insoles for my very cold weather boots.

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There are any number of “proper winter boots” made for cycling that include clipless. 45NTH has the Wølfgar and Wölvhammer. The Lake MXZ boot is a “winter” boot. There are lots and lots of others.

But my take on rumrunn6’s question is that he doesn’t want something that is for super cold weather but more for the transition times. A “winter boot” would be overkill for that kind of usage. I have Lake MXZ303s and they are way too hot for anything above about 20°F.

And, I already pointed out the problems with platform pedals above.

That’s great. Keep it up. When you hit 30 we can talk.

On the other hand, you answer was not the answer to rumrunn6’s question. He specifically said he didn’t know if he was going to ride in ice and snow. That means warmer weather where your solution is overkill and counter productive.

No, they aren’t. At least not if you plan correctly. Already addressed above.