Hunterdog

I have been using mid-weight merino wools socks but believe that I could use a more thermal set-up. For those riders that use sock liners, do you use a light weight wool sock with the liner? It seems to me that a mid-weight sock and a liner would be uncomfortably tight and actually colder. Any suggestions?

wolfchild

I always make sure that my winter boots have enough wiggle room to accommodate 2 pairs of wool socks if neccessary without being too tight, I also use gaiters which help to add a bit of warmth... Too tight is not good because it cuts off blood circulation and your feet will get cold faster.

rumrunn6

roomy, fluffy, over sock & roomy shoes. today I broke out the extra big winter boots. sock liner can't be "tight" either. any constriction defeats warming w my feet

Hunterdog

@wolfchild and @rumrunn6: Are you using a "sport boot" with flat pedals or some type of clip-in winter cycling shoe. I try to use my road bike set-up (with a rear mud guard) for as long as absolutely possible but do you flat pedals on my little used mountain bike.

Marcus_Ti

It is all about the footwear. What shoes are you using? Road shoes will shed much more heat (due to design) than many MTB shoes...and, while we're talking about it, if they fit properly for non-winter use are going to be fitting too snug for multiple layers without inhibiting circulation. I presume you're already using overshoes of some sort? If your tootsies aren't warm enough, you're probably looking at needing more/other footwear....proper winter SPD boots will be far warmer than an overshoes and multiple sock setup with normal summer-weight shoes.....of course you're not going to be as fast, but who cares if you stay warm?

From 5C to 0C I put on overshoes....0C and below I bust out my Lakes, or if sleeting.

wolfchild

I use platform pedals and trail shoes or insulated gore-tex hiking shoes.

berner

I does not get super cold here in Rhode Island any longer, not much below the freezing mark. So far I've been fine with heavy wool socks and booties for wind protection. Also with clip on bike shoes, the metal clips are heat sinks sucking heat out of feet. I use felt insulation insoles in place of the one that came with the shoes and they help. https://www.rei.com/product/151424/y...CABEgLB7_D_BwE

rumrunn6

yes

PaulRivers

I personally just use thicker wool socks, FITS Medium Hiker works for me personally for pretty much all conditions (to be fair I don't suffer from cold feet in general though):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YB5F79E/

I haven't tried wearing multiple socks. It's no problem to wear multiple layers on the upper body and legs, but I would wonder if it would be a pain on your feet that need to maintain contact with the pedal/ground. Maybe it would work fine...but I remember it not working well for me for skiing where one sock would slide around against the other sock and I felt less stable.

rumrunn6

my feet don't do well in the cold. in fact, they are cold sitting at my desk right now. not for everyone, but here's my annual plug for chemical warmers. either "toe" style or "hand" style depending on temperature & length of ride. I have various footwear with various amounts of extra room for a single sock plus either type of warmer, or liner, then warmer, then outer sock. I use the same setup if I'm going to be out shoveling or roof raking for several hours. I use masking tape pretty often even tho the "toe" style warmers have a sticky back cuz they don't stick to all kinds of fabric. I can stand w my feet buried in snow or exposed to blizzard winds & be perfectly happy for hours

particularly useful when stuff like this happens







these are "hand" style warmers. they hold way more chems, produce more heat & last longer



here are some nice thick cold weather Carhartt brand socks with big airy light hikers which are not waterproof & not insulated but my feet are very happy. (no liner used here) some airflow isn't bad bad thing for these chem packs anyway

fietsbob

Aluminized Mylar ,Vapor barrier, sock liner.. perhaps?

crazyravr

Woolie Boolie heavy weight for anything near 0C or below.