klamyfeat

This is my first year cycling during the rainy westcoast fall/winter and I'm finding it very difficult keeping my feet and shoes dry.

I bought waterproof shoe covers but the water spinning off the front wheel and the heavy rain from above hits my legs and drips down, past my shoes covers, and into my socks/shoes.

I've entertained the idea of waterproof pants over top of my shorts but even in the fitting rooms, I find them restrictive and awkward. Another possiblity would be tights or leg warmers but the majority of these are made of lycra and I don't think they would prevent the water from seeping in between my legs and shoe covers.

Would attaching a front fender to deflect water downward and away from my legs help? I'm not sure this would effectively keep the water off legs since it's also raining from above.

Since the temp. on the westcoast is relatively mild, I'd love to cycle all winter and any advice would me much appreciated. Does it really matter if my shoes get wet? I just don't want them to prematurely wear.

botto 

No.

Yes.

stapfam

Look at the SealSkinz Socks- Waterproof and tight fitting around the ankles- Before I got them it was two pairs of socks with a plastic bag between the two pairs- Still got wet but feet sweated and they kept warm.

banerjek

My advice is to cycle all winter -- lots of people do in the PNW. Unless your shoes are especially fragile, getting them wet won't hurt them (maybe stain them at worst). Riding in slop is far harder on your bike, even if you ride something that's designed to take some abuse.

There are lots of things you can do to reduce problems with wetness, but it's futile to actually try to be dry. Just get used to it, and clean your chain. You'll get to the point that you like riding in the rain.

How far do you need to ride? Unless distances are really short, you need tights. There's no way I'd take on rain that's barely above freezing without neoprene tights. They don't keep me dry, but you stay warm enough.

marin1

You can buy tights at MEC with a water and wind proof front and breathable back. Get some neoprene booties and other than sweat your feet should stay dry.

MIN 

I used a new pair of Pearl Izumi booties yesterday over my Sidis and my feet were still wet. Wet but relatively warmer.

botto 

to those who mention 'proof'... there is no such thing as wind or water proof.

win & water resistant, yes. proof? no.

MKahrl

A front fender with a mudflap that extends close to the ground will keep a lot of dirty gritty oily water out of your shoes. Eventually your feet still get wet but it takes longer and rainwater is cleaner than road water.

klamyfeat

Thanks everyone for the input. I going to try socks like SealSkinz and see if that works.

I get the feeling that no matter what you do, you'll end up with wet feet so make it as enjoyable as possible.

banerjek

This is true, but there's a huge comfort difference between being a little wet and being totally soaked. It's worth figuring this stuff out.

klamyfeat

Ya, this weekend I rode 3+ hrs in pretty heavy rain with good shoe covers but my feet still got soaked. After approx. 2hrs, my feet and hands were numb such that I was worried about being able to properly brake downhill.

Besides being comfortable, I also want my equipment (shoes) to last. I thought if I could keep my shoes dry, they would last much longer. I'd be pretty disappointed if my cycling shoes got flimsy from always riding in the wet after just one season.

yonderboy

First, get fenders. If you don't have eyelets, get SKS RaceBlades or Planet Bike SpeedEZs. Mount a set of flaps on these so they hang down at least 6" from the ground.

After that, decide if you want to get rain pants or not. I've never liked tights because they just hold the cold water against your body. Embrocation will go a long way in keeping the water off your legs, especially if you find rain pants are too hot.

I wear wool socks in my rain-specific cycling shoes. I picked up some booties last year, but I'm still 50/50 on them. Mostly, you need to keep the tops of the booties taped up tight so water doesn't sneak in from the top. I find a lot of water comes up from the cleat holes as well.

Mooo

Fenders and wool. Wool tights, if you can find 'em. There's a big diff between wool clad feet soaked from a rain (even a driving rain), and that sudden cold splash of oily, gritty, mix of bug guts, petro-slime, and other detritus you get from below when you traverse a particularly soggy spot.
Google up some Paris-Roubaix pix from a wet year. They're too cool for fenders.
I am not.

This didn't come from above:
https://www.sdbc.org/photos/displayim...album=4&pos=16

iansir

They're too cool to race with fenders, but I know many of them train with them

+1 on the mudflaps, it helps a lot. I am a fan of buddy flaps: buddyflaps.com. Some of the Seattle area shops carry these.

After riding a few hours in the downpour we had on sunday, I came home and ordered the Sidi goretex winter shoes. I've always had a problem with warm feet so hopefully it will help a bit, but certainly not a cheap solution.

operator

Obviously you haven't heard of submarines.


These answers are contradictory.

botto 

Treefox

Latex catsuit?

botto 

that sounds practical.

Treefox

Wrap a bit of electrical tape around the contact points so they don't start scraping your paint after a while.

patentcad

No. Fenders? They help. But again, No. You can keep your feet pretty dry on damp roads. In the pouring rain nothing keeps them dry. The key however is keeping them warm, and booties do accomplish that. I've ridden in hard <50ºF rain often enough to tell you that.

botto 

fenders make a big difference keeping the road schmutz off of you and your bike.

patentcad

I use a seatpost-mounted rear fender to eliminate roadass blackstripe syndrome.

botto 

those are pretty worthless (at least on the road i ride on).

the sks raceblades are much better, full fenders even better.

Pasqually

Fenders are the sensible thing to do for wet or winter riding.

I tried to use racebaldes and found they moved too much and would rub the tyres or the front would hit the downtube. Full fenders save your bike, your shoes (to a certain point) and will make sure other riders don't avoid riding with you (at least because of your bike anyway).

gcl8a

Agreed. The race blades lack a mud flap, and don't wrap around as far as an honest set of fenders. They also don't cover the brake calipers, so my brakes are covered in sand, mud, and dead slugs after a good ride in the rain.