Winter Road shoes -- the way to go?
 

Came across the linked Northwaves below. If they work, seems like it would be a lot more convenient than the neoprene booties. Not sure what temp something like these would be good down to though, so any experience/insights out there?

https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/n...21-200033.html

I've never used a "low" shoe, only boots that come up over the ankle a bit. And they are great when the temps dip to freezing and below where the overshoes are not as effective (for me). They are convenient, and I find that as the temps go below freezing they work much better...to a degree. There is a point where my feet still get cold, but that is usually hours into a ride. Key is the socks. For me, thinner socks just seem to work better, I use merino socks that provide a thin insulating layer, but not so heavy that my feet just sweat and soak the inside of the shoe.

I don't think that you're going to get any meaningful insight from others - tolerance to cold, 'specially when it comes to extremities, varies quite a bit from person to person; some people "need" gloves at 60°F while others will go bare-handed at freezing or slightly below. This is one of those things that you'll just have to try, though I agree with the basic premise that winter shoes/boots are more convenient than booties (though I still haven't found a good winter shoe/boot for myself, unfortunately).

Those look pretty good, thanks for posting those. I was out riding today and it was 10 degree Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) and my feet were cold in my S Works 7 shoes. I do have a pair of Specialized over the angle cycling shoes/boots but they are just too heavy to cycle in. I just can't bring myself to use them. The Northwave look a nice compromise.

I have a set of Lake boots, which are warm and comfortable and breathe much better than booties, allowing the feet to stay dryer on long rides. The suck part is that the 3-hole drilling is so far forward as to make them useless on my road bike.

Yeah, I've seen the boot type of shoes before which always seemed a bit much -- thinking the overshoe insulating booties made more sense for me. OTOH, this kind of regular-looking low-cut road shoe with insulation -- looked interesting if they can let me ride in 30-40 degree weather without further thought (aside from perhaps a pair of merino socks.

Can anyone comment on how Northwave sizing compares to other brands? eg. I'm a 49 in a Giro, Sidi or Mavic (which is about a US 14 on most charts). NW's size chart though has their size 48 as a US14 -- is this correct?

So what do you use them for? They also have SPD cleat holes?
Because I'm hard to fit and weird, I have drilled my own cleat holes before. Peel up the footbed to expose the threaded inserts and you can remove them by threading a screw into them and give it a whack.

Good idea and I might even find the inserts on the market. I have put standard SPDs on them and used them for my rare gravel rides and the coldest few commutes of the year. It’s also not a major deal to switch pedals, but I’m lazy.

I'm with WhyFi , there is a heck of a lot of variation on what make people feel comfortable in cold weather. My hands and feet get cold easily in winter. For really cold weather (below freezing), I like bmx style pedals with pins, real winter boots, and wool socks. I'm not stylin when I'm wearing them but they keep my toes toasty. YMMV.

For winter riding with spd pedals, I used to buy police spd boots made by European cycling shoe manufacturers (I've had Sidis and Diadoras). Can't find them any more, though.

Just bought a pair of Mavic CrossMax Pro Thermo shoes, and they're the best winter spd shoes I've yet owned. They're very well designed, with flexible (GoreTex) fabric in the section covering the ankle and a Boa wire arrangement in place of laces or Velcro closure. It's the third different Boa design I've encountered, so it took a minute to figure out that the Boa dial turns clockwise for tightening and a half-turn counterclockwise for release.

The suggestion above of just using regular boots with platform pedals is a good one, though. Clips and straps would work, too, if the boots aren't too bulky.

I'm looking for something suited to typically above freezing temps, ie. 30-40 or so range. I realize that everyone feels temps differently, but hoping for some guidance on equivalency. Eg. More, less, same warmth as X type of shoecover, bootie, etc.

I am a guy whose feet tend to get cold pretty easily when temperatures fall below about 45 F. I wear a pair of Lake insulated “boots” that do the job nicely. As temperatures fall below about 30 F, I wear a pair of neoprene booties over the Lakes. I have yet to find this combination to fail but, I do not ride outdoors when temps drop below about 18 F.

I only did it out of desperation and I didn't care if I ruined the shoes. It worked out, though, and I was able to reuse the inserts. These were solid plastic soles.

I tried a few of them... non were really revolutionary. Most seal in your foot sweat, so you get cold from that. Most just save the hassle of shoe covers.
A few things that work:
1) Lake / Syksol insole - Grid pattern lowers conductive heat loss through sole / add heat pocket to separate temp layers https://syksol.com/
2) Wearing insulation outside of the shoe - inside the shoe crushes the insulation, crushed insulation doesn't insulate.
3) Keeping things breathable to evac sweat. - Being 100% waterproof / windproof means there's no convection down there and your feet will get wet, filling all the insulation with sweat, which will then get cold. \
4) Bring a change of socks - see above.

I have a pair of Shimano boots for winter cycling. Neoprene overshoes just weren't cutting it last winter for me. It was the rain combined with the near freezing temps and the wind that did me in. On really wet days, I would put some velotoze over the winter boots for added protection from rain seepage. While the boots themselves were waterproof, the latex velotoze provided a waterproof seal against my skin, something the boots themselves didn't provide.

Have you tried toe warmers? For me they work pretty well down to the low 40's Fahrenheit, or about 5 deg. Celsius.

Below that I wear neoprene booties. The weight doesn't bother me, it's winter, I'm going to be slower anyway. Slow and comfortable beats marginally faster with freezing toes, IMHO. (Slow and comfortable also has riding the trainer beat six ways from Sunday.)

(Never tried winter shoes, my regular cycling shoes + booties works fine. Winter shoes are undoubtedly better, but for me the cost is not justifiable given that $40 booties meet my requirements - which are just to be out there enjoying cycling, I don't "train" seriously.)

Funny; I have a pair of Lake boots that I’ve used for 26 years and do exactly the same thing, putting neoprene booties over them belo 30. At age 60 my feet don’t stay as warm and they never did. I envy those whose feet don’t get cold!

Funny; I have a pair of Lake boots that I’ve used for 26 years and do exactly the same thing, putting neoprene booties over them belo 30. At age 60 my feet don’t stay as warm and they never did. I envy those whose feet don’t get cold!

I have a pair of the Lake MX145 boots. I run SPD on all my bikes so these get used on the road as well as off. They are marginally warmer than low road shoes with neoprene booties, but I get cold feet starting in late September, so I'm a poor judge of how good. I normally ride Shimano wide shoes, but they don't make their winter boots in wide. The Lake wide version is not as comfortable as my Shimano, but I do believe them when they state a key to keeping your feet warm is protect the ankles. The blood vessels are close to the skin here and if your ankles get cold, your feet will be cold. Seems like common sense.

+1. MX145 is a great shoe, use it for mtb and gravel.

A good number of boot references. No interest on those from me. Can't say my ankles are ever where I feel the cold, it's always just the toes; so not looking for that much heft for where I ride. That said, most of the neoprene or otherwise thermal shoe-covers are always typically above the ankle height for some reason.

I see little value in those, as the wet ankles aren't helped at all. My winter road shoes are NW ankle boots. I bpught them one half size large, and wear with heavy merino wool ski or hiking socks, and either fleece bib knickers or wind block fleece full bib tights.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d191907d28.jpg

Northwave (used to, dunno about current sizing) runs WIDE. I have wide feet so for me a wide shoe fits one size larger than it is. IE 9 reg is about the same as 8 1/2 WIDE.

My Mavic summer shoes are 42 2/3, these are 42.5... but these have room for thick socks where the Mavics do not.

Agreed. I'm one of those whose toes and fingers have very low tolerance to the cold. Just like other parts of your body, layering is key. Summer riding I'll ride with summer shoes without insoles. Come September I'll put on thicker socks. October--back to thin socks with neoprene booties. Late October--thicker socks with booties. November--Defroster boots with regular socks. December--Defroster with thicker socks. January and February--when it's -10*C or colder, chemical warming pack with thick socks, Defroster boots, and neoprene booties. This is okay for a couple of hours, but the chemical heat pack stops working after a short while due to the lack of oxygen inside the shoes.

You have to experiment on your own to see what you can tolerate at different temps.

As I commented, keeping the ankles warm is key as the blood vessels are right at the surface where they are exposed to the cold. If your toes are cold, it’s because the rest of the foot and ankle are already cold. The blood flow is directed from the extremities to heat the rest of the foot.

FWIW I find my Lake boots comfortable on a road bike. The height does not bother me in the least.
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