Waterproof overshoes and touring gloves

robthehungrymonkey

Hey,

I was going to wait until my tour in march... but after riding on wednesday in the rain, and my feet "squelching" on every pedal revolution, I feel i should buy them now!

Looking for some waterproof overshoes, nothing fancy, but need to be decent, well made and waterproof really (for spds, if that makes a difference).

Also looking for some good quality touring mitts (fingerless), basically comfort is the priority. I still get some numbness in my hands on long rides from my normal gloves (CSC team gloves), but they don't offer too much padding.

The tour we're going on is over about 6 weeks, riding 6 days a week so comfort is vital!

Any recomendations?

amaferanga

If you're expecting it to be cold when it rains then IMO neoprene overshoes like the Endura road ones are about as good as it gets. Your feet will get wet eventually with any overshoe if the roads are very wet (takes longer if you have mudguards obviously), but the neoprene ones at least keep your feet warm (and I really struggle with cold feet on the bike). If its warm and wet then no overshoes with quick drying shoes would be my choice (NOT sandles ).

As for gloves, well I've been using Specialized BG gloves for years and am very happy with them. However, if you are suffering from numbness then I think you should maybe tinker with your bike set-up - I usually wear gloves, but in the summer when it rains I generally go glove-less and never suffer from any discomfort. You shouldn't really need gloves to be comfortable.

robthehungrymonkey

amaferanga wrote:

If you're expecting it to be cold when it rains then IMO neoprene overshoes like the Endura road ones are about as good as it gets. Your feet will get wet eventually with any overshoe if the roads are very wet (takes longer if you have mudguards obviously), but the neoprene ones at least keep your feet warm (and I really struggle with cold feet on the bike). If its warm and wet then no overshoes with quick drying shoes would be my choice (NOT sandles ).

Ok, cool. The endura ones did seem the obvious choice... We'll be start in march from the UK, but ending up in Morroco in May! So will need to cover every eventuality.

amaferanga wrote:

As for gloves, well I've been using Specialized BG gloves for years and am very happy with them. However, if you are suffering from numbness then I think you should maybe tinker with your bike set-up - I usually wear gloves, but in the summer when it rains I generally go glove-less and never suffer from any discomfort. You shouldn't really need gloves to be comfortable.

Yeah, i'm not sure why it is, i did make a very slight adjustment to the handlebars this morning, I'll see if it's made a difference on my way home. I'll look into the spesh gloves... thanks for the info

andymiller

In winter I wear merino liner gloves (IIRC Icebreaker) with full-finger gloves. Merino is good because it still helps keep you warm even when wet.

I'd second the recommendation for the Specialized gloves.

I don't think I've ever seen mitts specifically for bike-riding (and I'm not sure how well they'd work) but no doubt you could get mitts for hiking/mountaineering and try them.

robthehungrymonkey

andymiller wrote:

In winter I wear merino liner gloves (IIRC Icebreaker) with full-finger gloves. Merino is good because it still helps keep you warm even when wet.

I'd second the recommendation for the Specialized gloves.

I don't think I've ever seen mitts specifically for bike-riding (and I'm not sure how well they'd work) but no doubt you could get mitts for hiking/mountaineering and try them.

When it's really cold, I use some snowboarding "pipe" gloves, which although don't offer any cushioning work well. I don't do many long rides when it's that cold so i'm going to stick with those for the coldest days.

The spesh BG gloves do sound ideal, spesh say "glove is built for maximum comfort". So i think I might invest in some.

Back to the overshoes...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Endur ... 0535/#more

or

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Endur ... 360028124/

pneumatic

I have the endura overshoes and the BG mitts (they also do long fingered gloves for sub-zero days) BG mitts are the dogs danglies. First bit of Spesh kit I ever bought and I ended up buying a Roubaix to match!

In reality, I have had very little use out of the overshoes, but that might be because I choose not to ride in the rain (I know, I'm a big wuss, but, if you have the choice of when to ride, why not use it?)

andymiller

Rob

When you said mitts I was assuming you meant something like these:

GyatsoLa

Its not quite what you're asking, but for touring I've found that gore tex socks (you can get them in most outdoors shop) are a better option than overshoes. They obviously don't protect your shoes, but they do a very good job of keeping your feet dry and snug. The advantage they have over overshoes is that:

1. They are much lighter and more compact so pack more easily.

2. You can wear them while walking around as well.

As for gloves, I've toured with Speshialized BG mitts and they work very well. On cooler days I wear them over woolly inner glove liners (can be bought cheap in most camping shops), with Pearl Izumi shell gloves worn over them on cold/wet days.

robthehungrymonkey

andymiller wrote:

Rob

When you said mitts I was assuming you meant something like these:

Haha! Yeah, they are mitts aren't they!

GyatsoLa wrote:

Its not quite what you're asking, but for touring I've found that gore tex socks (you can get them in most outdoors shop) are a better option than overshoes. They obviously don't protect your shoes, but they do a very good job of keeping your feet dry and snug. The advantage they have over overshoes is that:

1. They are much lighter and more compact so pack more easily.

2. You can wear them while walking around as well.

As for gloves, I've toured with Speshialized BG mitts and they work very well. On cooler days I wear them over woolly inner glove liners (can be bought cheap in most camping shops), with Pearl Izumi shell gloves worn over them on cold/wet days.

I might get some of those as well, my concern is the shoes not drying out in time, I rode on Wednesday, and today my shoes are still a bit damp (they did spend wednesday night in a car). As i'll be camping for 6 weeks that could cause problems, so gore tex socks and overshoes should cover most bases.

andymiller

"so gore tex socks and overshoes should cover most bases".

I know lots of people swear by Sealskins but I found them a bit heavy and sweaty. My philosophy is to go for stuff that will dry more quickly. I really like Ground Effect socks.

amaferanga

I hate sealskin socks. Once the water gets in (doesn't take long unless you tape the tops shut) they're horrible.

cycladelic

Sandals are fab: no socks required and your feet stay dry, sort of.

I once toured Vietnam and it rained daily; my cycling shoes never got a chance to fully dry out and my feet went very strange. I'll spare the details.

I've tried overshoes with my sandals in cold weather (IMO it need to be lower than 10 degrees C to really need them) but they always seem to be too small and it's a rave getting them on. I admit my feet are large - EU 47 - but I've tried various XXL overshoes and all have been really tight. I suggest you buy a size or 2 bigger than your actual shoe size.

I also have some Windex socks, which are handy in chilly weather.

Having numb palms is a common cycling prob. I now have the ergo' bar grips, which cushion the hands better. The ones I have are a Taiwanese brand (Sobdeall) and are made of leather - really nice. Do you have straight bars?

robthehungrymonkey

cycladelic wrote:

Having numb palms is a common cycling prob. I now have the ergo' bar grips, which cushion the hands better. The ones I have are a Taiwanese brand (Sobdeall) and are made of leather - really nice. Do you have straight bars?

I have drops, i tried rotating the bars on friday, but went a bit too far the other way i think. I will adjust them again today and see if it helps on the way home.

Gotte

I recently used Decathlon overshoes (actually go right up your calves) and a pair of Rainlegs during two full days of rain on the Mosel. They worked a treat. Dry feet and dry legs with enough ventilation from the Rainlegs for me not to feel soaked on the inside (unlike my "breathable" jacket - which next time I might just replace with a rain cape. I know, propensity to billow, but all that ventilation...) We weren't using mudguards, either.

robthehungrymonkey

robthehungrymonkey wrote:

cycladelic wrote:

Having numb palms is a common cycling prob. I now have the ergo' bar grips, which cushion the hands better. The ones I have are a Taiwanese brand (Sobdeall) and are made of leather - really nice. Do you have straight bars?

I have drops, i tried rotating the bars on friday, but went a bit too far the other way i think. I will adjust them again today and see if it helps on the way home.

Bars seem to be perfect now, a bit counter intuitive, as to the eye, they look like they're rotated too far (further than my other bike), but they are comfy as.

cycladelic

Gotte - I also have some long leggings with a zip up the back. I must have had them over 20 years now! They are much easier to get on and are fully waterproof. Perhaps Carradice still make them?

And I am with you on the 'waterproof - breathable' jacket comment. My pricey Gortex is a waste of pannier space; I've just bought a cape and will give it a try soon.

Gotte

Cycladelic, I;ve got a cape also from Decathlon. I've tried it only once, but it seemed to work well. I;ve been lucky in that except for my last tour, I've never had any real rain to speak of, and so never had to use it in anger. My last tour, we were set for good weather until the last day, when the long range forecast changed, then I couldn't find my cape, and so went with a breathable jacket. Big mistake. I should have looked harder for my cape. The jacket was useless. Not only did I sweat buckets, but water started to soak into the cuffs and slowly spread up the arms. A plain old fully waterproof jacket would have been better in that I would at least have been warm and wet, as opposed to slowly get cold from the water ingress.
The cape, apart from having a big yellow patch which is good for visibility but makes you look a bit of a fool, is good because it;s pretty heavy duty, which means it doesn't flap about too much in the wind, and has thumb hooks and is cut properly to fit you on the bike.
It;s funny how we have all these "wonder fabrics" and new hi-tech clothing, and, for me at least, the best option seems to be what they were using 100 years ago - cape and gaiters.
Oh, it has a hood, as well, which would have been a boon, as one of the worst things was the cold, clammy hat I had clamped on my head - again, neither use nor ornament.

knedlicky

I have Specialized overshoes against rain and Aldi overshoes and winter gloves for warmth. The Aldi tems are fine down to minus 5 deg C or more, but not waterproof. The Specialized overshoes give little insulation and are awkward to put on (narrow at the ankle and toe) but very waterproof.

I have a test review of 16 different overshoes, and my Specialized don't do so well overall (I bought them when in a fix and since they were reduced to one-third of their normal price). Best come out Exte Ondo, Rose Red X, Shimano, and Wetwalkers. Don't know Exte or Wetwalkers, Rose (the overall winner in the test) is from the mail order company in northern Germany.
The review didn't include Aldi, Decathlon or Endura overshoes.