Which winter road shoes?

luv2ride

Hi all. Newbie here with 1st post (so be kind!)...
Managed to get out on new road bike last weekend (yeh) as fed up with turbo. Feet were like ice blocks within 5-10 minutes and got so painful had to bale out after only 25 miles. Had on DeFeet Woolie Boolies under some Sealskins, with old Altura stream overshoes over my Mavic road shoes. Temps were hovering around freezing all day. Thought this combo would be ok but no...

So, decided to get some Diadora Artic shoes (Merlin have great offer on) but they're too big (and I'm sure the next size down will be too small), so they're going back today...

Anyone used other brands with any success, or what other tips would you give for keeping the toes warm?

andrew_s

Shoes for cold weather should be big - at least a size bigger than normal.

It's (still) air that provides insulation.
If shoes are the correct fit with one pair of socks, and you put two pairs of socks on, some of the air held in the spaces in the knit of the first pair of socks gets squeezed out and replaced by nylon or polyester or whatever, and you end up with less insulation than before.
There's also the matter of a tighter fit restricting the blood flow into the feet

luv2ride

Thanks for the advice.

The problem with the Artic's was that the heel on my right foot kept slipping up so not great for pedalling (typically the left shoe fit great! :? ). I did buy a size up from normal on the basis that I would be using thicker socks (or at least 2 pairs) for some added insulation. Pretty gutted they weren't right for me as they had a complete Event-lined bootie which presumably would have been pretty windproof, and at 80 sniffs looked to be a killer deal. Quality wasn't up to same standard as my Spesh Comps or Mavic Avenirs though...

So, anyone got experience of other brands of winter shoes, or certain types of overshoes that they swear by?

Monty Dog

The best winter boots IME are Gaerne and Sidi, followed by Northwave - I have all three makes. Fitting a thicker footbed helps too. A decent pair of neoprene overshoes can work pretty well with regular shoes.

the_rover

Like the op I have been struggling wirth cold feet to the point of spoiling my days out. Ater some research, advice from a mate and my LBS I bought some lake mx140 shoes/boots. Think I paid about £115.

They seemed lighter than the equilavant shimano winter boots that I was originally going for.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... hoes-36968

They have been excellent so far and after about 10 rides I have yet to need my overshoes. Been wearing them with either woolie boolies or endura thermolite socks.

Was out on friday in the rain and puddles ( on MTB ) and my feet stayed both dry and warm.

Similar price from here.

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/117133.html

Cheers Stuart.

maddog 2

I've used the Spesh Defrosters in the past and wasn't that impressed. Felt big and clumsy and I soon went back to my normal Spesh BG shoes and woollie boollies and Endura overshoes, which can handle pretty much anything.

If my feet are very cold then chances are my hands and face are even worse, so it's good enough for me.

luv2ride

Interesting to hear the Spesh Defrosters weren't up to scratch as I would have been tempted given my BG MTB comps are a good fit. However, I couldn't find the road version available online anywhere...

meanredspider

I was getting on well with my Shimano RW80s but the upper velco/neoprene closure tore a week or so ago as I undid them to put them on. Not catastrophic yet but not very impressed as they are only a few months old.

luv2ride

That sucks - they're not cheap! Found some Shimano winter road shoes on fleabay for a £100. Look good but unsure on sizing - do they come up big, small (...or normal)?

MarcBC

I have the Shimano and the Northwave winter "boots". The Northwaves are vastly superior for my feet in terms of comfort, even with the Specialised Footpads in the Shimano. The Northwaves are also much warmer although I have only cycled with -1 temp as the coldest.

I have only had the Norhtwaves since Christmas and so cannot comment on longevity. They seem well made though.

chrisw12

Luv2ride wrote:

Hi all. Newbie here with 1st post (so be kind!)...
Managed to get out on new road bike last weekend (yeh) as fed up with turbo. Feet were like ice blocks within 5-10 minutes and got so painful had to bale out after only 25 miles. Had on DeFeet Woolie Boolies under some Sealskins, with old Altura stream overshoes over my Mavic road shoes. Temps were hovering around freezing all day. Thought this combo would be ok but no...

So, decided to get some Diadora Artic shoes (Merlin have great offer on) but they're too big (and I'm sure the next size down will be too small), so they're going back today...

Anyone used other brands with any success, or what other tips would you give for keeping the toes warm?

If you had that amount of quality socks on then it's probably a circulation problem rather than a shoe problem. This suggests you need bigger shoes but you say latter that with bigger shoes your heel is slipping out. This suggests that you may be pedalling wrongly for the type of ridding you are doing and given that you're a new rider.

Fwiw, the worst of the cold has probably gone for this season now, you buy new winter shoes and you may not need them again until next winter, by the time you may have given the sport up.

Other things you could try, a liberal layer of petroleum jelly on the toes can work wonders. Football/rugby or even better long skiing socks bunched up at the ankle seem to work well for me. I've seen plastic bags in between feet and socks suggested. If circulation is a problem I've often wondered if just wearing one light pair of socks would work, never had the guts to try that myself though.

And on no accounts wear compression socks like I stupidly did last weekend.

dilemna

meanredspider wrote:

I was getting on well with my Shimano RW80s but the upper velco/neoprene closure tore a week or so ago as I undid them to put them on. Not catastrophic yet but not very impressed as they are only a few months old.

I nearly bought some of these but baulked at the price because they are probably made in Indonesia, like all cycling shoes, for £11. I just think most cycling winter boots are an even bigger rip off than normal road shoes which are pricey enough. So instead I bought some more Endura Thermolight socks and MT500 over shoes which both seem to keep my feet warm.

luv2ride

Thanks guys.

BTW no chance that I'll giving up the riding as when I posted "newbie" that was with reference to joining the forum, rather than cycling! Although only 5 years into the sport (1st MTB, then road cycling for, say, 3 yrs) I'm well and truly "bitten"& loving it..

When I mentioned that the Diadora's were slipping at the heel I hadn't actually cycled in them (on the basis that I wouldn't be able to return them if I had) but the slippage was noticeable just by grabbing the heel and pulling - never noticed this with my other road shoes which have been really comfy iwth no hotspots or slippage.

I saw in this week's CW that some pretty cheap BBB overshoes (the "Heavy Duty" versions I think) got top billing - anyone tried 'em?

monkeysm8

Diadora chilli boots are garbage. Heel fell of mine only had them since oct. And as for absolute cycles customer service or should I say lack of!!!!!
Wish I had spent more on something else!!

luv2ride

Yeah, i wasn't keen on the "quality" of the Diadora's. Based on the advice of the many who responded I've ordered a couple of pairs of Northwave Farenheit (Celsius?) GTX boots from Evans (they're in their end of season sale) in a EU 43 and 44. Figure I'll take the pair that don't fit to the Bristol store for a refund. Let's hope Merlin sort out a quick refund on those Diadora's! Will post some thoughts once they've arrived.

meanredspider

Luv2ride wrote:

That sucks - they're not cheap! Found some Shimano winter road shoes on fleabay for a £100. Look good but unsure on sizing - do they come up big, small (...or normal)?

Yup - once the weather improves, I'll probably look at complaining but it would be silly to do that now as they'll only want them back. I paid £99 for mine. They come up slightly narrow as do all Shimano shoes. I go a size up on Shimano shoes over normal shoes.

They have kept my feet warm down to -11C (with the approriate leg-wear) and they keep my feet dry except where socks "wick" the water in.

mroli

Take the point about the diadora chilis - I got mine for about £45 and the red heel bits on both shoes have fallen off, the stitching at the back heel has started to fray and has required sewing up and one of the heel "puller" tabs ripped off on one side.

But on the positive - they are a good 50% cheaper than anything else, are pretty warm, are great with overshoes on and I only use them for commuting rather than anything else, so didn't want to spunk loads of cash on them.

I reckon - cheap and cheerful - have got me through most of the winter quite happily and I'm pretty satisfied. Will buy some more expensive ones next time around though...

giant_man

I've had my Diadora Chili Extreme Roads for three years now and they're still fine. Dunno what you guys are doing with yours but they are brilliant for the money imo. Very strange.

luv2ride

Well, my new Northwave Farenheit GTX boots turned up from Evans today. 1st impressions are that the overall quality is much better than the Diadora Artics, and fit is better partly down to the use of the "quicklace" system which allows a tighter fit to be achieved. Look great too IMHO 8)

Online advice seemed to suggest that the Northwave's come up small but they seem ever so slightly larger than my Specilaized MTB comps and Mavic Avenirs (which is cool as I plan to wear a couple of pairs of socks in the winter) but they still have some wiggle-room for the toes. Not used in anger yet but first impressions are very good. Fingers crossed these will beat my frozen toe issues!

dilemna

I got some Shimano MW80 winter boots from Wiggle for £99.00. They seem well made. Not quite Sidi's high standards but not far off. I'm just looking forward to the summer when it's freezing again so I can test them out.