Wet shoes..

fudgey

As the weather was crappy yesterday we went out on the MTB's for a change, got filthy - head to toe in mud and after jetwashing the bike when i got home i washed my shoes too.

Now i use MTB shoes, cleats and pedals on both my road bike and the MTB and only have the one pair of shoes.

I have been put off buying road shoes, cleats and pedals as if i ride to work ill have to walk the length of the building plus from the bike shed to the building in them and i hear they are not good for walking in.

But now my shoes are wet im thinking about making the move - is that much of a big deal to walk in road shoes?

If i went for some it would be something like the Shimano R088 as i dont want to spend a lot, http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-r088-sp ... -wide-fit/ and then pedals and SPD-SL cleats. Around £85 for the lot

Or do i just put sandwich bags over my feet and use the soggy MTB ones until they dryout..
Granted i dont use the MTB all that much - but this time of year i expect we will if the weather is crap

ugo.santalucia

What's your wet shoes got to do with buying road shoes? Get some overshoes, if that is the issue.

But don't let my good advice stop you from buying stuff you don't need...

iPete

You don't need to buy new shoes every time they get wet.. oh how the other half live

Get some overshoes and fit mudguards, if not already...

lancew

I believe the point Fudgey is making is that CURRENTLY his MTB shoes are wet but he wants to ride so he's going to make the leap that he's been considering for a long time... ...so he climbed that mountain... ....and that's why you never get into a fight with russell crow.


But I would say that :
a) walking in them isn't that much of an issue, for short (office building to bike shed short).
b) don't forget you might need new pedals at the same time.
c) If you want to keep them dry when using them (which is not overly relevant to this topic [see story above]) get some overshoes and mud guards for the roadie as you will pick up a lot of spray.

navrig2

Fudgey wrote:

Or do i just put sandwich bags over my feet and use the soggy MTB ones until they dryout..

If you keep putting sandwich bags over them they will NEVER dry out

Stuff them with paper and put them somewhere warm and they will dry out overnight.

Just send me half of the savings I have made for you.

fudgey

ok, i babbled.

point i was trying to make was - if i go out at the weekend on the MTB and get filthy, then wash all my stuff it will take a good few days for the shoes to dry out properly.
then if i wanted to ride to work ie tomorrow they are still very wet. in yesterdays case overshoes would not have made any difference, and i do have some already (no mudguards on the road bike as i dont think they will fit on the back!)
therefore if i got some road specific shoes then they should hopefully be dry whenever i wanted to go out on the road bike and keep the mtb ones for the mtb that gets used far less.

unless anyone has any good ideas on how to dry them faster!
currently sat on a radiator with news paper in them - and still sodden

of course i dont want to spend money if i dont have to...

fudgey

Navrig2 wrote:

If you keep putting sandwich bags over them they will NEVER dry out

the sandwich bags go over your feet before you put them in the shoe....

ugo.santalucia

Fudgey wrote:

unless anyone has any good ideas on how to dry them faster!
currently sat on a radiator with news paper in them - and still sodden

Radiator yes, but upside down and no paper inside...

fudgey

they are upside down, but why no paper? i thought it would absorb moisture?

ai_1

Fudgey wrote:

they are upside down, but why no paper? i thought it would absorb moisture?

Paper will absorb some of the moisture but then what? Use the paper or a towel, or whatever to absorb as much moisture as possible but don't leave it stuffed in there. Remove it to allow ventilation so the remaining moisture can evaporate.

DavidJB

Use rad + paper...works well...unless it's summer rain

cougie

Stuff with paper and put in a warm place for a few hours. Then take out the newspaper and leave the shoes there. They'll be good to go in the morning.

Road shoes are a bugger for walking around in. Cafes can be lethal - especially so if youve a big coffee and cake to carry !

rafletcher

There's nothing wrong with continuing to use "mtb" shoes and cleats on your road bike, just get a second pair of mtb shoes, simple. Walking on road shoe cleats any distance is a pain (even with cleat covers to protect the cleats and aid non-slipping on smooth surfaces). And as above, to keep your "road" pair as dry as possible overshoes and mudgaurds - though you'll still sweat in them (overshoes obv) and they will get damp, but not so wet they won't dry by home time.

chris_bass

I got one of these, its pretty good, good for gloves too

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Selections ... love+dryer

fudgey

Cheers for the replies chaps, ill go take the paper out in a min lol.

The distance ill have to walk is around 200 yards from carpark to locker to shower room.
I guess its not that often that the MTB ones will get in such a state so i will probably hang fire on new ones at the mo!

lancew

I feel I should point out that I have two pairs.

R087 for road with (MTB) SPD and a Specialized Tahoe for on the MTB. I wouldn't want to use either for the other job as on the commute I want to be able to get my feet in and out ASAP and on the MTB I want the extra grip and warm layer. Horses for courses when you're doing a hour+ per ride and putting down the power.

whoof

News paper works fine you just need to change it a couple of times.

Putting plastic bags over your shoes is a great idea. I knew someone who did this and rode 200 km. His shoes then smelt like cat's p*ss and stayed smelling like this for months regardless of how much they were aired/washed etc.

iron-clover

Whatever you do, DON'T buy road shoes and use MTB cleats with them. You'll find walking really difficult, scratch soft flooring and I also found it much more difficult to clip in without the 'guiding' gap in the rubber sole- the road shoe tended to glance off instead.

Even just walking the length of a long building I'd be inclined to stick with mtb style shoes- they are so much more practical and make no real difference unless you're giving it beans in a race- and even then the top end mtb soles would probably feel about the same.

I do use road shoes when out purely cycling (and take some literal racing slippers with me in my bag if I'm riding out to a race and expect to stand around for a bit!) because I'll never have the issue of the cleat pushing through the sole to form a 'hot spot' as has happened on all my mtb style shoes so far, although not too expensive mind, and I also find the road cleats feel more secure when putting the power down on a hill etc. However, it's a pain if you have to walk more than a few meters although it is doable with the shimano and look road cleats.
On the rare occasion I took my road bike to work I would take the shoes off as soon as I was indoors as walking on the tiles slowed me down awfully.

crescent

A de-humidifier is brilliant for drying many things, cycling shoes included. We have one in our utility room, primarily for drying laundry, and it dries out my shoes overnight just by putting them in the same room.

fudgey

Some good info there thanks. Maybe i will look into getting a second pair of mtb shoes then. Possibly waterproof/winter ones as the ones i have are quite vented so if i do ever get caught out in the rain etc they get soaked.

We did have a dehumidifier but never ever used it - so binned it!

navrig2

Crescent wrote:

A de-humidifier is brilliant for drying many things, cycling shoes included. We have one in our utility room, primarily for drying laundry, and it dries out my shoes overnight just by putting them in the same room.

A dehumidifier in Glasgow!!!

It must never be off ;-)

crescent

Navrig2 wrote:

Crescent wrote:

A de-humidifier is brilliant for drying many things, cycling shoes included. We have one in our utility room, primarily for drying laundry, and it dries out my shoes overnight just by putting them in the same room.

A dehumidifier in Glasgow!!!

It must never be off ;-)

It's fighting an uphill battle, that's for sure

smoggysteve

Not sure if I am following the point if this thread