Winter shoes vs ski shoes

kawaspresso

Hi,
I always have cold feet during winter, even with 2 pair of overshoes, I'd like to do longer rides but I can't just because my feet are too cold.
I saw winter shoes in LBS but they are very expensive, are they worth it ?
I thought I could drill a pair of nordic ski shoes to put cleats on it, is it stupid ?

lesfirth

You can get heated insoles for ski boots. They have a battery that clips on the back of the boot. Maybe you can adapt these to your bike shoes.

lesfirth

Some people need to get a life.

kingstonian

Serious question - how cold is it where you are cycling ? If you have a decent pair of socks on plus a pair of insulated overshoes and you still have seriously cold feet, either you are cycling in the North Pole or you need to see a doc about your circulation.

me-109

I find my winter shoes better than summer shoes with overshoes. My MTB winter shoes/boots are warmer and drier still. You could try something like those paired with SPD pedals instead of other road pedals.

I think you would find it hard to adapt cross-country ski boots to work with any pedals. I can't imagine they are cheap either so assume you have some lying about. Which probably means you're not in the UK.

kawaspresso

Kingstonian wrote:

Serious question - how cold is it where you are cycling ? If you have a decent pair of socks on plus a pair of insulated overshoes and you still have seriously cold feet, either you are cycling in the North Pole or you need to see a doc about your circulation.

I live in the french Alps, most of rides are cold from -10°C to 5°C during winter and there is snow each side of the road.
I wear merino socks with summer shoes, toe warmer + neoprene overshoes. I never ride by rainy or snowy conditions.

davidof

kawaspresso wrote:

I thought I could drill a pair of nordic ski shoes to put cleats on it, is it stupid ?

I doubt anyone here will be able to tell you whether it is really stupid or not. Why don't you try?

I've often thought that it must be possible to make a pedal that would work with a XC ski boot.

You could try talking to Will who runs this website to see if he has any good ideas, as he rides and XC skis

http://www.cycling-challenge.com/

Otherwise, silver lined socks to keep heat in. How thick are your overshoes. I find 3mm neoprene is a minimum and I don't ride above 1000 meters in the winter.