What overshoes?

optimisticbiker
optimisticbiker Posts: 1,657
edited June 2011 in Commuting chat
Ok here we go on another 'my suggestion is better than yours' thread :)...

But seriously... I'm in the crowd of "MTFU its only water, you wont melt" so i dont bother with waterproofs for my commute, and rely on a Gore windstopper to keep the worst off and keep the windchill off...

but...

I hate wet shoes... with a vengance...

I bought a pair of Gore overshoes with velcro fastenings but found them fiddly and they just dont stay put...

so what would people recommend? or maybe I'll just buy a second pair of shoes?
Invacare Spectra Plus electric wheelchair, max speed 4mph :cry:

Comments

  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Pair of seal skin at work or in your bag. If you get wet shoes in the morning. Put seal skins on then shoes in the evening = dry feet. Then put shoes in airing cupboard.

    If it rains shoes will get wet eventually, Gore tex or not, overshoes or not, due to bloddy big hole where your feet go. During the winter my Gore Tex shoes lasted around 45mins in very heavy rain before my tights got soaked thorugh and water started running down legs in to shoes.
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • +1 for SealSkinz. Balled-up newspaper in the wet shoes when you get to work.
    Souped-Up Trek Hybrid ( Clipless & Skinnies - FCN 6 )

    Regularly humbled by the RP3LC, and the FG temptation is getting too much.
  • EKE_38BPM
    EKE_38BPM Posts: 5,821
    I just wrap my feet in clingfilm.
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
    FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
    FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees

    I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!
  • fatherted
    fatherted Posts: 199
    These http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/eager-oversh ... -prod7044/ will stop your shoes getting drenched.
    A couple of elastic bands [1] around the top will help to prevent *too* much running down your leg into the shoes.
    Your shoes will still possibly be a bit damp ( it depends on the downpour ) but what I find is I have dry shoes for the commute home , or conversely I have dry shoes in the morning if it was raining the previous evening.
    I carry them rolled up on every commute
    [1] used to roll up the overshoes although the tops are elasticated anyway.
  • Blue Meanie
    Blue Meanie Posts: 495
    I recommend cheap overshoes, they only normally last a winter anyway...
    I'm currently running Altura Airstream, so far so good.
    FCN16 - 1970 BSA Wayfarer

    FCN4 - Fixie Inc
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    I think a lot depends on how long your commute is.

    I've a set of neoprene overshoes that (when coupled with overtrousers) keep my feet absolutely bone dry. Having said that my max absolutely must ride is around five miles. I reckon that if you're clocking a lot more than this then the water will find it's way in. It's clever stuff for doing that.

    Sealskinz? Meh, lots of people swear by them but for me it's dry shoes rather than dry feet. Although the twisted gods of lycra and cycling specific kit seem to be ensnaring me more and more, in general I like to ride to the office and work. Not ride to the office and completely change my clothes. Plus shoes get ruined by being repeatedly soaked and dried (and stink on the way past).

    Not a lot of help was I?

    Cheap ebay overshoes for short wet rides in civvy shoes. Otherwise MTFU I reckon.
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • calonuk
    calonuk Posts: 78
    I recently bought these as my trip is 13 miles one way and if it rains I always land up with indoor swimming pools in my shoes.

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

    Have tried and tested and they lasted about 7 miles before feet got damp but i am sure this was due to wearing comabts and they were drenched and seeping into the over shoes.

    exercise.png
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    Sealskinz - Yuk! (plus my summer shoes aren't 3 sizes too big to fit them in)

    I have some Endura neoprene overshoes for keeping feet & shoes dry. The concept is good and my feet stay reasonably dry. Endura quality (IME) is utter crap though. These are replacements for my first pair that lasted about 4 weeks of regular use. I use these very sparingly. They're the MTB version too.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • kurako
    kurako Posts: 1,098
    I bought sealskinz. Found them a pain. After a few washes they get all out of shape and they don't keep your shoes dry which can lead to problems with smelliness. I have Giordana Sottozero overshoes which I find way better as long as I remember to have them with me. That wasn't a problem in the winter as I had them every day. Now it's summer I sometimes get caught out. Price is a bit steeper than the bog standard neoprene jobs but they're also harder wearing. Steer clear of the fabric type as they are a waste of time (limited warmth, almost no waterproofing).
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    calonuk wrote:
    I recently bought these as my trip is 13 miles one way and if it rains I always land up with indoor swimming pools in my shoes.

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

    Have tried and tested and they lasted about 7 miles before feet got damp but i am sure this was due to wearing comabts and they were drenched and seeping into the over shoes.

    Yes, I like BBB overshoes, they're most definitely better than those sh!tty Endura ones available on Wiggle... The weak point of overshoes is the zip at the back, Endura ones use very cheap and nasty zips which break after literally a few uses, BBB use YKK zips. I had 2 pairs of Endura neoprene overshoes which lasted probably 10-20 uses before one of the zips split, I've had my current BBB oervshoes for ages and used them for at least 30 rides and they're still going strong... As others have said, neoprene overshoes keep your feet dry for a short ride for a matter of 5 miles, but from that point in, there is inevtably some water seepage from below and above. For long rides of 60+ miles fageddabahdit - you willl have wet feet no matter what....
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • Blue Meanie
    Blue Meanie Posts: 495
    Headhunter->
    For long rides of 60+ miles fageddabahdit - you willl have wet feet no matter what....

    80+ Miles: Altura Airstream over my Sidi Genius with Sealskinz = Dry Feet

    Make sure your overshoes are tight (samllest size you can fit over your shoes) and fit mudguards to keep spray down. Clip-Ons MG's are polite when in a group, means you can be drafted without completely soaking the team behind you.
    FCN16 - 1970 BSA Wayfarer

    FCN4 - Fixie Inc
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Headhunter->
    For long rides of 60+ miles fageddabahdit - you willl have wet feet no matter what....

    80+ Miles: Altura Airstream over my Sidi Genius with Sealskinz = Dry Feet

    Make sure your overshoes are tight (samllest size you can fit over your shoes) and fit mudguards to keep spray down. Clip-Ons MG's are polite when in a group, means you can be drafted without completely soaking the team behind you.

    Yeah I've only got guards on one of my bikes and they do help as you say. Never tried sealskinz. Problem for me is not so much that I have wet feet during the ride but that the shoes are wet and stay wet for a while afterwards unless you put them on a radiator or something, but then the problem is that they steam and let off a godawful stink as they dry. I've tried the old stuff them with newspaper trick and that works to some extent....
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Headhunter->
    For long rides of 60+ miles fageddabahdit - you willl have wet feet no matter what....

    80+ Miles: Altura Airstream over my Sidi Genius with Sealskinz = Dry Feet

    Make sure your overshoes are tight (samllest size you can fit over your shoes) and fit mudguards to keep spray down. Clip-Ons MG's are polite when in a group, means you can be drafted without completely soaking the team behind you.

    Yeah I've only got guards on one of my bikes and they do help as you say. Never tried sealskinz. Problem for me is not so much that I have wet feet during the ride but that the shoes are wet and stay wet for a while afterwards unless you put them on a radiator or something, but then the problem is that they steam and let off a godawful stink as they dry. I've tried the old stuff them with newspaper trick and that works to some extent....

    Sealskinz won't help in stopping the shoes getting wet. Where they come in to their own is when your shoes get wet in the morning then are still wet when you are ready to ride home in the evening. At that point a pair of sealskinz give you dry feet in wet shoes.
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • HamishD
    HamishD Posts: 538
    The hottest day of the year and we're discussing neoprene overshoes . . . :roll: :wink:
  • optimisticbiker
    optimisticbiker Posts: 1,657
    Thanks all... I have some Sealskinz and they are good in the winter but too warm in the summer...

    Think I'll have to look around and see what other overshoes I can find... I had this idea there was some sort of sock like thing you can just pull over the shoe that was substantially waterproof
    HamishD wrote:
    The hottest day of the year and we're discussing neoprene overshoes . . . :roll: :wink:
    Well it was pretty wet in the pool (washed down with some Pimms) where i was yesterday :) (day off work!) :D
    Invacare Spectra Plus electric wheelchair, max speed 4mph :cry:
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    HamishD wrote:
    The hottest day of the year and we're discussing neoprene overshoes . . . :roll: :wink:
    That's the joy of British weather. Hottest day of the year in the morning, a month's rain fall in an hour in the afternoon, dry again by home time.

    I use these:

    PRORZOSH250_1_large.jpg

    The velcro on the bottom of one came loose, carpet tape fixed it... Twice so far.

    They are on the warm side but I don't get uncomfortable or sweaty feet.
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.