OK, so I bought some Shimano MW81’s last year. And to be fair, they did exactly what I needed through the winter. They kept my feet warm and dry.

For whatever reason, this year I’ve noticed a serious flaw. In that when riding through standing water, they seem to leak in buckets. Really small buckets, but buckets. I literally had to pour water out of them when I got home today.

After a few rides like this, in torrential rain, I’ve worked out that it must be coming in through the cleats, as that’s very much the area that gets soaked and starts squelching first. Don’t have any problem with water coming in the tops. It can be felt immediately after riding through puddles and standing water.

Just wonder if anyone’s ever remedied this? If it comes through the cleats it’s surely not something exclusive to Shimano either, or any particular range. And neither would overshoes fix it. I was thinking maybe some silicone or something?

This is on the road bike with mudguards too…

Drip candle wax into the hole to seal it up.

I have the same boots and cover the holes from the inside with duct tape.

There aren’t any holes on the inside of mine. The GoreTex liner covers them. 😕

I wish mine leaked. They just fill up from the top and don’t drain.

The only water that comes in ours is from the top – the cleat slots should be sealed. Same for the non Goretex “autumn” shoes they do without mesh (XC51N?).

I know the other Shimano shoes with the loose plate under the insole leak like sieves at that point.

There aren’t any holes on the inside of mine. The GoreTex liner covers them.

😕 I wondered if there was supposed to be any protection there. Like I say, they seemed fine last year, but maybe it never got wet enough. It’s only ever when there’s a lot of standing water. Candle wax may be an idea though.

I wish mine leaked. They just fill up from the top and don’t drain.

The water gets in. I can assure you, it doesn’t get out again… They’re a nightmare to dry too.

I switched to cheap old AM45s for last winter and they’re every bit as good as anything branded a “winter boot”.

I wondered if there was supposed to be any protection there. [/quote]Are you saying that you can see the cleat bolts/holes when you take the insole out?

The water gets in. I can assure you, it doesn’t get out again… They’re a nightmare to dry too.

MW81s have a full Goretex sock liner, so unless you’ve damaged that somehow, the water can only be coming in from the top, hence not draining. Marrigold cuffs as gators over the water resistant (but not waterproof) neoprene closure really helps. Black ones are fairly discrete too…..

+1 for the water getting in via the neoprene cuff.

I’ve also tried a gaiter but kept finding it not staying put.

Are you saying that you can see the cleat bolts/holes when you take the insole out?

No, there’s a layer there. It just doesn’t seem to be waterproof.

I dunno. Maybe I need to run some more specific tests. But the soles of my feet, only around the cleats are literally squelching before the rest of my feet get wet. Surely that’s not possible if it were coming in the top. I could accept that the water is coming in elsewhere (around the toes for example) but pooling in that area, but I find it hard to believe that water is travelling from the other end of my shoe without me being aware of it.

Having taken one of the older boots apart after trying to replace the cleat plate I can confirm that it should be all sealed there. If the water isn’t coming in through the top then I would say your boots are trashed.

Marrigold cuffs as gators over the water resistant (but not waterproof) neoprene closure really helps. Black ones are fairly discrete too…..

Works very well for me too

I’ve had a look inside since reading this, and everything looks OK. No rips or anything. I’m still reluctant to believe water is getting in the tops. It wouldn’t make any sense. But it looks like water could get in above the toes, particularly the vents? Does anyone use anything to reproof them? And how do you wash them? I only dared wash them once, on a quick cold wash with no powder, inside a pillow case. They didn’t even come out much cleaner to be honest, so they would probably benefit from a decent wash.

Wash?

Wash? Brush an a bucket of cold water. Very occasionally….

You could try slowly submerging them in a bucket of water, would soon identify where they are leaking, allowing you to focus on that area. To see if they are fixable.

Very sweaty feet??
Mine are fine. 🙂

Don’t have sweaty feet at all, but anyone who has ever went swimming in a river with shoes on, then left them in the boot of the car for weeks, will understand. Sometimes they need to be washed. 10 hour rides in torrential rain have the same effect.

That, and I thought goretex had to be clean to retain its waterproofness?

With no socks on, wear the boots and put your feet in a bath of cold water. Should demonstrate where the water is coming in.

OK, so I’ve been out again, and the water may be getting in the tops. Raining a fair bit, but not quite so wet out today. Rain is fine. Completely waterproof it seems. But I’ve worked out that standing water is being sprayed directly at my leg, but rather than slowly soaking in as I’d expect it to do, it does seem to be finding a channel directly down the top of my foot. So the water’s not hanging about and making it’s way directly to the bottom of my shoe, where it just sits…

Gaiters may be the way forward.

I bought some of these (in large) and then trimmed them down from the narrow end until they are snug around the leg but not too restrictive – the wider end covers the top of the MW81 :

Submerge

can’t find the picture of the finished article.

I had a pair of mt90s I used for years. I never did anything with them except brush the mud off after a ride. They eventually rotted in parts.

My new mt91s get treated with dubbing from time to time to protect them.

My boots always let me down from water getting in over the top.

As above put them in a bucket of water and see if they fail. If they do try some sugru in the holes around the cleats.