All my bikes now have flat pedals after years of riding with SPDs, which means my trusty Specialized Defrosters will be relegated to being used for outings on the road bike.

I currently have a pair of Teva Links, which are great grip-wise but are a bit porous for freezing cold and wet conditions, even with a pair of Sealskinz.

I see Endura have responded to a gap in the market with these Flats-specific overshoes, but what else is out there? How are y’all keeping your tootsies toasty in the winter gloop if you’re using flat pedals?

Pass. When descending that rubber band will be in the wrong place. Does anyone really ride flats on the balls of their foot?

For me the answer is generally good, warm socks. Definitely not Seal Skins

Five ten Freerider elements or impact vxi half a size too big (I always have a pair dry and a pair drying!) with knee high sealskinz that go up over the bottom of my kneepads, which go up under my shorts. Pair of woolie boolies or similar under the sealskinz.

No skin showing, no way for water to get inside the sealskinz, sorted for all weathers.

The newest sealskinz are a mile ahead of the what they used to be.

I thought the same, the exposed sole is in the wrong place. I ride everything midfoot, not just the downhills.

Whereas I keep my feet in the same position regardless. I have moved my cleats back 1/4″, but I absolutely detest riding flats with the arch of my foot over the axle. That said I think overshoes have no place in mountain biking for a variety of reasons, not least of which is pushing/hikeabiking in them.

Woolie Boolies and (previously) 5:10 Sam Hills for me, although they’ve just died and have been replaced with Freerider Elements. Wet feet, but not too cold. There’s very little mesh so you don’t get the constant cold splashes.

just about perfect these.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Z9vABV]2017-10-05_09-08-29[/url] by 20ston, on Flickr

I use Vaude Moab mid STX AM which I have found fantastic over the last year. Genuinely waterproof, I stood ankle deep in a river and stayed completely dry, very comfortable and quite a clever design with the heal & toe grips. I’ve just started using them again as the weather has changed in the last few days.

Edit. I tend to pair them with woolly boolies to stay really warm.

Woolie Boolies and (previously) 5:10 Sam Hills for me, although they’ve just died and have been replaced with Freerider Elements. Wet feet, but not too cold.

Pretty much the same here.

Just got a pair of them shoes in Ton’s pic, so we’ll see how they fare. heard good things from a mate.

Nobeerinthefridge – Member
The newest sealskinz are a mile ahead of the what they used to be.

Interesting, will need to have a look. They still suffer from the issue of filling up and not draining though, so need to be the high ones as you mention.

A good pair of Merino wool socks and sealskinz
Then my 5-10 high impact

Does anyone really ride flats on the balls of their foot?

Yes, that photo could be of my foot. From the photo those Endura overshoes look perfect for my winter riding. I have some road booties and have always thought an MTB version would be a great idea.

Those aside, I had Shimano AM41s which did a good job, and now have Fiveten Freeride Elements. Both are OK but do fill up with water down the leg hole. Woolly socks are essential.

these five tens are pretty good also in the wet weather.
dry in about 2 hours on the radiator.
with wool socks they are great.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Z6YCPq]2017-10-05_12-42-41[/url] by 20ston, on Flickr

Interesting, will need to have a look. They still suffer from the issue of filling up and not draining though, so need to be the high ones as you mention.

Tbh, even the mid come up to the bottom of my knee pads, so don’t suffer as much with filling.

I don’t understand fully waterproof uppers like those photos above. I’d just get trenchfoot as the water can’t get out.

Hated my seal skins until I put holes in the bottom to let water out. Then they just work like a wetsuit so not too bad. First ride I had to stop and pour the water out! So pointless.

I ride my 2Fo shoes when it’s super wet, as while they are porous, the water falls out. Decent socks and jobs a good un. I do run warm/have ciculation though so don’t suffer from cold extremeties much.

I would like a decent winter flat. My 5tens are a bit spongey

Agree with Van Halen I had freerider elements just used to fill up with water.Most of the water that gets in my shoes is what runs down my legs.I have 2FO’s now and they drain and dry much better.Have not run them through winter yet though

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/why-no-winter-specific-boots-for-flats

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/which-shoes-for-flat-pedals-this-winter

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/winter-shoes-for-flat-pedals-2

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/flat-pedal-shoe-vs-wet-weather

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/flat-pedal-users-winter-shoes

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/waterproof-winter-shoes-boots-for-flat-pedals

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/weatherproof-flat-pedal-shoes

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/solving-the-waterproof-flat-pedal-shoe-conundrum

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/mtb-trail-shoes-for-flat-pedals

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/recommend-me-some-winter-bike-shoes-for-flat-pedals

paton – are you just practising putting links to threads that are years old on current threads?

The oldest thread on there was started 8 years ago, a few others around 4 or 5 years ago,
There *is* one that was only from 4 months back, so well done there.

Maybe you’re trying to highlight that this is a problem many people have faced over the years? Dunno though because you just put up a load of old lnks with no comment – so who know what you are getting at?

To the OP – I’ve got 5 10s that resist the wet fairly well compared to the cancas ones that I pair with Selaskinz, but on a longer wet ride they still get wet and my feet freeze.
Conidering the winter ones that Ton posted earlier, but it’s a pricey experiment.

😆

My fell running mate always says there is a reason no fell running shoes are waterproof, you need to get the water out as quick as it comes in. He just wears his summer shoes with waterproof socks and liners. However I noticed last winter he bought some of the water resistant 5.10s so perhaps he is losing confidence in his theory!

In really wet conditions I agree waterproof uppers are only delaying the inevitable.

They can be good for moderately wet rides or rides on wet terrain when it’s not actually raining though.

I use Vaude Moab mid STX AM which I have found fantastic over the last year. Genuinely waterproof, I stood ankle deep in a river and stayed completely dry, very comfortable and quite a clever design with the heal & toe grips. I’ve just started using them again as the weather has changed in the last few days

Same here, except I didn’t stop using them over the summer as it’s not really been any drier up here. I bought them on the back of the review in the mag after having a few pairs of FiveTens and they’ve been fantastic. Keep my feet dry on most rides, dry out in a matter of hours (rather than weeks for the FiveTens) when they do get soaked and still look pretty much new after a year of being used a couple of times a week in all weathers. In fact the only real difference between now and when they were new is that they’ve got a bit more comfortable. A classic case of a product that seems to wear in rather than wear out.

Anyone using those OWN shoes in the wet yet?

I have a shiny pair of bright Specialized 2FO sat on my desk for eldest_oab. Half price at Rutland.
Not worn them, but the plastic fore toe and rub areas seems a great idea.

Yeah those OWN did look to do the job but im waiting to see what others thought of them. Also im a bit unsure about the look.