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Getting fed up with wet feet and the struggle to dry everything off before the next commute. I have a fairly long commute of 22 miles each way so they need to withstand about an hour and a half of getting wet.
I've had three different overshoes, Endura MT500, Northwave H20 winter and most recently Rapha Deep winter overshoes. The northwaves have been the best and Rapha the worst, so much so im tempted to email Rapha and tell them how bad they are, takes about 20 minutes for my toes to get wet. Ive got solid carbon soles on my Sidis so its not coming up from the bottom.
So will something like the Northwave farenheit GTX winter shoes keep my feet drier? Are they a pain to dry out once the inevitable water running down the top happens.
i vote for both at the same time
on account of it stops the road grime eating your expensive shoes.
you know overshoes are primarily to keep the feet dry and stop windchill right.... any waterproofness is by virtue of the fact that the neoprene they are made from keeps the water in so your feet can warm it up rather than let it out and let more cold water in......
i like my mw02s with mt500s.
My Endura MT500 are on their fourth winter (daily off road commute of 7 miles each way) now and they've been great, feet always warm and dry.
The zip broke on one of them, my own fault for leaving them festering in the shed over summer covered in muck so the zip seized. Still keep my feet warm and dry though.
Haven't bothered with winter boots, no need, currently using Wiggles cheapo dhb on M520 pedals.
2 pairs of overshoes?
1 at home for the way in and one at work for the way back. They then have longer to dry out?
A poster on here(I think it was Scotroutes ) went on about cutting up marigolds and using them as gaiters (underneath tights,but over the boots or overshoes ) .
I tried it,and although it's a faff putting everything on,it does keep the water out. I now use Northwave GTX boots and they are warm enough for my feet.
If the temp really drops like a few years ago,I use boots and overshoes .
I've used a few different overshoes and in my experience winter boots are VASTLY better than overshoes. It's night and day.
They are also way less faff, less bulky and less likely to rub on your stays or cranks.
Winter boots and thick socks are way more convenient for a short commute. Overshoes as a pain to put on and take off twice a day in my experience.
I wear thin grip grab overshoes over Northwave Arctic boots just to keep the worst of the road crud off the boots.
Agree with molgrips that winter boots vs summer shoes plus thick neoprene overshoes is like comparing oranges and apples.
It's a big wedge to spend on shoes but I'd say go for it, it certainly makes my winter riding significantly more pleasant.
I've got some original Fahrenheit boots, think they're going into their 7th or 8th winter now! They're excellent. They do feel a bit clumpy compared to my S-Works shoes, but they keep my feet dry (until I ride through a puddle deep enough to submerge them) and warm. If they wore out (which they're not about to do) I'd definitely get another pair.
I use a combination of Shimano RW80 winter boots, Endura MT500 overshoes and cheapo Shimano road shoes throughout the winter.
Boots + overshoes for really cold days
Boots for cold dry days
Shoes + overshoes for wet days
Boots on their own aren't waterproof. Shoes + overshoes dries out far quicker on the fire escape radiator. Boots can take a long time to dry out.
Definitely boots easier than overshoes. My old MW80s are on their 3rd winter now, but in a sale for £90 so cost per year not an issue.
No matter what I've tried, I always feel the cold coming up through the cleat area. Best solution I have found is thermal insoles.
I'm using some [url= http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/57818/products/lake-mx101-tour-trail-cycling-shoes-size-36.aspx ]standard shoes[/url] with woolly socks when it's cold and overshoes when it's really cold or raining (keep the overshoes strapped into a bottle cage on my commuter so I can put them on if conditions change). If it rains unless you have a very short commute or some [i]gaiters and waterproof pants[/i] setup your nice expensive "waterproof" shoes will fill up with water and then they are a bugger to dry out for the ride home/tomorrow morning. Standard shoes and over shoes dry out much, much quicker.
Keep the winter boots for proper rides where you need the warmth on longer rides and you have several days to dry them out between rides. (no argument from me that boots are better - they just aren't practical for rainy commuting tho)
In proper wet conditions, and for commuting use, I use waterproof trousers. Well designed cycling ones. They are great.
If it rains unless you have a very short commute or some gaiters and waterproof pants setup your nice expensive "waterproof" shoes will fill up with water and then they are a bugger to dry out for the ride home/tomorrow morning
Mine don't. Bone dry feet this morning, despite a few puddles with spray covering the shoes, nowt came in the top.
Agree that if they get wet they can take longer to dry (I leave mine upturned on a radiator), but they don't get cold, so I can live with that.
mudguards?
winter boots work best for me, when it's stupid cold then some overshoes as well.
My new MW81s are great. I'm on the look out for some thin overshoes just to keep the crap off as mentioned above.
+1 the gtx boots (and overshoes over them when it's really foul)
Anybody using Polaris Shredder boots? They look good for winter mtbing and normal enough for wet weather commuting.
Cheapo PX Neoprene's here, obviously they're only so effective though, the water will always get through eventually, however I did find last winter, that layering them up with one or two supermarket carrier bags between the overshoe and the shoe delayed foot saturation a bit, take it all off when you get to the office, bin the shredded, wet carriers, ideally have a 2nd set of overshoes ready for the ride home and stuff the pair you rode in with newspaper/tissue to help them dry...
Decent coverage from your front guard (assuming you are on the road) helps lots too, if your toes are getting loads of spray from the front wheel no boot/overshoe combo will work for very long...
It's a layer's of protection thing: Guard-> Overshoes-> Carrier bags-> shoe-> socks-> Feet... add anything you can think of to that...
Oh and if it's pissing down I'll wear cheap overtrousers which go over the top of the overshoe so water doesn't run into them, same function as a gaiter I suppose, except they keep your arse drier too and trap some air for that boil in the bag effect, works well in very low temps...
Thanks for the replies.
So many people still use overshoes with their winter boots? Are the boots not that waterproof? Or are the overshoes to help with the cold.
Ive sorted out the cold problems with layers of socks, its the wet and the drying out that annoys me!
Have SKS P35 with a long mud flap on the front to eliminate as much spray as possible.
For me Buzz it's overshoes on top of the NWs as you can rinse the crud and crap off the overshoes easier than doing a full clean on the boots. But I've swapped heavy thick neoprene overshoes for thin waterproof stretchy easy on and off able ones which are also cheaper and replaceable.
It's a layer's of protection thing: Guard-> Overshoes-> Carrier bags-> shoe-> socks-> Feet... add anything you can think of to that...
I use goretex socks over walking socks for cold days but this has the disadvantage of squashing everything tightly in the shoe so some insulating effect is lost. However, with a neoprene overshoe it's very toasty but awkwardly over layered. The overshoe toe is always peeling up when needing to walk and it's far too much stuff for commuting as I have to carry everything around with me (outreach work).
[url= http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Polaris-Shredder-MTB-Shoe_53793.htm ]These are the Polaris boots.[/url]
Boots all the way. Overshoes are great but at some point, normally when you most need them, something fails. I use Northwave Celsius GTX now.
ps The Polaris boots are nice, but very narrow.
Winter boots and SealSkinz socks to deal with the small amount of water that sneaks in through the top.