Flat-pedal compatible warm dry feet for the winter

Having had a proper trench-footer of a ride in the pishing rain and puddles on Saturday, I’m wondering what I can do to ensure toasty tootsies for the rest of the season.

Don’t mind spending a bit of money. I have some Specialized Defroster road shoes with SPDs on but I’d rather stick with flats than have to dig out my old SPD pedals.

All the winter boots seem to be set up for SPDs apart from £200 + Northwave Himalayas, and even they look like they might be a bit overkilly in terms of insulation and warmth for teh relatively balmy but wet winters of the Isle of Wight.

What combination of shoes/boots, socks, overshoes, gaiters, tights, duct tape etc etc etc is tried and tested and actually works? What are y’all using?

dont laugh, but these are by far the warmest comfiest winter boots i have ever owned.
work like a proper flat pedal shoe too.

https://www.columbiasportswear.co.uk/p/mens-fairbanks-omni-heat-boots-1746011.html

i bought them to replace a pair of 45north wolvehammers, which only insulated a pair of always cold feet, making them colder.
these columbia boots are flexible, feet that bend and move keep warm. they are foil lined keeping the heat in. they also keep water out.

mine are black. and they weigh bugger all.

It’s winter and we get wet feet… Summer we get sweaty feet

Oooh, those are interesting Ton. And they’re a lot cheaper elsewhere- £75 at bikeinn. I could be wrong but I think I got my Guide Tennies on your recommendation?

(that’s still the best I’ve found- Five Ten Guide Tennie mid, they’re not perfect but they’re way better than any bike shoe I’ve had)

poly bags inbetween 2 pairs of socks. Classic but it works!

Freeriders and waterproof socks is the best bet IMO. Anything else is going to be a compromise for grip.

JP

It’s winter and we get wet feet

i am doing a 100 mile offroad dales ride over 2 days this coming weekend.
i dont want cold wet feet for 2 days.

Freeriders and waterproof socks is the best bet IMO. Anything else is going to be a compromise for grip.

i have been through the whole five10 range. these columbia boots are just as grippy with flats.

i have been through the whole five10 range. these columbia boots are just as grippy with flats.

Your idea of grippy and mine are obviously radically different.

JP

Those Colombia boots look ace.
I’ve often toyed with dremelling some tread off old waterproof walking boots, but then realised I can’t be arsed.

I’ve just bought some vibram soled waterproof mid hiking boots and cut back the sole a bit to get it to work better with the pedals.Not had a good test yet,but I’m hopeful (may well need a bit of refining) – the things you have to do eh.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/mh100-mid-mens-waterproof-walking-boots-grey-orange-id_8369974.html

I bought these from Decathlon. They’re waterproof (so it says anyway) and damn warm. work really well. They’re not 5’10 grippy of course, but it seems in this world you cannot have everything so it’s a bit of a compromise.

There does seem to be a bit of a gap in the market for a waterproof flat shoe with a neoprene inner / cuff – I love my old Shimano MW81s but generally ride flats on the full-suss.

I’m coming to the conclusion that the Endura MT500 Plus overshoes may be the answer..

Soggy feet (flat pedals)

Approach and Mountain Bike Shoe Repairs and Resoles

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/shoe-resoles/

Your idea of grippy and mine are obviously radically different.

I’m with this guy.
I often see hiking boots recommended on here, but the soles are nothing like as grippy as a 5:10 Stealth s1, not least because of the profile.
Without wanting to come across all Geex (ewwwwwww…), I suspect there are 2 very different groups of flat pedal riders on here.

Best compromise my Reynauds-y feet have found is knee length thick Sealskinz and Freerider EPS highs. Enough for a good few hours in the crappy weather.

Not sure if those Decathlon boots have different soles to mine but there’s no way I’d wear them on a trail. Mine are just about ok for commuting but slide easily on metal pins.

1. Choose flat-pedal shoe or boot
2.

If its properly wet then water is going to get in the top of shoes/boots no matter how waterproof they otherwise are.

I find Sealskin socks problematic for the same reason -for my ratio of foot size / shin size the fit isn’t very good at the top and water gets in and can’t really get out again

Reeds Chillcheaters over a pair of football socks will keep your feet dry /warm no matter how wet your shoes are. I then use them with fairly light/meshy shoes so water escapes from them more easily

Freerider EPS highs

I had a pair of the brown ones 2 winters ago. freezing feet, sole is far too thin.

a pair of those reed aquatherm fleece socks are gonna be ordered.

I wear those waterproof Decathlon boots year round.
Use sealskinz socks with the rubber cuff when it’s wet/been raining and then have waterproof trousers if it is raining when I’m out

As seosamh77 said, carrier bags for dry feet, two pairs of socks for warmth.

@ton – those boots look like a good shout though, far less obnoxious looking than most mtb shoes.

Those boots look good. My winter riding includes snow and ice so some sort of tread is mandatory. 5:10s and the like are useless.

Part of the problem with getting advice is people have different variations of tempature control as well as different varietys of grip needed. My boyfriend for example has a properly working thermostat whereas mine is rubbish. Sunday he rode through foot high water on the road and got completely soaking feet but his feet were warm for the remainder of the ride. I tried to edge down the side and water just got on to my toes but nowhere else, by the end of the ride I literally couldn’t feel my feet and couldn’t wiggle my toes at all and got full on pins and needles in the shower afterwards.

Winter on the mtb for me is normal impact pro’s and I use the endura overshoes to keep the worst of the puddles etc out of my feet if its a really wet ride. Otherwise I opt for woolie boolies socks and make sure my feet keeping moving, I have less trouble on the mtb than the road bike for movement. If the shoes were already wet I’d go for a merino pair of socks under some sealskin waterproof socks because I will struggle to warm up a pair of already cold wet shoes.

Five Ten Elements are much more water resistant than the usual Freeriders.

Also – trousers. Lets the rain run outside if your shoes, not into them.

Years ago we had some cheap Hi Tec gortex boots resoled with Five Ten stealth rubber which worked well for everything but eventually wore out.

At the moment have a pair of these, not as grippy as Freeriders

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Five-Ten-Guide-Tennie-GTX-M/dp/B00O6176RY

Have seen these and they look good, not sure if they are available yet

Five Ten Trailcross Mid GTX

The Trailcross Mid GTX is both the winter and foul-weather shoe in Five Ten’s Trailcross range. With a GORE-TEX membrane and GORE-TEX neoprene finish, it’s designed to protect your feet from the bad weather. While the Mid GTX is a mid-top shoe like the Mid Pro, it renounces the D30 ankle protection.

2 very different groups of flat pedal riders on here.

Put down the marketing kool-aid, you won’t lose your Danny Macaskill level of bike handling skill if you wear anything other than his signature shoe range.

A couple of winters ago I gave walking boots a try, they’re not quite as good and the soles are a bit soft so you feel like the tread is moving around between you and the pedal. But overall they certainly beat the numb feet and misery of wet trainers over a full day.

But…….

Apart from a few rides I just find it easier to just go 100% SPD over the winter.

And after all there’s two types of rider as you say, those that ride clipped in, and those who can still only ride off road on kids pedals.

😜

:p that’s a long way from what I’m saying.
Maybe generalisation, but from reading their other posts, the guys happy with walking boots seem to be the ones that are mostly into their longer adventure type riding, the guys who aren’t seem to be more gravity orientated (in general, not exclusively)
I’m in the latter camp, but certainly not in the upper echelons more the bottom 92nd. I’ve tried several pairs of walking boots and hated them all. Nothing to do with the marketing, I’m someone who steadfastly rode in relegated trainers up until about 3 years ago when I first bought 5:10s, and was converted.

I ride MTB spds on the road, but tend to crash a lot on dirt, so like to be able to shove my feet down in the vague hope of them hitting the ground before my arse, something I’ve never got the hang of with spds.

Also, *obligatory Sam Hill/Conor Fearon comment*

I have to say, roadies do clothing and shoes much better than MTB. Granted It’s all a bit ridiculous and tight (embarrassing), but it works excellently through all the seasons. Multiple layers, arm and leg warmers than you can take off, gilets, jersey with useful pockets etc. WIDE choice of footwear, overshoes that work well etc. And in the summer, light and cool lycra. Maybe because road cycling is so much older…?

There is 100% a gap in the market for good waterproof flat MTB shoes, that dry fast!

Maybe generalisation, but from reading their other posts, the guys happy with walking boots seem to be the ones that are mostly into their longer adventure type riding, the guys who aren’t seem to be more gravity orientated (in general, not exclusively)

Fair comment. If I’m out for a 2-3hr spin round the woods, knowing I’m near home or not far from the car park then I’ll accept cold/wet feet for that short time. If I’m out for an all day/overnight trip then my priorities change and I’ll accept slightly less pedal grip. Also, as above, “proper” flat pedal shoes have rubbish grip once off the bike on the likes of wet grass, snow and ice.

Merino socks

Your feet will always get wet. There’s a huge hole in every single shoe in the world. With merino socks at least the feet stay warm

Your feet will always get wet. There’s a huge hole in every single shoe in the world. With merino socks at least the feet stay warm

Merino socks + gaiters fix the comfort and the big hole IME

Prob then is ‘boil in the bag’ sweat-wet.

:p that’s a long way from what I’m saying.
Maybe generalisation, but from reading their other posts, the guys happy with walking boots seem to be the ones that are mostly into their longer adventure type riding, the guys who aren’t seem to be more gravity orientated (in general, not exclusively)

Yea, hence the smiley

My winter flat pedal riding tends to be the more the more technical singletrack end of things, where what used to be a tight but manageable trail in the dry becomes a 50/50 (or generally worse) bundle of awkwardly aligned roots and steps interspersed with mud (both up and down hill). So it’s more dabbing than crashing. Tend to ride all 15-20 miles of trails within a 20 acre wood over a couple of hours. The trouble is, after all those dabs your left with a pair of 5.10’s that weigh considerably more than when they started!

If I’m out all day then it’s SPD’s as we won’t spend two hours in one place riding every trail so tend to stick to the drier and more open stuff.

Someone really needs to make a variation on the northwave winter boot with a flat sole! But my experience with walking boots (and decent pedals) is that they might not be quite as tenacious, but I’ve never lost my footing and thought that wouldn’t happen with 5.10’s. You do need to find quite an old fashioned flat blocky tread though, not one with big wedges.

Dismissing all walking boots is like dismissing 5.10 impacts because they look like orthopedic hush puppies.

I’ve just bought some sealskins knee length waterproof socks.

Will be wearing them with normal spd shoes to see if they are better than waterproof mtb boots that just fill up with water.

I’ll let you know after a couple of weeks of testing.

Why oh why do we have this same thread every winter . Surely it’s not beyond Shimano , who already make a decent winter boot for SPD use to graft a flat pedal compatible sole and we’d nearly all be happy . Other brands are also welcome to produce something similar . Really what’s the problem ?

Why oh why do we have this same thread every winter

pure and simple fun……….. ;o)

Five Ten Trailcross Mid GTX

Introducing Five Ten’s Trailcross collection – A new shoe-line developed with Adidas

Also Vaude has the AM Moab Mid STX

https://www.vaude.com/en-INT/Products/Best-in-Test/32947/AM-Moab-Mid-STX?number=204796780410

submarined

Member

I often see hiking boots recommended on here, but the soles are nothing like as grippy as a 5:10 Stealth s1, not least because of the profile.
Without wanting to come across all Geex (ewwwwwww…), I suspect there are 2 very different groups of flat pedal riders on here.

OK so, my winter boots currently are Five Ten Guide Tennies- walking shoes not bike shoes. I’ve worn them for uplifts and enduro racing and all manner of tweed valley slidey winter horror and they’re great- and the difference in performance between cold wet feet in bike shoes, and dryer warm feet in these, is way bigger than the small difference in grip. In a really harsh environment, like racing at kinlochleven in the snow on trails of doom, they proved themselves so well.

Also got a pair of Sombrio Floats which I’ve treated with 5 10 rubber which are my second best winters- they’re good on the bike but just not as good at weather.. During the summer, I’m in Freeriders all the time. They all three come into the same category, “so much grip that it doesn’t really matter which has more”- but of the three the Sombrios, a bike shoe, had the least grip with the standard sole. All of them are better than the Five Ten Impact Pros I had, because they had grip but no feel or feedback. They’re all superior in grip and feel to my old Shimano flat shoes.

Aw aye,and some of those Five Ten EPS Mids which are shite frankly, they wet through faster then Freerider Elements and are colder when wet.

Of course not all walking shoes are the same, just like not all bike shoes are the same. I have some really nice goretex trainers that are useless on the bike despite looking like they should work, you can’t tell by looking. Neither are all pedals- I use Horizon Comps, they’re decent sized and very grippy which no doubt helps, if you’re on some less good pedal then that puts more demands on the shoe

TL;DR- I’d happily race the mega in my “walking boots” . I’m not sure what “kind of flat pedal rider” I am but there’s really no riding I’ve ever done that they aren’t great for. Except summer rides 😉

One thing I would NOT recommend buying are the Endura MT500 Flat Pedal Overshoes – if you have to do any walking they just suck mud and water up from the sides (they have no sole themselves) and your feet still end up wet and muddy (just maybe not as cold) – if you never have to get off and push then they may well work quite well.

For Winter/Wet conditions I ended up buying another pair of Five Ten Freeriders that are 1/2 size bigger than I normally wear and a pair of SealSkinz socks – I found the extra 1/2 size in the shoe and the thickness of the socks make for a normal feeling nice comfortable combo. They seem to work well and I can just replace the socks as and when they wear out.  I did this because I know and like the Five Tens grip and didn’t want to risk another waterproof shoe that may or may not give a good grip level.