Help keep me warm!

Tis far too cold to be using my general riding gear and my feet and hands are suffering very badly.

I’m looking at possibly geting some overshoes or some sealskinz Thermal socks – what’s the general thoughts on either of these? Reviews are mixed on both appoaches but have not known anyone other than road riders who use them.

A couple of people I know use overshoes on the mtb and like them.

I’ve solved the cold hands issue with 3 pairs of gloves of varying thickness, but have yet to solve the cold feet issue. I was also thinking of getting a pair of SealSkinz mid thermal socks and using a thin liner sock as well, but I reckon SealSkinz are more waterproof than warm and I am not planning to get my feet wet so I reckon a pair of thick hiking/walking socks for a fiver would do the job just as well. Any oppinions?

The trick is to use thin layers, in decent insulating materials. And not to have things too tight, as this cuts off the circulation, and causes even more problems.

I use a pair of thin silk gloves under normal mid-weight gloves, and double-layer army socks if it’s dry, or Sealskins if there’s a chance of getting wet feet.

Layers mean you can add or remove them as necessary.

You may have low blood pressure, like me, so extremities will get cold quite quickly. this is exacerbated by the fact that your fingers and toes aren’t doing much, so the blood isn’t flowing around enough to generate enough heat.

In really cold weather, I find that a pair of stout leather ‘boot’ trainers, with good socks on underneath, and flat pedals, better than using SPD shoes. With SPDs, your feet stay fixed to the same point, and your toes just aren’t getting the blood flow they need. And SPD shoes tend to be a bit too ‘breathable’ to keep out the cold. Maybe ‘winter’ SPD boots are the answer for some, but I’ve never tried any. You could try those little neoprene bootie things I suppose. I have no experience of them.

Other than that, you’ll have to keep wiggling!

ood pair of winter gloves will solve the hand problem. I use 661 winter storm gloves and they keep my hands toastie ( in yesterdays and todays -3oC weather for instance)

For my feet, Shimano MW80 winter boots with either sealskins or thin trainer sock and medium wool sock over them. Buy a shoe size up from normal though. These keep my feet really warm. I too normally suffered every winter for cold hands & feet but no more. Aldi crane stuff keeps rest of me warm. Must of spent £130 this winter on warm things bu money well spent, and will last a few years

As i look out of the window the sky is blue with a few whispy clouds all looks good for 25ish deg might ride this morning when its a bit cooler 😀

MW80s over thick socks – just got them to replace shoes + neoprene outers. Work well. Winter strength gloves (Altura Tempest) are on for this sort of weather.

I don’t find Sealskinz mid-thermal socks very warm at all.

Get the thickest ones if you want Sealskinz, but I prefer wool socks with Goretex boots.

Sealskinz technical MTB gloves on the other hand are too hot in any temperature above about 3 deg – but do feel a bit like oven gloves on the controls.

Sorry for not replying sooner, had trouble accessing as well as the current goings on. New shoes are out. I have four pairs of disco slippers/skate types kicking around so would rather sort out the internal where possible. In this weather I normally wear thin but tigtly knitted trainer socks with regukar riding socks which have up til now been sufficient, it may be the alcohol in the blood stream making the situation worse but barely drunk enough really. I will have a look at millets or somewhere like that to see if I can find some better socks and try that first…. hopefully it’ll warm up in the mean time. We can live in hope eh!

Bin doin a lot of night rides round Penmachno and CYB after work recently and regularly winding up with my feet in agony even wearing sealskins, they can only cope with so much water then the windchill really kicks in. Bought a pair of Endura neoprene type mtb overshoes a couple of weeks ago and have to say they are bloody fantastic, nocturnal, near zero, puddle splashing has never been so much fun they really do make a huge difference.

And they work with yer spds, only problem i can see could be with durability, not had them long enough to give fair appraisal in that respect

I make neoprene overshoes (a sideline) you can wear all the fancy socks and boots you like but if you can keep your feet relativly dry in the 1st place your 90% there to warm feet – and you dont need big boots, and your shoes are prety clean when you take them off.

I would highly recommend Overshoes, warm feet and clean shoes. I am using Endura MT500. The only problem i see would be if you had to walk long sections of a route.

if you can’t afford waterproof shoes like the MW80’s or the northwave celsius then go for thermal socks and overshoes. be sure that with the thermal socks that your shoes are not tight as this cuts off circulation and makes things a whole lot colder and uncomfortable. i arrived home with purple feet that took 2 hours to thaw out from a ride a few years back because of thick socks and narrow shoes.

Crustychris – Is it something about Penmachno that’s particularly bad for cold feet? Maybe the exposure or is there always water on the trails?

I was there a couple of months ago and it wasn’t even THAT cold – but my feet were numb for ages afterwards.

ladies tights, pref sussy type…

I have overshoes and sealskinz socks, the overshoes + 2 pairs of normal socks is way better

Rubeboy – good observation on the low blood pressure. Mine is fairly low (105/70ish) and I suffer from cold hands and feet. Sealskinz Technical MTB gloves are the only ones I’ve found to be warm enough (though others, as stated here, find them too hot). 661 storms were OK down to about 5C, below that I found them too cold.

I’ve not yet found a decent foot solution – I’ve Specialized Defroster “winter” boots (which are waterproofish but not particularly warm), used with one thinish pair of socks and a decent pair of merino ones. I think I’ll have to try overshoes. Hurrah, more shopping!

An old skiing trick is sweat bands (those cheap thing some footballers wear)on your wrists to warm up hands. Agree with layers as well, silk liners (both gloves and socks) are really good for keeping warmth in. Also make sure your head is warm as if it is not you will struggle to keep everything else warm, a buff or similar under your helmet can work wonders.

The advise in the above replies should sort out the feet area, but I recall another piece of advise on a similar thread about keeping the legs nice and warm too – Idea being that it keeps the blood reaching the feet warmer.

Not sure if it’s a placebo effect, but it seems to help me.

Chris

Chakaping – Yes Penmachno has been very wet recently, the fells are well saturated and those lovely singletrack sections make cracking little streams,adding to that lovely natural feel, part of why it’s prob my fave manmade trail (spesh for billy no mates night rides as nowt hairy)Should be really fun at the mo as half of it will be covered in ice. Trails at CYB are pretty similar, if you want a dryer man made in NW The Marin is the way to go, always seems to drain off really fast.

Yeah I agree crustychris on the legs front. ladies tights sound greatsnakebite but think the mrs would hav something to say… where does this stop, shall I try on a bra too to keep my nips warm?! Buying some dhb bib tights for my legs, had a fair few people rate the merstons given their fit and price so hopefully that’ll do. By the time I’ve sorted all this though the awesome weather will be back!

The ladies’ tights suggestion is not completely silly, though. You can get them in different thicknesses, and they fit well under other garments. And, they’re pretty cheap, if you nick your better half’s ones.

I’m all for doing the warm clothing thing on the cheap, as it’s only really cold enough to warrant proper winter gear, for a short while, in England.

Basically, anything that insulates well, doesn’t restrict the circulation, and is breathable, really.

Snakebite; you just want an excuse to wear sussies, don’t you? Come on, admit it…

As has been said, sweatbands really help with hand as they seem to help warm the blood going in to them. Feet, bridgedale socks and overshoes, sorted!

Do fishnets work ok? how do you hide the sussy belt straps so they dont show through?

I have this problem big style, so went to see the doc. Diagnosed with Reynards disease. The blood vessels in the toes and fingers go into spasm and stop the flow of blood. Some tabs made a big difference but not a total cure. Sealskins dont work to well. Merino wool socks are great with slightly larger boots. Plastic bags to stop the cold striking through are bloody marvellous, but a bit sweaty. Goretex ski gloves seem to give some protection to the mits.

Bear – you tried veruka socks as an alternative to plastic bags, that was my first attempt at waterproof socks when I was a nipper.

Bought some endura MT500 overshoes today and some Endura Dexter gloves – both apparently had really god reviews. Found the shoes really warming but putting your feet down while waiting for the mrs cooled them down very quickly! Gloves were crap so will try them with a secondary pair tomorrow.

I use shimano winter boots (can’t remeber the model but 3 years old) with sealskinz socks and have warm feet all the time. Don’t keep you feet particualry dry but do keep the wind out hence warm.

Have just got some bright yellow sealskinz gloves which work well too. If it’s really cold _5 or below I use my Cannandale winter gloves which have a thermal liners but they’re way to warm if it’s nearer freezing or above.

Everyone has diffrent tolereances and I can ride in just 2 layers down to 0 degrees C but I struggle when it’s hotter than 24 degrees C which is not too much of a problem in the UK! 😎