Winter Cycling - Would this be a good winter cycling shoe?

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cooleric1234
10-26-08, 03:09 PM
I commute often by bike and would like to continue doing so this winter (Denver area). On my commuter bike I currently have PowerGrips and they work great. With thick wool socks I can keep my feet warm down to around 30 degrees F, give or take 5 degrees. I'd like to get down to 15 degrees, but I think the problem is my feet and hands.

I have size twelve feet and regular size PowerGrips, so I can't fit a boot in there. I've got lots of things on my list to buy so I don't know when I'll get to buy the longer PowerGrips. In the meantime, I was thinking maybe something like this (http://big5sportinggoods.shoplocal.com/big5/Default.aspx?action=browsepagedetail&storeid=2540954&rapid=610291&pagenumber=1&listingid=-2090827344#)would be even better. The outside doesn't look like it would handle rain/snow well, but I don't ride if that's in the forecast. Other than that, however, it looks like it might work. It looks like the sole is low profile, they are insulated but don't look too thick, they might fit under the existing PowerGrips. Any thoughts?

http://akimages.crossmediaservices.com/dyn_li/600.0.90.0/Retailers/Big5SportingGoods/081026_FP4_17a.JPG

For my hands I have thick windproof fleece gloves and some nylon wind/water resistant lobster shells. I also need something a little warmer, maybe ski mitts or something. I could also see what wearing cycling or liner gloves under the fleece gloves does for me.

Hezz
10-26-08, 09:47 PM
Ya, I think they would work to keep your foot warm. With power grips and plateform pedals they should work OK. You can actually make this kind of muckluk pretty water resistant by rubbing snoseal into the leather and using a hair dryer to heat up the snoseal and help it to soak in. They will be water proof enough to walk in the snow that way. One thing that might be interesting to try is to buy an old used pair of road cycling shoes and cut off the upper so you just have the foot bed and a little of the sides. Then slide it into the boot to make it stiff. You might want a couple of sizes over for this though.