Note: I wear a bootie over the baggie so you can only see it when I unclip or you're peeking at my heel (there's an opening there).

True on the foot being wet after a while. However, if you're doing a crit (1 hour) your feet will be reasonably dry at the end. If it's cold and raining, you'll stay relatively dry for longer. I have a couple sets of wool DeFeet socks and they're great when it's cold and/or wet and work well under the baggie.

What you *don't* get is the bone chilling "icicle down your bootie" feeling 10 or so minutes into the ride as water trickles down your previously dry ankle.

If you're doing a long ride (my last ride in the rain was 2 hours or so) the shoes are damp but not soggy. It was as if I'd ridden in a mist or something, not the torrential downpour that made the road white with bouncing water. And my feet felt warm the whole time. Beats soggy shoes that are stretching every which way (one reason for bag outside shoe).

Second reason for bag outside shoe is you have the same sock/shoe interface. A while ago Cannondale came out with a waterproof sock thing (basically a high tech version of a plastic baggie) that you wore over your socks but inside your shoe. Worked pretty well except it made you feel move around just a bit in the shoe, especially the heel.

Third reason is the little bit of air between the baggy and the shoe and your sock creates an insulating layer. It's warmer than having the bag compressed against your sock (inside your shoe). The bootie has more room around the shoe than your shoe does around your sock.

What I hate is how heavy my gear gets when it's wet, esp the long stuff (tights, jacket) and thick stuff (booties, gloves). When someone can solve that I'll be happy. In the meantime I'll stick with my low-tech rain jacket, baggies, and knickers.

cdr