mtalinm

I have poor circulation to begin with, so my long commute doesn't do my any favors in the winter (15 miles, usually 75 minutes - I'm slow on the hills). Fingers and face are fine thanks to lobster mitts and a balaclava, but my toes get cold after an hour and sometimes sooner in 20ish degree weather. My setup:

Thin wool socks (Capo - got them at the LBS)
Thin felt insoles
Shimano shoes a size bigger than what I usually wear (leaves room for the insoles)
Pearl Izumi Barrier booties

On this morning's ride, I took the insoles out of one shoe to see if that helped. I was able to wiggle my toes around a bit more, but they still got cold after about 45 minutes. I have also tried the plastic bags approach but did not have much luck.

Unless I want to drop hundreds of dollars on winter cycling boots, I think I'm going to go try some chemical toe warmers. I checked the Winter Biking forum and folks seem to have good luck with these. Any other suggestions before I'm off to Olympia Sports?

thanks all

ejbarnes

Plug the venting and mesh parts of the shoes with duct tape.
I run about the same and my toes last about an hour also.
Hand warmers do help when taped to the tops of your shoes and under the booties.
Hand warmers are not really bad eco wise. Most create the heat by oxidization.

I have also found some socks with a reflective metal embedded in the weave. There is no way of really knowing if the socks help or not.
Wool does make a great insulator.
Keep experimenting.

rrohret

I spent the money on the winter cycling boots with a backup plan of battery powered socks fit in. I decided that I would spend the money to eliminate obstacles to riding to work. My feet always froze, the wrap around booties did nothing for it. The tight shoes killed circulation and no amount of wool socks in the shoes, outside the shoes, plus booties would keep my feet from freezing. I tried every low cost solution and nothing worked. I bit the bullet for Lake Cycling boots and have not regretted it. I was prepared to add electric socks but it has not been necessary. They were expensive, $200+ with new cleats but that was over five years ago and I have no regrets. I commuted 20 miles each way in temperatures down to 5 degrees F. I now commute 10 miles and I rode last Wednesday at 2 degrees with only a light pair of socks on while wearing the boots. They are also fairly waterproof so that when you ride home in melting snow splashing does not get your feet wet. My only excuse now is snow and ice on the roads leaving me at the mercy of drives out of control.

rrohret

I also tried the chemical packs and had no success. Sometimes I could feel they help and sometimes they did not. Wasn't worth the effort.

martianone

Try a pair of LLbean snow sneakers with a thin wool inner sock and heavy wool outer sock. Yes, you will have to get some flat pedals for these, like MKS touring. I rode around for about an hr this morning with this combination - temp was in the single numbers F pos, wind chill was below zero - feet fine.
When you ride in cooler weather, got to wear the needed gear.

AdamDZ

Yeah, forget clipless, go flat pedals with cold weather hiking sneakers. Get larger ones too so when you wear a few layers of wool socks they don't get tight.

Adam

clasher

I use BMX platform pedals (the ones with pins) and big sorel winter boots. They're also useful for all sorts of other awesome winter activities, unlike cycling boots. You can double up on the socks when it gets cold. The liners are removable too, so I sometimes take them out and put them on the heat vent so they're toasty warm in the morning. I only commute 10km, but my feet have yet to get cold and they usually get cold in hiking boots and double socks when I'm walking around or at work outside.

I was surprised how well the little BMX studs grip the rubber of my big winter boots. I already expect to take a big performance hit in the winter anyway, and I find that the big sorel boots are good on days with lots of slop and slush, they're completely waterproof on the lower-half, so no worries about putting your foot down in an emergency if you're sliding or if you're stopped and the roads aren't cleared yet.

pityr

Ever since I switched to smart-wool socks in the winter my toes stay pretty toasty.

sauerwald

I used to have a 15 mile commute in Maine, winter temps were often in the single digits or lower. I wore lake winter cycling boots, a size larger than my normal shoes with two pairs of socks - usually one pair of smartwool, and then a pair of thicker, long wool hiking boots. Kept my feet from freezing. Used a pair of gloves that I got from Cabellas which are marketed to snowmobilers - leather shell on the outside, and some warm fuzzy stuff inside.

jputnam

Make your own winter cycling boots. It's pretty trivial to add SPD or Look cleat mountings to any good boot. I use stainless steel safety insoles for reinforcement, under $20. Go a size large so you have plenty of room for socks without cutting off your circulation.

mtalinm

interesting - can you say more about how to do this?

mmac

https://djcatnap.com/?p=680

Personally, I also use platform pedals and boots on my fixed mtb, and road bikes. Adding the cleat only works to create a heatsink in your shoe.

I have several friends who recommend using reflective sheeting to keep heat in the shoe.

jputnam

Hmm, that link from mmac gives pretty good instructions, in my case, substitute a stainless steel insole for the old SPD sole, and cut slots in the insole for the SPD mounting using a carbide bit in the Dremel.

NABRXX

My commute is 25 miles each way and I have been suffering the same numbness that you speak of at roughly the same point in my ride. I wear merril winter hiking boots. I discovered something during one ride when I stopped out of concern for frostbite, my feet were completely "dead"...I got off the bike and walked into a deli for a cup of coffee....my feet felt fine again by the time the guy handed me my cup. It is not a temperature issue, it's a circulation issue. Now I just get off the bike for a minute when it happens and walk around a bit, then I continue on my merry way.

CommuterRun

Chalk me up as another who has tried the chemical warmers. They don't work. Better to dress for the occasion.

scoatw

When I switch over to a bigger winter boot I remove the toe clips and go with the Homemade Power grips. So far they've worked great. I'm just going to keep them on the rest of the winter. They adjust to whatever shoe you're wearing and they cost about a third of the real ones. I found them here.
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ke-pics/page14

Hot Potato

Ditch the clipless pedals and cycling shoes, wear winter hiking or walking boots on regular pedals. Loose shoes a must. I have winter cycling shoes, and my toes get cold at about an hour. I found that toe warmers were not terribly effective, getting me only about another 15 minutes before the toes got too cold.

Shimagnolo

After fussing with options such as booties etc, two years ago I bought winter shoes, (Pearl Izumi Barrier GTX).
Best winter cycling option ever;
Warm feet, and shoes that work just as well as my summer shoes, with no time wasted on jury-rigged junk.
And all the wear put on the winter shoes, is wear the summer shoes don't get, so the summer shoes will last longer.
I wore my winter shoes last summer climbing Mt Evans, and I was sooooo thankful for waterproof shoes when I got caught in a downpour on the descent!

From my notes two years ago, here are some winter cycling shoe options:
Exustar E-SM450
Gaerne Eskimo MTB
Gaerne Polar (Road)
Lake MXZ3
Louis Garneau 0
Northwave Avalanche Pro
Northwave Celsius J GTX
Northwave Fahrenheit (road)
Pearl Izumi Barrier GTX
Shimano MW02
Shimano SH-MW80
Sidi Diablo GTX
Specialized Defroster

MrCjolsen

I wear cycling SANDALS. Yes, sandals. But inside the sandal are thick wool socks covered by neoprene diving booties. Sub-30 degrees and my feet stay warm for 14 miles.

rumrunn6

don't matter what kind of boots I wear, my feet get cold. always have. for cycling chemical warmers are the bees knees. wrap them in plastic and get another couple uses out of them. the toe warmers cost more but they are very thin and have an adhesive side. they work great. I've been using hand warmer cuz they cost less and I can re-use them several times. only thing is I have to tape them in place between my sock liner and sock. but that' no biggie.

anything under 30 degrees for an hour or more - I need these. I can go an hour at 30 degrees so long as I jump in a hot shower right after. 3+ hours in 15 degrees - there's absolutely no way I'm riding without them! not me uh uh

the cheapest price for hand warmers is online by the case. when you buy them at a local store be sure they chareg the correct price - the hand warmers are the lest expensive.

don't put them in your shoes or cover them with your sock right away. leave them out for 5-10 minutes to get them going. if you're on a long ride they can get starved of oxygen so at the half way point you can take your shoes off and air them out, warming them in a restuarant, and this also gives the warmers additional oxygen to work. I did 46 miles over 4 hrs, 3 hrs saddle time last weekend and that's what I did.

I use regular walking shoes and cover them with thin rubber overboots - works great - plenty of room for sock liner; sock; warmer etc. rubber over boot blocks the wind and is waterproof. walking shoe provides strong support (size 13 for me) wool sock liner and wool sock (thin to medium weight) provide proper thermal protection. chemical warmer provides the warm boost my particular feet require.

my solution is tried and true - there is no blue! :-)

benda18

like you i have bad circulation and tried everything in the book with no success. purchased a pair of lake boots and haven't thought about my feet since. they're awesome, but also expensive, yet worth it.

bmwstbill

Insulate your legs and ankles, your feet will stay much warmer, heavier long underware, wind pants, waterproof pants...whatever works. I use platform pedals and low cut gortex hiking shoes.
5-6 miles, -20F is OK.
bill

apricissimus 

I find that when the rest of me is more bundled up (my trunk, head, etc.), my extremities stay warmer. So on really cold days I'll add on a couple of layers more than I'd really need for the parts of the body that their covering, and my hands and feet stay warmer than they otherwise would, even though I don't do anything different with my hands and feet.

I'll also work a little harder than normal to generate more body heat.

It works well for me down to about 0ºF, and while I may feel cold, it's easily tolerable. Of course everyone's body is different, and YMMV.

TheLifeOfBryan

I’m using two pairs of thick wool socks, an oversized pair of Shimano shoes, and Garneau wind/rain covers over them. 100% effective, 110% annoying time sink in the mornings. In the heat of summer I’ll see what kind of deal I can find on the winter shoes y’all are recommending above.

elbows

The two things that make the biggest difference for me are starting with warm feet, and starting with a warm bike (either storing it inside or bringing it in for 20 minutes or so before I head out).

If my feet are cold when I get on the bike, they'll stay cold. If the pedals are cold they seem to suck all the heat out, and I'm in the same situation. So I wear warm socks around the house in the morning and try to do a little exercise to get the blood flowing before I leave.

If my feet get too cold during a ride, I'll also get off and walk for a block or two. That warms them right up, and they'll stay warm unless I'm way under dressed.