I Have two pair of Rosso Corsa by Castelli & two pair of Merino wool quarter socks.
I use the wool in summer and winter.

Rule #27 / Shorts and socks should be like Golidlocks.
Not too long and not too short. (Disclaimer: despite Sean Yates’ horrible choice in shorts length, he is a quintessential hard man of cycling and is deeply admired by the Velominati. Whereas Armstrong’s short and sock lengths are just plain wrong.) No socks is a no-no, as are those ankle-length ones that should only be worn by female tennis players.


Rule #28 / Socks can be any damn colour you like.
White is old school cool. Black is cool too, but were given a bad image by a Texan whose were too long. If you fell you must go colored, make sure they damn well match your kit. Tip: DeFeet Wool-E-Ators rule.

So so far the only good reason I should avoid cotton socks is to avoid sweaty feet. Can someone share a story of using cotton socks for 5-10-20 years and then getting dry feet after switching to nylon/dry feet/fancy-name-synthetics socks?

I just use my black ankle socks I got from Journeys. Hell if I know what they're even made out of. I don't really have a problem with sweat (doesn't feel like it at least).

Is a testimonial 20 years in the making really necessary to try out a $10 pair of socks? Go try a pair, you cheap bastard!

I do like my Smartwool and Defeet socks. They have summer weight socks and winter weight socks. The cheep synthetic socks is what I wear most of the time but the wool socks are pure pleasure. If your friend is talking about the overpriced support socks then you could pass. But if you are riding tube socks with red stripes then he might have a point. I don't pull out the wool socks in Georgia until fall and winter. When I am on vacation riding in the Colorado mountains I wear them every day as it can be from 25-100F out there.

Some people create forum threads about socks, other people post in those threads, there are people who argue with people who post in those threads. After all that nonsense, I get called cheap bastard after asking for socks inspiration. Life is so unfair to me, need to go for a ride.
:bike2:

Cotton is fine if it doesn't bother you. I bought some ventilated cycling socks off Bonktown so I'm going to see how much a difference it makes soon.

Oh, stop - are you going to make me resort to friggen smiley faces and whatnot?

I got caught in a downpour in the mtns *once* wearing cotton socks.
Never again.
Synthetics, or wool, but *not* cotton!

I wear cotton socks on my weekday rides which are are about 10 miles in length. The reason is that I do not have 7 pairs of cycling socks... I do wear cycling specific socks for my weekend rides/races or events. I think my Specialized shoes vent extremely well, because even on 95+ degree days with cotton socks, my feet/socks are bone dry after a ride while the rest of my body is dripping in sweat.

Well, here is my 2 cents as I wait for my program to compile !!

If you are riding hard enough that your feet are sweating so much that "wicking" comes into question, chances are that your T-shirt and your shorts are gonna sweat LOT more than your feet. As a result, sweat is gonna drip from those shorts. That dripping sweat is gonna go into your socks and shoes. The "in-pouring-sweat" from those shorts is going to be lot more than what your feet will sweat. Your shoes will mostly get soaking wet from sweat dripping from your shorts. So will the wicking socks be any better than cotton socks ? I don't really think so ...

EDIT -

I made this post because I have my shoes left out drying in sun since day before yesterday, and weren't dry today morning ! :-(

That's the kind of logic that tells us it's impossible for honey bees to fly.

You gotta stuff those puppies with newspaper for a few hours to 'wick' away the moisture from the inside.

Cotton socks are tolerable, until the weather swings in one direction or the other. While hot weather riding is definitely more comfy in synthetics, the real deal-clincher is riding in colder weather. Warm feet are near-impossible in cotton socks. Wool rocks!

Try getting cotton wet ( rain, sweat, whatever ) when it's cold ( < 40 F ) out. Actually, don't; any hiker will tell you "cotton kills." Cotton socks won't kill you, because you won't get lost in the wild in them, but they're pure agony if it starts to rain in December. Wool keeps about 80 % of its insulating power when it's saturated, while cotton steals the heat from your body.

Yes. Wore cotton socks running for many, many years. They would always be totally soaked. Lots of hot spots also. Switched to Under Armor prformance socks and no more wet feet. Just don't wear them as casual socks. Something in that material will make your feet stink something fierce if worn all day. Anyone who has ever done hiking or endurance activities can tell you how important it is to keep you feet dry. Ask any Marine how important it is to change your socks regularly on a long hump.

Wigwam Gobi liners FTW. Also, silk is real nice - I had a pair once 20 yrs ago and when I can find them in the sock drawer I grin with anticipation of the ride. My friend who was on the scene when I bought them was with me on my first ride with them and he said I was faster because of the silk socks.

Good ol' trench foot.

Haven't had any stank foot with merino socks.

Not to mention that wet feet tend to blister, it's bad for the skin (see trench foot post as well), and your feet will literally freeze in cooler temperatures. I actually have to be really careful in lower temps because I have something called Raynauds where if my feet or other extremities get too cold, then the capillaries overreact and squeeze way down, ostensibly shutting off the blood supply to those areas. I cannot ever, ever wear cotton socks in lower temperatures on the bike or anywhere for this reason. My feet sweat, cotton soaks up the sweat, feet get cold, capillaries shut down, feet turn purple and lose all feeling. Totally sucks.

Ever notice how long you have to put a cotton towel in a dryer? Compare that to something poly. My poly stuff dries out in an hour in the open air. A cotton towel would take 4-5 hours in a stiff breeze.