I have been riding with my normal biking shoes and my feet are getting cold even with ski socks on. I got an idea in a store when I saw some totes rubber dress shoe covers for wet/snowy weather. I thought I could buy a pair of these, cut holes for the cleats and put them over my biking shoes. Seems like it would work and is cheap. Has anyone tried this? What do you think?

I commute straight through every Wisconsin winter, and the dress changes for each month. In your case - feet getting cold. I start out in late October with a pair of wool socks cut out on the bottom for my cleats, and cut a touch above the ankle, leaving just enough elastic - works great. I also do the dress shoe rubbers, like you asked about. This works for the rainy days, not perfect, but keeps the front tire water spit out off the shoes. Nov/early december, I go with my pearl izumi winter booties. Pain in the butt to get on and off, but they work during those weeks. End of Dec - going into Jan - its anywhere from zero to 20 degrees. I pull the pedals, add on the spiked platforms. I wear my heavy winter boots, and that works. Its not lite, but its effective in that type weather. Im all about performanc, but when weather is that cold - you have to go with the heavy stuff, or you will not enjoy it or continue with the biking straight through. Enough of the rambling!!!

I have heard of folks in arctic cimes lining thier boots aluminum foil. I am going to try it tomorrow with my bike shoes.

I tried plastic sandwich bags over my socks today. Read it somewhere, in some bike mag or maybe it was here...dunno. Anyway, kept the wind out pretty well for a 40° day and obviously they add next to no bulk.

Otherwise I use the neoprene booties on SUPER cold days, but putting them on is like wrestling with feral cats.

Most days during the winter here I can still get away with riding in my cycling sandals.

Any kind of windproofing that you can do will keep your feet warmer. I use an old pair of belleweather stretch booties and a larger Serratus overboot for when it rains. I wear smartwool socks year round though too... They're really comfy and do well both in the summer and in the winter.

Jay

I rode this last weekend for 3 hours with the temperature starting around 10 degrees and warming to 20 by the end of the ride. I wore Pearl Izumi AmFib shoe covers over my standard road shoes with Smart Wool socks and chemical toe warmers. My feet were nice and warm the entire ride.

Now if I could only get my hands to stay that warm...

I have done this to But now I use reflex-tex insulation.It's basically very thin bubble wrap used for shipping and the outside is coated with sliver reflective material.This stuff is very warm down to 20 below zero F.
You should be able to find it at a local lumber yard or hardware store.

Summer cycling shoes are generally quite tight. In winter you need a looser fit to avoid compressing your wool socks.
A lot of people have success with SPD sandles worn over goretex waterproof booties.
My solution is to use a lightweight hiking boot with wool socks, and toe clips.
Do your SPD shoes have a large metal tab in contact with your sole? This can drain heat quickly unless you have a good insole.

I do the plastic bag thing with recycled Publix bags or sandwich baggies, I find it works great IF you wear a good wicking sock or sock/liner. I do it regularly and have found that I don't like to wear my bulky neoprene outer shoes unless it gets down into the 20's F.

Last year I tried the plastic bag over the socks -worked OK when it was not wet.

I then tried buying booties from Performance bike. I got the Iluminite (can't spell it but the ones that reflect car lights). I did not like them at all! Not water resistant enough - hard to get over my big feet - too expensive for what they are - and don't wear well. Cloth over shoes is a bad idea - it gets worn down if you have to walk.

Finally, in desperation, I dug out an old pair of rubbers (the Totes type of over-shoe made of rubber) and I cut out a whole for the cleats. That worked GREAT in wet and cold. That's what I'm going to stick with this year. Sometimes the simple cheap answer is still the best way to go.

Last year I bought a pair of Specialized winter riding gloves - can't remember the model number - but them suckers is HOT! I wore them yesterday when it was about 40 degrees and a cold wind blowing, and my hands were sweating.

Chemical toe warmers???

ZK

Thanks for everyone's reply....except SamDaBikinMan from Atlanta. That was just cruel. Anyway I am going to try the dress shoe rubbers. Fortunately, it is forcast to be in the 50's here in Iowa tommorrow, so hopefully I won't need them.

Grabber Toe Warmers Link

You can get them at just about any sporting goods store, even some gas stations if you live where the climate isn't real cooperative.

I've seen those chemical warmers, however, most of them are disposable. (like we really need more disposable items in this world...not!) and though they can be reused a bit if you seal them from the air ASAP, would you be able to use those gel things you see in department stores like Macy's etc that are made to be used as a heat pad. Stick them in a microwave and they'll retain heat for a long time. I've seen them as eye masks and stuff in Cosmetic stores too but they might make something that may be adaptable to put in gloves/mittens rather than using throwaway chemical packs...

Jay

Anybody use silk sock liners? Given that silk underwear works great for the rest of the body, silk sock - and glove - liners would probably make a huge difference.

One of the guys I ride with races 24 hour endurance events and trains 30+ hours a week all winter long. He uses these Hotronic feetwarmers
They're expensive but those combined with a winter mountain-bike boot allows him to train in temperatures as low as 20 below zero.

I use both silk and polypropolene (sp?) under good wool socks. There's nothing worse than wet feet when it's cold and both do a good job of wicking the moisture away from the feet and into the wool.

WOW! 100 degrees! TOASTY!

ZK

Just do what the traditional pros do......simply wrap your toes in a small piece of plastic baggie over your socks and slip into your shoes.

I did the sandwich baggie thing this morning and it worked great! I started out when the air temp was 38, but wind chill was 31. I put a baggie over my foot, then a pair of smart wool socks, the rest of my gear, and off I went. No problem whatsoever!

Wouldn't say it was "warm and toasty" but my feet certainly were not cold. They felt like they normally do when riding in the summer.

I'm using sandels down to about 20 deg., then I quit ridding, 1,2,3 layers topped with a pair of Gortex socks. I ride with a short pair of coolmax socks most of the time then start adding layers, wool or fleece as it feels colder and put on the Gortex layer if it is wet or windy.

I've heard about the sandal thing, I've not tried it yet. My solution is o apair of bulky snow boots and wool socks. Not the slimest, but damn close to being effective. My feet still get cold, but it more becasue of lack of blood than actual temps. I need to get off and stamp the blood back into them.

These work well too:

https://www.landsend.com/cd/fp/prod/0...96298678140030

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