It's pretty cold here in Boston but not really that cold(30 degrees). Well, getting to the point, my feet went absolutely numb. I literally could not feel my pedals underneath me at all. Now this may not initially seem that bad but it makes track stands impossible, forcing you to take your feet out of the clips when you stop. When you try to take off you can't tell where your feet are on the pedals, making it EXTREMELY hard to clip back in.

I was wearing two layers of socks ( one layer on nylon type wicking socks and one layer of thick fleece socks) with my Chuck's. Basically I need a more insulation in the shoes(No *****)but I need slimmer shoes so I can clip in easier so that rules out boots of any kind. What do you wear on your feet in the cold?

I get rid of the clips and use BMX platforms in the winter. True, I can't skid, but my feet are warm and I don't worry about ice or snow or having to suddenly put down a foot if the bike tries to go out from under me.

This thread might help you out...

How long was your ride? Maybe you had TOO MUCH on. My feet have gone numb after riding for a while because my shoes were too tight. When your feet get warm, they expand. Maybe that combined with the thought of being cold made you think your feet were too cold and thus, numb. uh....

When I ride, I actually only wear one pair of socks (cotton - sometimes wool when it's in the negatives) and a pair of leather adidas (white). Sometimes I'll wrap my feet in a cut grocery bag to keep the warm in.

The ride was about 2 and a half hours total with a stop to try to get U2 tickets(which sold out with only five people left in front of me, dammit). My feet started getting really cold right before I hopped back on the bike but then the numbness set in.

Thanks HereNT for the link to the Winter Cycling thread. I kind of figured that most of those guys rode clipless so I didn't bother to search, but I was wrong. It was really useful. I guess the most important thing is to to leave some room for my feet in my shoes. I might go out and buy a pair of shoes a full size larger and buy some of that crazy technical sox those guys were using.

i just went for a ride here, and my toes are numb as we speak. i was wondering about wrapping my feet in plastic, outside of my socks. wouldn't that accompish the same thing as fancy shoe covers? i went with my sidis instead of the usual chucks today to try it out, wools socks, but i think they're even worse.

Has anyone tried heated insoles? They're insoles that have some sort of chemical that heats up when you activate them. Just drop them in your shoes, and you're good to go. They're similar to the hand-warmers skiiers and hunters use. They last about 6 hours. You can pick them up at wal-mart for about 2.00 a pair. I use them in my workboots and I've always been a happy camper in the cold. You can find them cheaper by shopping around, but the link below is what they look like.

https://www.fogdog.com/sm-grabber-hea...i-1442700.html

I have found that nice wool socks and leather shoes make a big difference.If it's cold and wet I use waterproof socks, like sealskinz. I have also been known to sport booties with toeclips......the kind where the soles don't come pre-cut for clipless.The waterproof stuff doesn't seem to breathe as well and I'd rather be warm n wet instead of cold n dry, so I mostly go w/ the wool leather combo.

I have the same problem. I wear Chuck's when I ride and my feet go numb when it gets cold. I think it's just that Chuck's are so light weight that they don't keep much of the wind out. I haven't found a good solution yet.

When it gets below 20F here, I wear booties over my shoes and socks.
I can't remember where I got them, but I got Extra Large because I wear them over Mountain Bike type of shoes.
I also wear a wool/poly blend sock.

As some have mentioned, keep room in your shoes for the warmth to flow. If they're too tight they cut off circulation which doesn't allow the blood to flow in your feet. Get a good pair of thinner wool socks - smartwool works pretty good. Layer outside with a thin wicking coolmax sock - there's a certain brand at Target which are really thin and black ankle socks. Excellent. They're perfect with my Diadora Gekos (mesh top and sides) in the 30's. Below that I use some neoprene toasties (booties for the toes only) from Performance that I got for $10. MY feet are thus fine.

these do look like a good shell, but i wish they made them in hi-top.
this has been heavily discussed recently under this thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=72359

i posted some ideas there
good luck

Wool socks

I'm totally down with my vapor barrier.\

Thick wool base layer, plastic bags mid layer, cotton sock outer (it doesn't really matter that much as it will only pick up moisture from the environment). Been keeping me warm in the 0 degree Farenheit range. Wear long socks to fully cover the bag and avoid too much embarrassment.

Yes it will help a lot. Just put a sandwich bag over your sock,over your toes, under you shoe. Some of the shoe covers are fleece lined and neoprene, they are even warmer. The performance brand ones are good. If it's very cold you may need both, or more, it depends on what kind of riding you are doing and how long you are going to be out. It also depends on the temperature.

This is so true, but it seems like most people don't believe it.

One of the important parts of any cold barrier is the wind/vapor barrier. The plastic bag over the foot trick is a well proven old trick, it works great. The problem is it sounds so low tech and almost cheap, that when I try and tell people they just think it's not going to work. The new houses all have insulation, but then they are all covered with Tyvek a wind/moisture barrier. Same idea.

I mostly wear bunny boots these days. I put thin metal foil between the layers of
socks when the temperature gets close to -40.