Good shoes to bike in wet weather?

November 5, 2006 6:05 PM

Looking for a good wet weather biking shoes.

I am asking for a friend. The rain has returned to Portland and his only mode of transportation is a mountain bike with pedal clips. He's not looking for shoes that are booties or waterproof covers for regular shoes. Just a good heavily water resistant/ waterproof shoe or boot that can handle lots of biking comfortably; inexpensive would also be nice

posted by Asbestos McPinto to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

my roommate has a pair of these and swears by them.

they're peculiar to Europe but commonly found on ebay.

although I swear by Sidis for everything else, the Sidi Storms are NOT waterproof. don't bother with them. just... don't.

goretex socks are also reported to do well in wet conditions. seriously I'd look into the Gaernes tho.
posted by lonefrontranger at 6:27 PM on November 5, 2006

Canada's Mountain Equipment Coop sells these, which are pretty similar to lfr's linkage. I'm pretty sure MEC mail-orders south of the 49^th.

Myself, I just use neoprene booties over my regular sidis. I used to wear wool socks under plastic bags inside my shoes but that: a) made my feet hurt (tight shoes+thick socks) and b) still got the shoes soaking wet. Neoprene booties solve both problems. Also, much cheaper than fancy-schmancy winter shoes.
posted by bonehead at 7:12 PM on November 5, 2006

what bonehead said. performance/nashbar/etc all stock waterproof shoe covers. they should be about the price of a helmet cover (another winter convenience :)...
posted by rhizome at 7:30 PM on November 5, 2006

thirding the neoprene cover. i've had good luck with the Pearl Izumi AmFib stuff.

happy pedaling!
posted by ArcAm at 8:40 PM on November 5, 2006

god, we should all learn how to read. these winter shoes by lake are bad ass and work really well. kept my feet warm and dry during chicago winters.
posted by ArcAm at 8:42 PM on November 5, 2006

word:

Neoprene. Does. Not. Work. it isn't waterproof at all, i'm here to tell you. not only is it imperfectly waterproof, plenty of wet will soak right up thru the shoe via the massive cleat holes... o and the invariable hole worn thru the heels too.

the OP asked for waterproof shoes.

Lakes work okay but the Gaernes are the best value and by far the driest - even tho they're not typically sold at retail in North America they're very easy to find on ebay.
posted by lonefrontranger at 9:29 PM on November 5, 2006

I commute daily, year-round, rain or shine in Vancouver. And the rain here in Vancouver is certainly as bad as Portland.

Over the years, I've found that the worst thing about wet shoes isn't actually the wet shoes, but how the wet socks feel. That squelching sensation is just horrible. And I've tried every type of bootie on the market, only to find that they're a tremendous hassle and just don't work.

My solution - forget waterproof shoes, forget socks. I just ride sockless in the same pair of shoes, year-round. I don't care if my feet get wet, because without socks it doesn't feel too bad at all. And when the temperature drops near freezing, I put toe-covers like these to block the wind. That's more than enough to keep my feet warm, and I never have to remove them to put on / take off my shoes.

Think of it this way -- if you wear flip-flops into the shower, it feels more or less fine. But if you add socks to the equation....eewwwww.

Give the sockless thing a try!
posted by randomstriker at 10:42 PM on November 5, 2006

BTW the big problem with most booties and most "winter" cycling shoes is that water runs down your leg into the shoe, or enters through the sole where the cleats are bolted (as lonefrontranger pointed out). If you ride for more than 15 minutes, no shoe is really waterproof.
posted by randomstriker at 10:47 PM on November 5, 2006

Thanks for all the answers so far!
When I mentioned clips, suppose I meant toe clips, not cleat shoes.
posted by Asbestos McPinto at 11:44 PM on November 5, 2006

Wait, toe clips and straps? Won't any waterproof (Timberland-type) shoe do here? You didn't ask, but we're all assuming he has fenders and a big mupflap which do wonders for keeping feet dry.
posted by fixedgear at 2:19 AM on November 6, 2006