seeking water resistant cycling shoes

In article ,
thirty-six writes:
On 30 Nov, 02:43, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article ,
* * * * thirty-six writes:

On 28 Nov, 20:26, (Tom Keats) wrote:

Strips of inner tube rubber wrapped around my
toe clips and fastened thereon with zipties
work wonders for me in terms of keeping my
street shoes dry and warm.

Are you just protecting the welt or are you creating a full toe cap?

Are these also the broad plastic toe clips or steel?

They are the broad plastic MTB toe clips with roomy, square
toe boxes, and my inner tube rubber strips go all the way
around them. *They provide coverage from the toe ends of my
shoes to about half-way up the instep.

When riding in pluvial conditions I find my shins
get wetter than my shoes, because they more frontally
bear the brunt of the weather I'm riding into. *My
tactics for that consist of either wearing rain pants,
or rain cape + knee-high gaiters. *At any rate, I can
ride in a rainstorm and come back home drier than if
I had walked.

A nice byproduct of the rubber strips on toeclips thing
is that it also keeps that icy northerly winter wind off
my li'l toesies. *The rubber strips are basically fairings.

One doesn't need fancy neoprene scuba gear to ride
comfortably in the rain. *One also doesn't have to
outlay a bunch of expense. *That's a good thing, n'est pas?
I think I'll revert to toeclipped pedals on bike #2 unless I can work
a toe box onto the spd style pedal and it still be usable. Do you
think a toebox of say 1.1/4 depth will be a comforting as using
spats, but without the hassle?

Maybe, with the right kind of cycling tights that stay
relatively warm, and tend to bead-up rain rather than
soaking it up -- if that's the approach you choose.
Since much of my own riding is practical/transportational,
I prefer to have the easily accessible pockets available
in regular street clothing. That way I don't have to
reach under the back of a bum-flap-inflicted windshell to
get my bike lock key or wallet out of one of the three back
pockets of a cycling jersey, when I park by the shops.

My rubber strips are a little wider than the cross-sections
of my shoes; I think that also does much to keep my shoen
dry in the rain while allowing good ventilation and yet
keeping the chill of the wind off my feet.

I guess the first main thing is for each of us to experiment
and determine what works for us, and the second main thing is
to share whatever we learn. Maybe the other way around is not
so productive. On that note, I invite all to try whatever
seemingly fredly approaches occur to them. I figure some would
work wonderfully right off the bat, some might need a li'l
fine tuning, and some might require, well, further thought.
I welcome other's ideas to try, myself. At least, ideas
I haven't already tried.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On 2 Dec, 01:21, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article ,
* * * * thirty-six writes:



On 30 Nov, 02:43, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article ,
* * * * thirty-six writes:

On 28 Nov, 20:26, (Tom Keats) wrote:

Strips of inner tube rubber wrapped around my
toe clips and fastened thereon with zipties
work wonders for me in terms of keeping my
street shoes dry and warm.

Are you just protecting the welt or are you creating a full toe cap?

Are these also the broad plastic toe clips or steel?

They are the broad plastic MTB toe clips with roomy, square
toe boxes, and my inner tube rubber strips go all the way
around them. *They provide coverage from the toe ends of my
shoes to about half-way up the instep.

When riding in pluvial conditions I find my shins
get wetter than my shoes, because they more frontally
bear the brunt of the weather I'm riding into. *My
tactics for that consist of either wearing rain pants,
or rain cape + knee-high gaiters. *At any rate, I can
ride in a rainstorm and come back home drier than if
I had walked.

A nice byproduct of the rubber strips on toeclips thing
is that it also keeps that icy northerly winter wind off
my li'l toesies. *The rubber strips are basically fairings.

One doesn't need fancy neoprene scuba gear to ride
comfortably in the rain. *One also doesn't have to
outlay a bunch of expense. *That's a good thing, n'est pas?
I think I'll revert to toeclipped pedals on bike #2 unless I can work
a toe box onto the spd style pedal and it still be usable. *Do you
think *a toebox of say 1.1/4 depth will be a comforting as using
spats, but without the hassle?

Maybe, with the right kind of cycling tights that stay
relatively warm, and tend to bead-up rain rather than
soaking it up *-- if that's the approach you choose.
Since much of my own riding is practical/transportational,
I prefer to have the easily accessible pockets available
in regular street clothing. *That way I don't have to
reach under the back of a bum-flap-inflicted windshell to
get my bike lock key or wallet out of one of the three back
pockets of a cycling jersey, when I park by the shops.

My rubber strips are a little wider than the cross-sections
of my shoes; I think that also does much to keep my shoen
dry in the rain while allowing good ventilation and yet
keeping the chill of the wind off my feet.

I guess the first main thing is for each of us to experiment
and determine what works for us, and the second main thing is
to share whatever we learn. *Maybe the other way around is not
so productive. *On that note, I invite all to try whatever
seemingly fredly approaches occur to them. *I figure some would
work wonderfully right off the bat, some might need a li'l
fine tuning, and some might require, well, further thought.
I welcome other's ideas to try, myself. *At least, ideas
I haven't already tried.


I've spent ten minutes thinking about it and considered that the best
material for a toe box whether with or without clips is rubber. I was
trying to think how I would mould such a thing, started thinking of
protective wear generally, thought of silicon oven gloves, and it
occurred to me that the toe area of a pair of cheap wellies should do
the trick. Made for the job, with an additional supporting bracket.
But can it be bettered, before I go on the hunt for the cheap wellies?

In article ,
thirty-six writes:

My rubber strips are a little wider than the cross-sections
of my shoes; I think that also does much to keep my shoen
dry in the rain while allowing good ventilation and yet
keeping the chill of the wind off my feet.

I guess the first main thing is for each of us to experiment
and determine what works for us, and the second main thing is
to share whatever we learn. *Maybe the other way around is not
so productive. *On that note, I invite all to try whatever
seemingly fredly approaches occur to them. *I figure some would
work wonderfully right off the bat, some might need a li'l
fine tuning, and some might require, well, further thought.
I welcome other's ideas to try, myself. *At least, ideas
I haven't already tried.

I've spent ten minutes thinking about it and considered that the best
material for a toe box whether with or without clips is rubber. I was
trying to think how I would mould such a thing, started thinking of
protective wear generally, thought of silicon oven gloves, and it
occurred to me that the toe area of a pair of cheap wellies should do
the trick. Made for the job, with an additional supporting bracket.
But can it be bettered, before I go on the hunt for the cheap wellies?

Please experiment, and see for yourself whatever works.

Toe-ends of gumboots mounted onto pedals sounds delightfully
innovative. The proof of the pudding remains to be decided upon.

I have a pair of wellies buried somewhere under my own domestic
heap of rubble. I'd like to dig them out and try your idea.
I will get back to you about that.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

In article ,
thirty-six writes:

Made for the job, with an additional supporting bracket.
But can it be bettered, before I go on the hunt for the cheap wellies?

Further to my previous post, I'd shy away from metal parts in
gumboots (wellies) in wintery weather. Since I must wear
steel toed footwear at my job (oftimes in an unheated crossdock
warehouse,) please understand I know whereof I speak. The cheap
wellies may be the answer.

I hear other supporting materials in work footwear, such as ceramics
or fibreglass, are reputed to not transfer coldness as much as metal.

I guess the ideal thing would be to adapt a stiffish yet somewhat
walkable cyling shoe (such as the Carnac[tm] Ventoux) and the
rider's feet within them, to wet wintery conditions, while protecting
the shoes themselves.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On 2 Dec, 04:05, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article ,
* * * * thirty-six writes:



My rubber strips are a little wider than the cross-sections
of my shoes; I think that also does much to keep my shoen
dry in the rain while allowing good ventilation and yet
keeping the chill of the wind off my feet.

I guess the first main thing is for each of us to experiment
and determine what works for us, and the second main thing is
to share whatever we learn. *Maybe the other way around is not
so productive. *On that note, I invite all to try whatever
seemingly fredly approaches occur to them. *I figure some would
work wonderfully right off the bat, some might need a li'l
fine tuning, and some might require, well, further thought.
I welcome other's ideas to try, myself. *At least, ideas
I haven't already tried.

I've spent ten minutes thinking about it and considered that the best
material for a toe box whether with or without clips is rubber. *I was
trying to think how I would mould such a thing, started thinking of
protective wear generally, thought of silicon oven gloves, and it
occurred to me that the toe area of a pair of cheap wellies should do
the trick. *Made for the job, *with an additional supporting bracket.

Tom Sherman °_° wrote:
Simon Lewis wrote:
Tom Sherman °_° writes:

Simon Lewis wrote:
thirty-six writes:

On 23 Nov, 09:58, bobdobbs wrote:
I'm looking for bicycle touring shoes that I can walk in and that are
also water resistant. I am not using clipless pedals. I've been using
some cool Shimanos and Lake shoes from the 1980's but nothing is
available like them. I am not looking for any of the high tech
stuff.
I've heard about Cannondale Roams but they seem stiff - any
experience
with them? I realize there will be some trade offs, want some support
but also off-cycle availability.
Exustar have received acclaim for their touring style shoes in the
past.
The Shimano MTB shoes are excellent. MTB 52/51 are without
equal. Comfortable. Long lasting. Waterproof.

Possibly you might consider them too "hi tech". But really not.

I consider all Shimano shoes too narrow.

I consider all under 40 shorts too small. What is your point?

Clearly you have them fitted. I can not account for everyones foot size
when making a recommendation.


Some bicycle shoe makers accommodate not only different lengths of feet,
but different widths. Shimano only makes one width, which is too narrow
for people that need an "E" width.


I bought a $80 pair of these once, and found this out the hard way also.

I was kinda surprised that as good as Shimano seemed to be at making all
other kinds of cycling stuff, that they would only bother to make riding
shoes for Masai tribesmen. I guess it certainly simplifies their
production and ordering issues..... and their bookkeeping as well.

I could only assume that the featherweight people that Shimano shoes are
made for must be the same ones buying these road wheels with only twelve
or ten spokes. I am sorely out of shape (fat) now, but even when I /was/
in shape, I still weighed about 1.75 "featherweights". :\

And then the real comedy: I never returned them. I was busy at the time,
traveling a lot, they got stashed somewhere and then found again....
several years later. I've pondered just giving them away for free on
Craigslist, but I suspect that someone who didn't cycle would take them
and try to wear them just for normal shoes----and then throw them away a
week later.

I later found a $30 pair of Forte MTB shoes online that fit perfect, and
that I'm still using.
~

DougC writes:

Tom Sherman °_° wrote:
Simon Lewis wrote:
Tom Sherman °_° writes:

Simon Lewis wrote:
thirty-six writes:

On 23 Nov, 09:58, bobdobbs wrote:
I'm looking for bicycle touring shoes that I can walk in and that are
also water resistant. I am not using clipless pedals. I've been using
some cool Shimanos and Lake shoes from the 1980's but nothing is
available like them. I am not looking for any of the high tech
stuff.
I've heard about Cannondale Roams but they seem stiff - any
experience
with them? I realize there will be some trade offs, want some support
but also off-cycle availability.
Exustar have received acclaim for their touring style shoes in the
past.
The Shimano MTB shoes are excellent. MTB 52/51 are without
equal. Comfortable. Long lasting. Waterproof.

Possibly you might consider them too "hi tech". But really not.

I consider all Shimano shoes too narrow.

I consider all under 40 shorts too small. What is your point?

Clearly you have them fitted. I can not account for everyones foot size
when making a recommendation.


Some bicycle shoe makers accommodate not only different lengths of feet,
but different widths. Shimano only makes one width, which is too narrow
for people that need an "E" width.


I bought a $80 pair of these once, and found this out the hard way
also.

I never cease to be amated at some of the convoluted stories I hear
here.

I have a wide foot. The Shimano mtb shoes fir great and have a lot of
adjustment range.

Did it never cross your mind to try them on?



I was kinda surprised that as good as Shimano seemed to be at making all
other kinds of cycling stuff, that they would only bother to make riding
shoes for Masai tribesmen. I guess it certainly simplifies their
production and ordering issues..... and their bookkeeping as well.

Yeah, how stupid of them. They make shoes that no one care wear ....


I could only assume that the featherweight people that Shimano shoes are
made for must be the same ones buying these road wheels with only twelve
or ten spokes. I am sorely out of shape (fat) now, but even when I /was/
in shape, I still weighed about 1.75 "featherweights". :\

And then the real comedy: I never returned them. I was busy at the time,
traveling a lot, they got stashed somewhere and then found again....
several years later. I've pondered just giving them away for free on
Craigslist, but I suspect that someone who didn't cycle would take them
and try to wear them just for normal shoes----and then throw them away a
week later.

I later found a $30 pair of Forte MTB shoes online that fit perfect, and
that I'm still using.

Rocket Science point : try them on first ...

Simon Lewis wrote:
DougC writes:

Tom Sherman °_° wrote:
Simon Lewis wrote:
Tom Sherman °_° writes:

Simon Lewis wrote:
thirty-six writes:

On 23 Nov, 09:58, bobdobbs wrote:
I'm looking for bicycle touring shoes that I can walk in and that are
also water resistant. I am not using clipless pedals. I've been using
some cool Shimanos and Lake shoes from the 1980's but nothing is
available like them. I am not looking for any of the high tech
stuff.
I've heard about Cannondale Roams but they seem stiff - any
experience
with them? I realize there will be some trade offs, want some support
but also off-cycle availability.
Exustar have received acclaim for their touring style shoes in the
past.
The Shimano MTB shoes are excellent. MTB 52/51 are without
equal. Comfortable. Long lasting. Waterproof.

Possibly you might consider them too "hi tech". But really not.

I consider all Shimano shoes too narrow.
I consider all under 40 shorts too small. What is your point?

Clearly you have them fitted. I can not account for everyones foot size
when making a recommendation.


Some bicycle shoe makers accommodate not only different lengths of feet,
but different widths. Shimano only makes one width, which is too narrow
for people that need an "E" width.

I bought a $80 pair of these once, and found this out the hard way
also.

I never cease to be amated at some of the convoluted stories I hear
here.

I have a wide foot. The Shimano mtb shoes fir great and have a lot of
adjustment range.

Did it never cross your mind to try them on?[...]

I have a pair of Shimano MTB shoes that are acceptable for riding
off-road on an upright for a couple of hours or for shorter rides on a
low BB recumbent. They are a little too tight across the front of my
foot, and become painful after a few minutes on the higher BB
recumbents. I can ride the same bikes with my "Mega" width SiDi
Dominators all day long without this pain occurring.

As always, YMMV.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

Tom Keats wrote:
In article ,
thirty-six writes:
On 30 Nov, 02:43, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article ,
thirty-six writes:

On 28 Nov, 20:26, (Tom Keats) wrote:
Strips of inner tube rubber wrapped around my
toe clips and fastened thereon with zipties
work wonders for me in terms of keeping my
street shoes dry and warm.
Are you just protecting the welt or are you creating a full toe cap?
Are these also the broad plastic toe clips or steel?
They are the broad plastic MTB toe clips with roomy, square
toe boxes, and my inner tube rubber strips go all the way
around them. They provide coverage from the toe ends of my
shoes to about half-way up the instep.

When riding in pluvial conditions I find my shins
get wetter than my shoes, because they more frontally
bear the brunt of the weather I'm riding into. My
tactics for that consist of either wearing rain pants,
or rain cape + knee-high gaiters. At any rate, I can
ride in a rainstorm and come back home drier than if
I had walked.

A nice byproduct of the rubber strips on toeclips thing
is that it also keeps that icy northerly winter wind off
my li'l toesies. The rubber strips are basically fairings.

One doesn't need fancy neoprene scuba gear to ride
comfortably in the rain. One also doesn't have to
outlay a bunch of expense. That's a good thing, n'est pas?
I think I'll revert to toeclipped pedals on bike #2 unless I can work
a toe box onto the spd style pedal and it still be usable. Do you
think a toebox of say 1.1/4 depth will be a comforting as using
spats, but without the hassle?

Maybe, with the right kind of cycling tights that stay
relatively warm, and tend to bead-up rain rather than
soaking it up -- if that's the approach you choose.
Since much of my own riding is practical/transportational,
I prefer to have the easily accessible pockets available
in regular street clothing. That way I don't have to
reach under the back of a bum-flap-inflicted windshell to
get my bike lock key or wallet out of one of the three back
pockets of a cycling jersey, when I park by the shops.

My rubber strips are a little wider than the cross-sections
of my shoes; I think that also does much to keep my shoen
dry in the rain while allowing good ventilation and yet
keeping the chill of the wind off my feet.

I guess the first main thing is for each of us to experiment
and determine what works for us, and the second main thing is
to share whatever we learn. Maybe the other way around is not
so productive. On that note, I invite all to try whatever
seemingly fredly approaches occur to them. I figure some would
work wonderfully right off the bat, some might need a li'l
fine tuning, and some might require, well, further thought.
I welcome other's ideas to try, myself. At least, ideas
I haven't already tried.


cheers,
Tom


I've used thin latex overboots from an industrial supply house
(McMaster-Carr). The benefit was that latex is stretchy enough to seal
well at the top just by folding it over & compressing it under the cuff
of my tights. I just cut small holes for my SPD cleats. The problem
(besides yellow being the only color) is that the material tears pretty
easily, and is a bit of a nuisance to get on & off. I'd experiment more
with other rubber overboots, but my size 16 feet make that difficult. I
haven't found the neoprene overboots typically sold to cyclists to work
very well

I'd go with the hassle of the latex overboots for an all-day cold, wet
ride, but fortunately I don't do those very often. For shorter rides I
just use thin poly bags over my socks. Not a perfect solution since foot
sweat is trapped and your shoes still get wet, but for rides of moderate
length and intensity it works well enough. On rainy days my newspaper
gets delivered in bags of nearly ideal dimensions and thickness -- a
happy coincidence. Under tights, the tops seal pretty well against the skin.

On 4 Dec, 15:00, Peter Cole wrote:
Tom Keats wrote:
In article ,
* *thirty-six writes:
On 30 Nov, 02:43, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article ,
* * * * thirty-six writes:

On 28 Nov, 20:26, (Tom Keats) wrote:
Strips of inner tube rubber wrapped around my
toe clips and fastened thereon with zipties
work wonders for me in terms of keeping my
street shoes dry and warm.
Are you just protecting the welt or are you creating a full toe cap?
Are these also the broad plastic toe clips or steel?
They are the broad plastic MTB toe clips with roomy, square
toe boxes, and my inner tube rubber strips go all the way
around them. *They provide coverage from the toe ends of my
shoes to about half-way up the instep.

When riding in pluvial conditions I find my shins
get wetter than my shoes, because they more frontally
bear the brunt of the weather I'm riding into. *My
tactics for that consist of either wearing rain pants,
or rain cape + knee-high gaiters. *At any rate, I can
ride in a rainstorm and come back home drier than if
I had walked.

A nice byproduct of the rubber strips on toeclips thing
is that it also keeps that icy northerly winter wind off
my li'l toesies. *The rubber strips are basically fairings.

One doesn't need fancy neoprene scuba gear to ride
comfortably in the rain. *One also doesn't have to
outlay a bunch of expense. *That's a good thing, n'est pas?
I think I'll revert to toeclipped pedals on bike #2 unless I can work
a toe box onto the spd style pedal and it still be usable. *Do you
think *a toebox of say 1.1/4 depth will be a comforting as using
spats, but without the hassle?

Maybe, with the right kind of cycling tights that stay
relatively warm, and tend to bead-up rain rather than
soaking it up *-- if that's the approach you choose.
Since much of my own riding is practical/transportational,
I prefer to have the easily accessible pockets available
in regular street clothing. *That way I don't have to
reach under the back of a bum-flap-inflicted windshell to
get my bike lock key or wallet out of one of the three back
pockets of a cycling jersey, when I park by the shops.

My rubber strips are a little wider than the cross-sections
of my shoes; I think that also does much to keep my shoen
dry in the rain while allowing good ventilation and yet
keeping the chill of the wind off my feet.

I guess the first main thing is for each of us to experiment
and determine what works for us, and the second main thing is
to share whatever we learn. *Maybe the other way around is not
so productive. *On that note, I invite all to try whatever
seemingly fredly approaches occur to them. *I figure some would
work wonderfully right off the bat, some might need a li'l
fine tuning, and some might require, well, further thought.
I welcome other's ideas to try, myself. *At least, ideas
I haven't already tried.

cheers,
* *Tom

I've used thin latex overboots from an industrial supply house
(McMaster-Carr). The benefit was that latex is stretchy enough to seal
well at the top just by folding it over & compressing it under the cuff
of my tights. I just cut small holes for my SPD cleats. The problem
(besides yellow being the only color) is that the material tears pretty
easily, and is a bit of a nuisance to get on & off. I'd experiment more
with other rubber overboots, but my size 16 feet make that difficult. I
haven't found the neoprene overboots typically sold to cyclists to work
very well

I'd go with the hassle of the latex overboots for an all-day cold, wet
ride, but fortunately I don't do those very often. For shorter rides I
just use thin poly bags over my socks. Not a perfect solution since foot
sweat is trapped and your shoes still get wet, but for rides of moderate
length and intensity it works well enough. On rainy days my newspaper
gets delivered in bags of nearly ideal dimensions and thickness -- a
happy coincidence. Under tights, the tops seal pretty well against the skin.

I've just found an alternative to my usual thin polythene sandwich
bags. It a bag for cotton wool pads. This is a thicker gauge but
will likely tear at the seam. I think it might be useful to cut and
weld polythene shoe covers if a sealer be available for free or cheap
rather than messing with standard bags and tape/string/rubber bands or
getting all sweaty. Mind you, it's not too bad if wearing thick wool
socks, to have the bags inside the shoes.