Winter Footwear for plain pedals

[arnsider]

Pain in my right knee has forced me to change my SPD pedals to plain ones and I have opted for a Wellgo B087U.
These have removeable pins.
Now, What to wear?
Obviously flat bottomed boots, warm and waterproof, that I can wear my Gortex overshoes with.
I don't want to spend a fortune and have found these on Decathlon's website.;
Men’s warm waterproof hiking boots, nh100 mid - black.
These have a light moulded sole.
Would anyone beset with similar problems like to comment?

[fatmac]

I ride with lightweight walking boots, have done for years....

[ANTONISH]

My partner bought some riding boots from Decathlon.
Waterproof and hard wearing.

[deeferdonk]

Not sure if these will be above your price point but you may find some in the sales, I would recommend five ten sleuth dlx mountain bike flat shoes. Its what i wear year round. The version with a coated leather upper. There are suede versions but i'm assuming they are not as weatherproof.

[Carlton green]

Winter footwear for plain pedals? I use anything that both works and is to hand, depending upon the weather that would include: trainers, ordinary shoes, walking boots and wellingtons. Of that list light walking boots are the most versatile, but no one solution is perfect (‘cause both terrain and weather vary). Somewhere I have some ‘leather’ Derri type boots from my motorcycling days and I mean to try them out, think they’ll work quite well … try everything and use what works.

[pjclinch]

Pain in my right knee has forced me to change my SPD pedals to plain ones

If you otherwise miss being clipped in you might try some alternative to SPuDs that have more float and thus constrain knees less, e.g. Time ATACs.

Now, What to wear?
Obviously flat bottomed boots, warm and waterproof, that I can wear my Gortex overshoes with.
I don't want to spend a fortune and have found these on Decathlon's website.;
Men’s warm waterproof hiking boots, nh100 mid - black.
These have a light moulded sole.
Would anyone beset with similar problems like to comment?

The walking shoe/boot market is huge and places to try on easily accessible to most. Given that comfort and performance are both maximised by good fit, and that's down to how similar your feet are to the last the footwear is made around, try on loads in your budget and feature list and get the most comfortable. The Decathlon ones may be perfect, or quite a different shape to your feet.

(If you've got warm and waterproof boots you may find you needn't bother with the overshoes, unless you actually like faffing about with them.)

Pete.

[Cowsham]

(If you've got warm and waterproof boots you may find you needn't bother with the overshoes, unless you actually like faffing about with them.)

Pete.

I'd find it difficult to cycle in boots -- ie that cover a moving part like an ankle.

I can cycle comfortably in my safety shoes which are warm due to their construction.

[pjclinch]

(If you've got warm and waterproof boots you may find you needn't bother with the overshoes, unless you actually like faffing about with them.)

I'd find it difficult to cycle in boots -- ie that cover a moving part like an ankle.

There's generally more ankle movement in walking (for which I generally prefer shoes to boots). The much vaunted ankle support of walking boots is mostly hearsay (as is the need for it) - ankles generally only need support if they're very old, injured or doing something outside what they evolved to do (like edging a ski on ice or standing on crampon front-points), with a high cuff on most light boots more about keeping debris out and socks dry (and playing to the image of giving ankle support).

So I wouldn't assume they're worse cycling than for walking (though I avoid them for cycling as I do for walking, only using walking boots much in winter or cold/wet spring/autumn and for others that prefer shoes to boots for walking that may be the same on the bike).

I can cycle comfortably in my safety shoes which are warm due to their construction.

Makes sense. If I'm not in cycling shoes in the colder months I tend to use shoe versions of light walking boots, avoiding mesh uppers for the most part.

Pete.

[deeferdonk]

If you find it a bit of a stretch going from spd cycling specific shoes to the hiking boots/wellies being recommended, there a whole range of cycling specific, flat pedalled shoes, designed for poor weather conditions in the mountain bike shoe market.

[Nearholmer]

I don’t much like walking in boots, and really don’t like them at all for cycling, so use waterproof socks if it looks as if the going will be wet, the Sealskinz ones that come well up the calf.

Using those, I can then choose between my ordinary shoes, waterproof walking brogues with fairly stiff soles, which are actually good for a few hours cycling, or cycling shoes with recessed clips, which are good for a few hours walking, depending upon the nature of the bike ride. If it’s likely to be muddy, very bumpy, or simply quite long, I go for the cycling shoes.

On two of my bikes I have flat pedals which are plain one one side, with clips on the other, to allow for either sort of shoes (or a different sort on each foot, I suppose).

[v_perjorative]

Before I moved to waterproof/neoprene socks and sandals, I used some neoprene cuffs (https://www.inglesport.com/product/warm ... ene-cuffs/) to stop water getting in the top of my boots.
Admittedly I have skinny calves, so didn't have any issues with blood supply being cut off. The other alternative is cutting up and old pair of neoprene socks to achieve the same effect.

[Bmblbzzz]

I think the point of boots as opposed to shoes for walking is to keep mud out. Also rain, stream water, vegetation and perhaps insects. For cycling, it's mainly to keep ankles, and thus feet, warm. In other words, they're very useful in winter but not so much at other times of year.

[Cowsham]

so use waterproof socks

Must try these -- they've cropped up on this forum too many times to ignore.

[Nearholmer]

If you do, then get the cycling specific ones because they have a good seal at the “cuff” which I’m told is absent from some/all of the other designs.

The down-side of them BTW is that if you go through deep water, soaking the outer “woollen” layer, which then remains semi-soggy, they can feel a bit cold. It doesn’t bother me too much, but I know some people are very “cold feet prone”.

[pjclinch]

The down-side of them BTW is that if you go through deep water, soaking the outer “woollen” layer, which then remains semi-soggy, they can feel a bit cold. It doesn’t bother me too much, but I know some people are very “cold feet prone”.

Or indeed if the outer gets soaked through persistent rain on a teabag-style shoe upper.

Water is an excellent conductor of heat so if the outer face fabric is saturated a lot of heat will still bleed out, so having the waterproof barrier further out is a better way to keep warm (but has it's own downsides)

Pete.