Gore-Tex road shoes

[Hackfall]

Hi I am looking for some Gore-Tex winter commuter shoes but they need to be able to take look pedals as the bike being used will be used with Look Keo pedals at other times and I don't want to chop and change. So far the ones I have found on different web sites (even the boot style ones) tend to get criticized for not keeping water out, which is the reason you buy them so I don't want to end up with a pair of expensive squelchers.

Any tips?

[pwa]

No shoes, not even wellies, will keep rain out unless you stop water running down your legs and into the top. So are you going to wear truly waterproof trousers that overlap the top of the shoes? If not, you will still have wet feet. This also applies to waterproof socks.

[borisface]

Don't bother. I have a pair of northwave gore-tex mtb shoes. They are useless in the wet. They might keep the wet out from the road but what happens is your socks get wet and by capillary action you end up with wet feet. Your feet are warm but very squelchy. Also your ankles do feel much cooler than with a pair of overshoes. Much better off IME with a pair of neoprene overshoes, the endura ones are pretty good.

[thirdcrank]

+ 100 to everybody who says you have to stop water running in at the top.

I've some Sidi's and they are brilliant.

I'm not posting just to endorse what others say about water running down your legs. When I bought mine, I was intending to buy a road version on the basis that I'd not use cycling shoes for walking so why bother with an MTB sole, especially heels? Luckily the shop where I bought mine (Sowerby Bros Mirfield) had only the MTB style in stock and as I use SPD's anyway, I bought them rather than faff about ordering. The point is, if you use these in bad wintry weather, you are far more likely to find yourself walking with bits of snow and ice etc. This isn't only a matter of spoiling the shoes and unprotected road cleats, standing upright on icy surfaces can depend on a decent sole.

I fancy that Look cleats may only come with road shoes.

If you do get any for winter use, I'll recommend a size bigger than usual to allow for more socks. (Sorry if you knew that already.)

[foxyrider]

Specialised do their Defrosters in road and 'mtb' versions - same boot, different sole. I've got the MTB ones, they seem to keep most of the wet out without overheating feet although I contemplated overshoes on top when the temperature dropped to 0c last winter.

Guess i'll have to drag them out again soon!

[mattsccm]

Plenty out there and the shoe bits are water proof if you buy ones that really are. As people say its the holes left that leak. I Use a length of motor cycle inner tube as a gaiter to seal the big hole on the top. It makes good shoes waterproof.

[Valbrona]

The only way you keep water out of boots is to use waterproof overtrousers.

I have Spesh Defroster Road in 42. Worn twice. Too narrow for my feet. Regular three bolt fixings.

[andrew_s]

The best chance of keeping out water is to use a boot with a fairly high ankle, and to cover the foot hole with a tubular-ish rubber seal that is reasonably tight against the skin of your leg (which means going underneath your longs, which in turn means no foot stirrup), and extending far enough down over the outside of the boot to get past any gaps.
If you don't have a handy motor bike inner tube, you can cut the wrist sections off a pair of marigold rubber gloves, or even use a proper latex diving drysuit ankle seal.

I use SPD sandals, get wet, and dry off quickly. It doesn't feel anything like as cold as you might think.