what do you use to keep your toes from freezing. my vest keeps my core warm, heated grips for my hands, and lining in my pants for my legs. i have oxtar boots but after about 30 minutes my toes really get cold. what boots do you use? should i go with some rain coverings for the boots or create some kind of wind deflector from the crash bars to the skid plate. i have ruled out electric insoles and electric/battery sox. thanks <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
I picked up some neoprene toe protectors for just this task . . . . . sadly, I've no idea from where . . . here's one source: http://www.amazon.com/Gator-Tip-Toes-Neoprene-Warmers/dp/B00341N6CG made a big difference for me!
My boots are cheap 100$ MX Boots. They are not good in the cold, nor rain. I wear decent wool socks, if I find my feet cold, I put rain protectors over my boots, to add another layer against the cold wind.
Why rule out electric socks? Warm n Safe electric socks are awesome! And with the Forum discount, they're only something like 60 bucks.
i rule them out because i am lazy. my commute is about 1 hour and when it gets below 35degF my toes freeze. i was thinking that rain covers would work, i am going to drop by a bike shop and see about those rubber toe thingies.
I had the Gerbing insoles and switched to their Socks. Much better!!!!! It's the only way to keep my tooties warm!
Smart wool socks with neoprene socks over them followed by boots with gortex. I don't really need anything past the smart wool socks anymore in the southwest.
These are the NUTS!. Got a pair of W&S socks also but these insoles work the best for me. Leave the insoles in your riding boots and the harness in your riding pants, takes 1 second to plug each insole in as you put on the boots and another 2 seconds the plug into the pigtail on the bike. I find the socks have hot spots and are a bit too bulky. My only regret is not buying a lifetime supply when Sportmans Guide was blowing them out for $12 a few years ago. I tried the toe warmer things a couple times but found as soon as the heating effect wore off the iron contents got cold and made my toes even colder.
Why rule out the heated socks? You say you rule these out cause you are lazy???? WTF? I surmise that it will take more time, effort (nee aggravation) to put on regular socks, neoprene covers, boots, rain covers, etc, etc than it does to put on regular socks, heated/electric socks and then plug them in. If you go with the heated insoles then its really no extra effort other than plugging in two wires. Just a observation. It is quite the chore to plug in a couple wires, but I do seriously digress. I too tried nearly every conceivable method to keep my feet from freezing on my morning commutes. Before I went to the heated gear side (full jacket liner, pants liner and socks) the only thing I found that was even close was to add a pair of heavy 100% wool socks over my normal socks. This was usually only good for 30-45 minutes and then only if the temps were no colder than 35F. I have ridden in temps in the 20F with the heated socks and my feet were toasty warm and even too warm at times. Rain covers, rubber boots, neoprene covers, etc are just that --- Covers. Ever sleep in a tent in the freezing cold? You are doing basically the same thing by putting covers over your boots as in sleeping in a tent with no sleeping bag in the freezing cold. Rip stop nylon is not known to be the best insulator. True these over-items may knock off some of the wind chill but cold is cold. Stand in your yard with no wind while wearing the rain covers, I bet your feet will eventually become freezing too. You gotta add insulation or heat. Using the chemical warmers such as Toasty-Toes or the like may become expensive in the long run. It is your dime, but don't rule out the heated socks. I too "ruled out" heated gear prior to actually trying it. The couple minutes it takes to don all the stuff is well worth the effort, to me, to stay comfortable on my morning commutes. YMMV drastically! :huh.
Wouldn't putting heated socks on when you gear up at home be quicker and easier than putting the rain covers on? I find them onerous to install/remove when geared up.
Maybe these. No wires and fuses and seasonal. http://www.dryguy.net/BootGlove.html http://www.rei.com/product/679011/bootglove
drymax socks may help, if you have a humidity problem that aggravate the situation. otherwise, I have never been in a better setup than with my heated insoles. I still have cold toes and the heat should come from the top of the boot, imho. But I do ride near 0 celcius. Its expected. So I will look for actual heated boots, but no great hopes to find the perfect model. I will have a look a heated socks for sure... For now, I'm not going back. The heated insoles stay in the boots (under the existing insole). The Y cable is running in the pant leg between the shell and the liner, so I never fiddle with it. The plug is exiting by the crotch then runnigg to the side. In a nutshell, the pants hide the cable well. The 9 levels dual port PCM controller is in the jacket pocket on the side where the plug is coming out. In have heated gloves too, which heat the outside of the hand, much more efficient than heated grips, less expensive and can use on other bikes provided the socket.
From experience, Nothing beats heated socks. Period. And connecting thru heated pants, is more convenient than extension wire. But all in all nothing else even comes close to the performance. You wear them over a thin pair of non cotton socks to avoid getting hotspots from the wires. Thin liner or dress socks will work fine. Just avoid cotton. My only issue, [but I've accepted] is that if there is a failure in your heated gear. [it has happened] and your in a position that will matter, you need to carry a backup pair of heavy wool socks. I tried heated insoles. They did not work nearly as well as the socks. I wouldn't reccommend them. I've also used Dryguy Bootgloves for 3 years and they do help, but if you get the fabric strap wet and walk on it, it will wear thru very fast. If you have a stitching awl and means to keep, [and don't mind] repairing the strap then it would be cost effective. If you think this will be a problem, then you might spend to much $ replacing them as needed. Eventually the shifter wears thru any way. They extend the comfort zone enough to notice, but not a large margin. I just bought a pair of each of these Neos Overboots to try over my Garne Oiled Balance boots. A pair of insulated, and a pair on uninsulated. I have not had the chance to try them out yet though. My concern is that they might be bulky enough to make shifting a problem. [especially the insulated version] And I'm not sure how long it'll take for the shifter to wear the instep. If they don't work out, I'll keep them for non riding use I guess. http://www.overshoe.com/Pages/default.aspx I'll post up how these work out. Like I said earlier, nothing is like heated gear.
You mentioned pant liners but you may still need something to keep the wind off of your legs. If your chest is not well insulated will first notice it that your hands get cold. If you do not keep your legs warm you will first notice it in your feet. Make sure you do everything possible to keep the wind off of your legs. They have a large amount of surface area and it is often neglected by the average rider. My experience comes from working in a freezer for over 20 years and seeing every new guy have the same problem. Their hands and feet get cold first so the first thing they look at is better gloves and boots. In most cases better gloves and boots may help but they should take a much closer look at what they are doing to keep their chest and legs warmer.
http://www.thermacell.com/heated-insoles-foot-warmers these work and you can adjust the heat from your seat.
