Cold feet and hands can turn a pleasant ride into a miserable one, and we can all recognise the feeling of cold water seeping through your socks and sitting against your skin. My feet feel cold just typing this!
Overshoes are one way of limiting the likelihood of the curse of numb toes.
Overshoes are often exposed to muck and grime, and they’ll be touching the floor every time you put a foot down – so they need to be hard wearing.
Here’s a roundabout of some of the best:
Castelli Diluvio 16 Overshoes £31.50 (RRP £35)
Made of 3mm neoprene, these protect against rain and cold, locking warmth in and keeping out the wet. All the seams are thermosealed, and stretchy fabric means these will hug your ankle and reduce the risk of water dripping down the cuff to almost zero. I own a pair of these and have returned from many a wet ride with jersey, gloves, and overshoes soaked – but still to find my shoes were relatively dry.
As well as an open space for cleats there is also a gap for your heel so that fabric should not be worn away from occasional walking. However, my only criticism of these is that I do now have a hole forming on the toe where the overshoes have met the ground at traffic lights and so on.
These do the job of keeping you warm and dry, but they aren’t the most resilient, or the cheapest, a conclusion that a Road.CC reviewer also arrived at.
dhb Neoprene Nylon Overshoe £19.99
These own brand offerings from Wiggle are one of the best value pairs around, and 147 reviews give these an average mark of 4.5/5. Similar to the Castelli pair, these are made of 3mm of neoprene and taped seams help to build a strong resistance against wind and rain whilst a Velcro top tab closes any gap between ankle and overshoe.
A more robust Kevlar material is used on the underside, to ward against unwanted holes forming from girt and road abrasion, and the back of the overshoe features two reflective stripes for visibility.
Endura FS260-Pro Slick Overshoe – £21.84 (was £22.99)
These overshoes are super stretchy to fit over your shoes, and they are also made to be light weight, so they’re a good option for cool but not freezing days. The high stretch main body fabric is waterproof so you’ll be protected from the rain. A silicone gripper on the ankle and heel will keep these in place and reflective features add to visibility – and of course, if you go for the white version, you shouldn’t be missed!
These got 4/5 based on Evanscycles.com customer reviews, and one roadie from Manchester said: “All in all very pleased and an essential part of my commute kit.”
Louis Garneau Glacier Road Shoe – £79.99 (was £114.99)
I’ll admit this is not actually an overshoe. However, I’ve heard complaints from some cyclists who claim to have tried every overshoe in the store, and still find unwanted water creeping in and numb toes featuring on their rides.
These LG shoes are designed to be completely watertight and use a fibreglass-reinforced outersole and aluminium-coated insole to provide heavy duty insulation. A zip is used to seal the front of the shoe, and a Velcro flap covers this to prevent any drips escaping inside. Of course, should this happen, there is also a thinsulate waterproof lining.
Front and back reflective piping provide visibility, and these are compatible with Shimano, SPD, Time, Look and Speed Play Cleats.
These had an overall rating of 4/5, but reviewers suggested that it’s generally a good idea to buy these one size larger than your normal shoes – we’d recommend you try them on before you buy if you can.
It’s worth noting that with all these overshoe recommendations, it’s a good idea to minimise the amount of time you walk around with them. This should help prolong their life.
Do you have a favourite overshoe?
Any recommendations for overshoes that can be used with regular shoes or trainers? Ones I’ve tried were only compatible with slim cycling shoes.
I found that my normal overshoes were fine for my cycling shoes but wouldn’t go over anything more sturdy, like the ‘outdoor’ shoes I sometimes use for commuting. Or if they would go over I couldn’t do them up. My solution was a pair of Endura overshoes (in XL rather than the L I would normally take) that use Velcro to fasten them rather than the usual zip. They’re really easy to put on, and to fasten you just wrap them round your ankles as tight or loose as you like, and the Velcro does the rest.
Any overshoes which are a bit more suitable for people wearing normal clothes?
The ones from Aldi And Lidl are suitable for normal clothes as they are not as tight and can fit nicely on normal shoes
These Planet X ones are really good for the price I paid £9.99 – now £11.99
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLPXOSH/planet-x-neoprene-overshoes
Delivery is £2.50 or free over £20 so might as well top your order up.
No zips but pretty easy to get on and VERY reflective. They are at least twice as good as these http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLPWPMNB/primal-wear-patches-neoprene-booties at £8.99
Yes, it would be good to have comments about alternative overshoes that can be used with normal shoes and boots.
I have a pair of Gore Thermo Road Overshoes. They are totally waterproof and very warm. While very tough underneath, they do wear away with a lot of walking (while commuting or cycle touring).
Are there any shoes that leave the sole of the shoe exposed to prevent wear underneath and give a better grip while walking?
In reply to Joff and remerson,
I’m currently wearing jogging trousers and normal trainers (I use toe clips currently), and I’d say still buy the overshoes above, as these will fit over normal shoes.
I bought some Tenn overshoes, and as much as they look the biz they unfortunately let water in through the seams.
These still have the clip and heel space, but I wear them with standard trainers, and they’re comfortable with those (I’m a size 13 too, so it’s not easy to buy certain footwear).
I hope this helps you both.
Rob
Hi Rob,
Specifically which overshoes would you recommend for normal shoes? The comment thread styling doesn’t make it very clear. 🙂
I use the DHB and am pretty happy with them. They do wear through at the toe on my left foot though (where I put my foot down at lights) but at only £20 you can afford to get through a couple of pairs each winter.
I’ve gone through a number of overshoes over the years: Endura, Sugoi, Altura, and a couple others. The only that have lasted, and been very waterproof are the Gore overshoes:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gore-bike-wear-road-thermo-gore-tex-overshoes/
They are expensive, they are far from perfect, but they’re the best I’ve found. I’ve fit them over a variety of shoes, SPDs, DZRs, even normal shoes. I bought the pair I’m using now in 2008, and they’re still solid.
I use Mavic overshoes, they make different ones for rain and cold for both road and trail. Take a look at their website http://www.mavic.com/apparel/booties but getting hold of the trail ones can be a bit tricky, I had to do a bit of web searching, But I find them very good, with thick rubber on the sole area and a good zip.
You don’t want a zip if you’re using trainer type shoes. The Velcro makes them much easier to get on.