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I bought a pair of Vaude boots after Amanda's review of them almost three years ago now. Up until this last weekend they've kept my feet dry and me happy.
This weekend the combination of persistent rain onto me and spray off the roads and trails finally led to water running down my legs and into the boots. It was mild so I wasn't cold, but I bought these boots to keep my feet dry and avoid the rigmarole of drying out wet filthy boots in the house while remaining married.
Is there an answer to preventing water coming into the top of boots under the circumstances I went and rode in on Saturday?
Gaiters. As in fell walking ones.
Any shoe will get wet eventually though
Trousers / pants is the answer. Or gaiters..
That's the problem with footwear, two big holes in the top you stick your legs through.
Mudguards and overshoes
The grip grab gaiters are brilliant.
Mudguards and trousers are also good.
Another one here with the Gripgrab gaiters - they solve the problem!
Thanks for all the speedy replies:
- Got mudguards, albeit it's a mountain bike and they're not the same length as my road bike guards
- Can I do overshoes with boots, flat pedals and pins? Surely the boots are too bulky and the pedals and pins would rip them to shreds?
- The neoprene gaiters look really interesting. Are they big enough or stretchy enough to go over bulky boots?
Put the gaiters on first, then the boots - they don't need to (and won't!) go over the boots. Cheap and effective...
Overshoes don't last long on flats (or mountain biking at all in my experience)
Thanks BigDaddy. I'd assumed I'd put them on my leg like a footless sock and then pull the bottom over the boot. The question was more whether they'd stretch to pull down over the top of the boot and I guess that, from your answer, they would.
Off to buy a pair. Is there a way to do that and for Singletrack to benefit from some commission?
Thats how i wear mine, but my boots are not bulky at the top. I have shimano MW5 which has the neoprene ankle gusset around the top so the gaiters come down over the top easily. They're pretty tight, which is what makes them waterprrof but they do have some flex.
Duct tape
Like this on my Northwave boots…
https://flic.kr/p/2nUSh4P
They have the neoprene cuff that the gaiter goes over
Knee length waterproof socks and don't bother with waterproof shoes.
A bit of filling required under that socket bigdaddy. You get Pollyfilla in a tube ready to use these days. Other brands are available. 🤪
😂 true! I’m 6 foot 3, never seen it from that angle!! I’ll get onto it…
Another vote for trousers. The lack of water getting into my winter boots since I stopped wearing long bib tights have been very welcome
A bit of filling required under that socket bigdaddy
I can't not see that now. Plus that filthy shoe on the carpet. Nasty.
tonyd
Full Member
GripGrab gaiters End of thread!
Nope not for me they didn't, & I really wanted them to work, but I found them too short, so would pull off my boots and a complete bugger to put on. It's a good idea, but needs to be something more stretchable and longer for me (TBH I might try chopping up some marigold gloves)
I can’t not see that now. Plus that filthy shoe on the carpet. Nasty.
I apologise! The shoe (and mud) is dry - I only put it on for demonstration purposes for the photo - the carpet will survive! The hole will be filled forthwith...
Knee length water proof socks for me
I was out in the Clywdian's all weekend, and used 'dry suit wrist seals' - you can get them for under a tenner and you can cut them down - why wrist ?, well they are smaller than the foot one, and fit nicely over the top of your boot's neoprene cuff. Water then just runs over the 'seal' and onto the shoe, rather than in the top of the cuff.
Got these fizik Arctica in for test, stayed dry through yesterday's floods but I was careful not to let water through the big foot hole in the top. Impressed the lowers didn't let in, I even didn't seal the cleat pocket
https://flic.kr/p/2nUTkBy
Gripgrabs +1
I've heard of the drysuit cuff idea, although surely a leg one worn upside down fits better?
Duct tape
Probably a joke, but I do actually seal my wetsuit boots to the suit with ductape to keep the water out of the legs!
Waterproof socks don’t do it for me as the real pain in the backside is drying out wet and filthy shoes.
Z1ppy’s comment about the GripGrab gaiters being short and slipping off is what I was afraid of. However, we do have a number of failing wetsuits in the garage. I might experiment with longer lengths of neoprene and maybe bits from higher up the leg and wider (calf size bits to be used at ankle height).
Trousers have been a godsend for me.
Admittedly not in truly soaking conditions, but in general forest autumnal dampness and puddles, non water proof trousers and definitely not waterproof 5-10s, has made a massive difference.
Turns out, spraying your bare legs, and having that run down the lovely capilleries of wicking sports socks, is a very good way of saturating your feet. Spraying the shins of your trousers with the same amount of water is much much better.
The question was more whether they’d stretch to pull down over the top of the boot and I guess that, from your answer, they would.
aren’t the vaude boots more like hiking boots than winter cycling shoes? you may struggle to stretch the gaiters designed for more traditional looking boots around the vaudes
The main thing is not that you're wet or dry, but that you're warm. The water is going to get in somehow, so it's worth going out in the hope that you'll stay dry, but not the expectation that your clothing will keep the water out indefinitely.
Bear in mind the whole purpose of a wetsuit is not to keep you dry, but to keep a small amount of water next to your skin that's well-insulated enough that it keeps you warm.
I was out in an absolute torrent yesterday morning, and by the end of the ride my winter boots were full of water. I wasn't warmer than wearing my summer shoes with wetsuit socks, but it was a lot easier to clean everything off. My wetsuit socks were still drying out from Saturday's dinghy sailing, by the way.
Agree that you’ll get wet eventually, but the longer you can delay that the better IMO. Once wet it’s really just a matter of time til the cold gets to you. At that point I think you need windproofing, so winter boots or overshoes. I tried Sealskinz socks about 20 years ago on a wet, muddy, and snowy winters night at Swinley. Feet were wet not long after starting the ride and by the end I was in agony as the water in my socks had pretty much frozen.
Waterproof/resistant trousers might be the option
Those gripgrab gaiters do work. Roll them up your leg, put your boots on, then roll them down over the top of the boot.
Bear in mind the whole purpose of a wetsuit is not to keep you dry, but to keep a small amount of water next to your skin that’s well-insulated enough that it keeps you warm.
Nope, not unless you're a salesman of rubbish wetsuits.
A decent wetsuit is waterproof. It's a ~5mm layer of closed cell foam panels and taped seams that insulates you from the water. A bit of water will creep in through the neck/wrists/ankles but it should be a creep, not a 'layer'.
It takes a lot of energy to warm cold water up, and it's heavy. The last thing you want is boots (or a wetsuit) full of a couple of hundred grams (or if it's a badly fitting hire wetsuit, a good few kilograms) of cold water getting flushed out every so often so you have to spend more energy warming it up again.
Decent boots + gaiters = dry feet all winter.
A decent wetsuit is waterproof.
The bit of my comment you quoted contained the nugget you were looking for: a small amount of water
Wait until you hear about the drysuit. It's completely revolutionary. Although I find that I prefer to use wetsuits, as one of the things about drysuits is that they tend to collect all of the sweat when you exercise, and no amount of mid layering and base layering will help with that eventually. I much prefer modern wetsuits (or rather a combo - Rooster pro hikers and a Zhik top) over my rather outdated drysuit.
You can't hope to remain magically dry on a ride (or in the water), but you can plan for what happens when the water eventually gets in.
The coldest I've felt is on the Round Britain and Ireland race during a relatively light airs upwind leg where I wasn't doing foredeck admin and so remained nice and dry for about four days. I felt colder then than in -35 C in Canada.
Another vote for the gripgrab gaitors. At first I used black household gloves with the hands cut off but they did sometimes roll up.
The gripgrabs are tight to begin with but seem to get less tacky, they roll back down over my bulky Lake winter boots. They may struggle if you have low ankle style shoes rather than boots.
Cut the fingers off some marigold gloves,cheap as chips.oh preferably black but whatever floats y boat.
(sorry been done)