Cure for cold toes when it's freezing - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-18-2007, 08:49 PM

I've never used hand or toe warmers and ride every day in a Milwaukee
winter; shorter than my commute when the roads are snowy or icy, but
not on account of cold. My problem with the hand and toe warmers is
that they keep you from "hardening off" against the winter weather.
Without them, you adapt to cold a lot more readily and by late winter
are ready for anything.

Below 15F, I switch from gloves to "choppers and liners" - a thick
woolen mitten covered by a thick leather mitten on my hands. For my
feet, below 20F, add a heavy pair of woolen socks over my regular
rather thick cotton socks, and make sure to wear my lined tennis shoes.
Below zero F, I wear lined boots - clumsy but warmer. If it gets way,
way below zero, I have my Sorel boots available, but haven't needed
them in years for bike riding. Yesterday was 5F, after a long mild
spell and I need to re-acclimate. At every stop, I was furiously
rubbing both hands against each other inside the mittens to generate a
little heat, and continuously curling and uncurling the fingers of
alternate hands, and moving my hand far enough out of the glove that my
thumb got in on it too. Similarly, I was continuously curling and
uncurling my toes. There are places along the way to stop, and if
frostbite is coming on, I would rather do that than use hand or foot
warmers. My mittens are 25+ years old, and I believe better products
are now available, which I intend to look into this weekend, as we seem
to be at the beginning of a rather extended cold spell.

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
> This morning I added something new to my cold-weather arsenal. Hopefully all
> of us who are silly enough to ride when it's below (or even close to)
> freezing use cold-weather booties over our shoes. But while booties make the
> ride survivable, you'll still have that wonderful feeling in the shower as
> you thaw out, where your toes half-itch and half-hurt, and look a color of
> purple that you didn't find in your box of crayolas growing up. So what's my
> no-longer-secret for keeping my toes comfy? Simple. Put a pair of Kucharik
> toe warmers (that's what I use, but there are many other brands that work
> similarly) over the front of your shoes, and then the booties over those. I
> didn't know it would actually work, it just seemed like something to try.
>
> It worked GREAT! No numbness, no itching, no pain. Not even that ugly purple
> color in the shower.
>
> --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

01-19-2007, 08:13 AM

"Gary Smiley" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>I've found the best thing for me is to wear warm boots,
>thick socks, and flat pedals (I use Shimano M324's, flat on one side, SPD on
>the other). Bike shoes are made for warm weather riding,

I hadn't really thought of it that way but tried this yesterday and it
worked. It wasnt sub zero or even sub freezing but it was very sloppy
with several inches of snow/ice starting to melt and several degrees
below what my normal ride threshold.

My feet stayed warm (and dry) enough to extend the ride from a simple
errand. Without cleats, your feet come off the pedals easier when you
hit slushy areas. The only downside for me is that I tend to tense my
calves to compensate for no cleats. It was worth it though!

Good tip.

01-19-2007, 08:23 AM

Ron Wallenfang wrote:
> I've never used hand or toe warmers and ride every day in a Milwaukee
> winter; shorter than my commute when the roads are snowy or icy, but
> not on account of cold. My problem with the hand and toe warmers is
> that they keep you from "hardening off" against the winter weather.
> Without them, you adapt to cold a lot more readily and by late winter
> are ready for anything.

I think this is pretty much true.

I start the winter quite bundled up at 20F temps, but by January
or so, I don't even bother with the balaclava until below 10F and
freezing temps seem almost balmy.

Amazing how the body adjusts!

SMH

01-19-2007, 08:27 AM

VBadJuJu wrote:

> My feet stayed warm (and dry) enough to extend the ride from a simple
> errand. Without cleats, your feet come off the pedals easier when you
> hit slushy areas. The only downside for me is that I tend to tense my
> calves to compensate for no cleats. It was worth it though!

I have BMX style platform pedals on my two winter MTBs.

They work great, and accommodate a broad selection of
winter shoe/boot choices.

SMH

01-19-2007, 01:59 PM

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:NIirh.12583$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].prodigy.n et...
> This morning I added something new to my cold-weather arsenal. Hopefully
> all of us who are silly enough to ride when it's below (or even close to)
> freezing use cold-weather booties over our shoes. But while booties make
> the ride survivable, you'll still have that wonderful feeling in the
> shower as you thaw out, where your toes half-itch and half-hurt, and look
> a color of purple that you didn't find in your box of crayolas growing up.
> So what's my no-longer-secret for keeping my toes comfy? Simple. Put a
> pair of Kucharik toe warmers (that's what I use, but there are many other
> brands that work similarly) over the front of your shoes, and then the
> booties over those. I didn't know it would actually work, it just seemed
> like something to try.
>
> It worked GREAT! No numbness, no itching, no pain. Not even that ugly
> purple color in the shower.
>
> --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
>
>

Try getting a wind fairing. That's what I did and it solved all my cold toe
problems, but then, I ride a bent trike. so my feet never get wet either as
they're ahead of the wheels. Just sayin....

Recumbent advantage #23

01-19-2007, 02:49 PM

Grolch wrote:
> "Mike Jacoubowsky" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:NIirh.12583$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].prodigy.n et...
> > This morning I added something new to my cold-weather arsenal. Hopefully
> > all of us who are silly enough to ride when it's below (or even close to)
> > freezing use cold-weather booties over our shoes. But while booties make
> > the ride survivable, you'll still have that wonderful feeling in the
> > shower as you thaw out, where your toes half-itch and half-hurt, and look
> > a color of purple that you didn't find in your box of crayolas growing up.
> > So what's my no-longer-secret for keeping my toes comfy? Simple. Put a
> > pair of Kucharik toe warmers (that's what I use, but there are many other
> > brands that work similarly) over the front of your shoes, and then the
> > booties over those. I didn't know it would actually work, it just seemed
> > like something to try.
> >
> > It worked GREAT! No numbness, no itching, no pain. Not even that ugly
> > purple color in the shower.
> >
> > --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
> > [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
> >
> >
> >
>
> Try getting a wind fairing. That's what I did and it solved all my cold toe
> problems, but then, I ride a bent trike. so my feet never get wet either as
> they're ahead of the wheels. Just sayin....
>
> Recumbent advantage #23

And how do your feet stay dry when it is raining at a rate of 5cm/hour?

- rick

01-19-2007, 03:19 PM

Pat Lamb wrote:
> I don't sew (much), so I gotta ask, are booties available for mountain
> bike shoes up to size 13 (European 49)?

I have your problem. I bought some "Extra Large" Pearl Izumi booties
at REI;
they just barely cover my Gekos, and they're stretched so taught that
I'm
surprised they have survived.

At the LBS, I found some "Extra Large" Louis Garneaus on the closeout
table for $10. They fit much more reasonably. So, they're out there,
but
I'd try to cruise the LBS and dry-fit them before buying.

01-19-2007, 06:54 PM

Grolch wrote:
>
>
> Try getting a wind fairing. That's what I did and it solved all my cold toe
> problems, but then, I ride a bent trike. so my feet never get wet either as
> they're ahead of the wheels. Just sayin....
>
> Recumbent advantage #23

How's the road spray down there?

- Frank Krygowski

01-19-2007, 10:45 PM

John Everett wrote:
> I've been riding in cold weather for years. When temps get below
> freezing there's always a chance of frostbite. In these conditions I
> use toe warmers from Grabber ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ].

Those grabber toe warmers are amazing. Well worth the measly $3.00 to
keep your feet warm and happy for 6 hours. The local bike shop has
officially sold out of them for now.. I use the Pearl Izumi fleece
lined booties over my shoes as well and they are really good for
trapping much needed heat where your body doesn't typically conserve
heat in cold weather.

01-21-2007, 06:44 AM

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
> This morning I added something new to my cold-weather arsenal. Hopefully all
> of us who are silly enough to ride when it's below (or even close to)
> freezing use cold-weather booties over our shoes. But while booties make the
> ride survivable, you'll still have that wonderful feeling in the shower as
> you thaw out, where your toes half-itch and half-hurt, and look a color of
> purple that you didn't find in your box of crayolas growing up. So what's my
> no-longer-secret for keeping my toes comfy? Simple. Put a pair of Kucharik
> toe warmers (that's what I use, but there are many other brands that work
> similarly) over the front of your shoes, and then the booties over those. I
> didn't know it would actually work, it just seemed like something to try.
>
> It worked GREAT! No numbness, no itching, no pain. Not even that ugly purple
> color in the shower.
>
> --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Thanks but best thing to do is just wait a few days and that wierd
weather you are seeing in SOCAL, will pass. If ya want cold..almost 30
days of snow every WE(snowing now), cold-real cold with 5 degrees in
the morning..riding and biz slow, slow...