chemical warmers

I am going to try and ride this afternoon and have hopes my neck will hang in there :) It will be close to freezing however and I don't have winter cycling boots/shoes.

I am going to try my usual bike shoes with wool socks, a plastic bag, chemical warmers and toe covers. Can I put the chemical toe warmers on the plastic, assuming there is room for all of this in my shoes? I will put them on the top of my feet. I understand that the chemical warmers need some air to work well so I am guessing they shouldn't go under the plastic wrapper...

I don't have actual shoe covers yet though I've my eye on a pair that would work for the mtb shoes I wear on the road once I have the money.

I might do a test of this, as the heat might melt the plastic? Probably not, though.
I really don't know if you will need the plastic, but when it's cold enough for the chemical warmers, I have booties on.
Make sure you open the warmers' package 5 minutes or so before you put them in your shoes. They really work better when they have this time to activate.

You could try attaching the warmers to the outside of your shoes somehow (tape or string or ?). Make sure your feet aren't constricted inside your shoes.

Good thought Crankin, I will test this.

My neck is starting to hurt again, so we will have to see about riding this afternoon. It may be that things will ease up by then. I hope the injections aren't wearing off already :eek:

Thanks Malkin, it may well be I couldn't fit both inside my shoes anyway. I think I should have gone one size larger for my Mavics as it is...

You may want to check your chemical warmer instruction. I thought some required external oxygen from air for it to work. Some do not require it.

And not to worry I don't think any of them give off carbon monoxide or other toxic vapor.

I don't think hand warmer kinds get hot enough to melt plastic. They should be designed to keep you from getting burnt so I would imagine its not enough to melt the plastic.

I've had the best luck with these. Not sure about the air circulation for these, specifically. They don't SEEM to require it. I let them get started warming, then put my feet in the shoes.

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Originally Posted by Seajay

I've had the best luck with these. Not sure about the air circulation for these, specifically. They don't SEEM to require it. I let them get started warming, then put my feet in the shoes.

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I used the toe warmer version of these and they seemed to work for the most part. My shoes have a LOT of vents and as I don't have booties I just had toe covers on. I did notice my toes starting to get cold on downhills, but aside from going downhill they didn't do too badly. I did not try the plastic bread bag option, I think my shoes are probably a little too small for that.

I think I might want to try the full length foot warmer until I can afford full shoe covers. The rest of my body was nice and warm, though I think for any colder temperatures I want to wear my full Gore "head covering" under my Smartwool balaclava. It was ok at 35 degrees but my head was a bit cool.

Catrin: I have heard of people covering shoe vents with duct tape. Might not look fashionable, but if it keeps your toes warm, could be worth the try until you get show covers. My toes get cold with shoe covers... I have not tried the chemical warmers because I have retreated to wimp mode now that the temperatures and wind chill are lower around my neighborhood.

Thanks for the reminder, someone else advised me to use painters tape as that is apparently easier to remove. I would like to cover the vents from the inside but that doesn't appear to be easily done. Perhaps I can find some white painters tape :) I love my shoes, but I don't love the color... (why white???)

So here's a silly idea, FWIW: I have this foil blanket that is mostly white on one side and "heat reflective" on the other. I think it would be easy to fashion a two piece cover for a shoe (it's relatively flexible), taping the pieces to the bottom of the shoe. I can mail it to you if you PM me your address. I got in a race and kept it in my car trunk.

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Originally Posted by pll

So here's a silly idea, FWIW: I have this foil blanket that is mostly white on one side and "heat reflective" on the other. I think it would be easy to fashion a two piece cover for a shoe (it's relatively flexible), taping the pieces to the bottom of the shoe. I can mail it to you if you PM me your address. I got in a race and kept it in my car trunk.

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It is worth a shot, I will pm you :)

4 bikes in the past 2 years and you "can't afford" $50 shoe covers? :p

I can't afford the warmers:p:p At least that's how I've justified my investment in winter boots:cool::cool:;);)

I didn't realize that you could put those toe warmer in a ziplock bag after you ride to save them for later. I did this for the first time today and it worked like a charm. One of my friends told me you could reuse them several times so I have it a try. Pretty cool :D

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Originally Posted by Seajay

4 bikes in the past 2 years and you "can't afford" $50 shoe covers? :p

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Not after my recent flurry of unexpected big medical bills and helping my mom out...right now it is either groceries or shoe covers. Guess which wins? It won't be like this forever, but I do have to be as tight as possible for a few months.

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Originally Posted by WindingRoad

I didn't realize that you could put those toe warmer in a ziplock bag after you ride to save them for later. I did this for the first time today and it worked like a charm. One of my friends told me you could reuse them several times so I have it a try. Pretty cool :D

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Cool - I will give it a shot, thanks!

LOL Blueberry - though you probably ride far more often than I do in the winter. I don't ride to work, so really the weekends are the only time that I've the option to ride since it gets dark so early...and at some point I will be on the trainer for the season and with my neck recovering I can't ride as long as I would like anyway. Perhaps next year Santa will bring me some boots :)

Catrin,
Was only teasing and being snarky. Sorry you are going thru a rough patch. All best!

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Originally Posted by Seajay

Catrin,
Was only teasing and being snarky. Sorry you are going thru a rough patch. All best!

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Sorry Seajay, I think I knew that. I am just really frustrated with myself right now. I make too much to be in this position again - but then again - I am thankful to be able to take care of my responsibilities when so many can't find work. This time will pass, and am changing some things to, hopefully, prevent a repeat. We never know what life will toss at us :) I must admit I REALLY miss the insurance coverage we had a couple of years ago before things changed...

Thanks to a very good friend who works in a bike shop, I am now the proud owner of a pair of PI Elite Barrier MTB shoe covers. These things are WARM, and I am very thankful to this friend who offered to get it for me and all I had to pay was her cost. No way I could have fit these $70 covers into my current budget and I think they are much warmer than the Sugoui version I was considering. I really like how far they come up my legs, they will cover the bottom of my Amfib tights nicely.

I've been experimenting with riding in colder temps, down to almost freezing, and the shoe covers really are the last thing I needed for cold weather riding. I understand chemical warmers will still work, my LHT is now on my trainer, so I am ready to ride inside or outside, depending on weather or schedule.

I've also learned that if you haven't exhausted the chemical warmers, you can put them into a ziploc bag or something similar and save them for the next ride. Considering they are rated for 6 hours and my winter rides are not near that long it makes the warmers even more economical for me. Who needs winter shoes?

:)