Sidi Winter Freeze shoes -- opinions?

[Natasha]

There seems to be a spot where the cleat attaches to the bottom of most biking shoes that is not insulated at all. I've found that to be a cold spot on a lot of shoes.

Another approach I've seen people use for cold weather riding is biking sandals, such as the Lake or Sidi styles. They wear one or two pairs of fleece or wool socks with them and some sort of cover on top. I've never been able to wear the biking sandals, but it seems to work for some people.

[KathiCville]

Thanks, Natasha!

I've read, too, about sandals in winter, but confess that I can't quite picture 'em doing the trick for me.....Seems so counter-intuitive!

Good point about the cleat attachment area. My BF mentioned the same possibility and suggests that I put in a slim insole to buffer the whole bottom of the shoe from the pedal, without making the shoe noticeably more snug width-wise. I'll give that a whirl and see if it helps.......

[Eden]

oooohhhhh I've been bad and opened my Christmas present early. Right after I saw that first post my parents asked what I wanted . This was the first time I've seen them in any size smaller than a 39 - which is 2 sizes bigger than I normally wear and would have been way to big, but 1 size, with my thick winter socks.... feels great.
I haven't worn them outside yet, but I put my cleats on and put them on with the socks I usually wear and they feel nice. Tormorrow I will give them their first good test run.

[KathiCville]

Coooool, Eden! I took mine for another spin today (18 miles) and was much happier with the results than I was yesterday. I followed Natasha's advice and put in different insoles, which I think helped quite a bit. Turned out that Nashbar had dropped in a pair of Bama aluminum insoles at the bottom of the box, for free, possibly precisely because of the cleat issue that Natasha mentioned. (I confess, I'm tempted to trade "up" and put in a wool or sheepskin insole, if they'll fit, LOL!) And, as I hoped, the toe box is definitely big enough that I can tuck a small chem warmer right into the very tip without interfering with my toes.........

Today was colder than yesterday, and I rode twice as far, but feet were definitely warmer. More of an A experience, versus a B- yesterday. Today's "issue," LOL, was cold hands, something I thought I'd successfully nailed on last weekend's ride!! Back to tinkering with glove combos, I guess!

Enjoy your new shoes!

[Eden]

Gloves have totally been the hardest for me - its often not only cold, but wet around here in the winter and I have yet to really find a combo that doesn't leave me with cold achey fingers, but so far the best has been a pairo of those cheap stretchy knit gloves (I'm thinking about trying wool, since I've really been loving my wool socks) hand warmers and a neoprene outer glove. The best in really wet weather so far has been a cheap pair of gloves that I got at my LBS - they have an outer shell, a layer of plastic! and then a thick fleecy liner. They stay the driest longest of anything I've tried, though they do soak through after about an hour or so, and then they are relatively warm for another 1/2 hour or so after that. They are actually too warm to wear if I'm really working hard or its not really cold.

[Eden]

So I probably couldn't have had a better (worse) day to test run my new shoes. It was raining and 39 when I left the house and only marginally warmer after my 3.5 hour ride.
The verdict is I really like these shoes. I didn't just rely on them to keep me toasty all by themselves. I still put on my stormsocks, wool socks, toe warmers and booties over the top, as I would have with my regular shoes. I stayed pretty much completely dry and really toasty for the first hour or so, then I started to feel a bit wet on the tops of my feet -even though they have a neoprene cuff, I think there isn't much that can be done about my socks wicking water down into the shoe. After about 2 hours I was pretty squishy, but still very warm and I stayed warm the entire time. I never once got the painful I think my toes are going to fall off chill, so I'm quite happy with the shoes. I'm pretty sure the toe warmer stopped working once it got soaked, so the warming action was all in the shoes. I think in dry conditions my feet will be very toasty with just the shoes and wool socks on.

[KathiCville]

Hi Eden.....Wow, it does sound like you had a *perfect* test ride for your new shoes! I'm curious: You said something about neoprene---did you mean on the shoe itself? Or were you talking about your storm socks? Because I don't think my Winter Freeze shoes have any neoprene. I'm wondering if you got the nifty, newer model? The one that velobambina or Carol says has more substantial insulation? Do yours have just a thin, white kinda-furry looking "fleece" lining on the interior of the shoe? Or??.............Thanks!

[Velobambina]

I think that with any of the winter shoes, you will need more than just the shoe for comfort. Wool socks, shoe covers, even chemical toe/foot warmers. I rode the winter of '05 with regular Sidis, shoe covers, and chem toe warmers. I suffered. The winter shoes, while not the holy grail, are worth the expense, as they offer much more protection against the elements.