cold toes - what can I do without spending any money?

[potsy]

I regretted not taking my overshoes to work today,fine on way in this afternoon but bloomin freezing tonight,feet are like ice

 

[jann71]

What kind of shoes do you cycle in?

 

[gb155]

I have 2 pairs of thermal socks, water proof socks over them and then overshoes, Its worked so far

 

[youngoldbloke]

Warmest socks I have found (so far) are Heatholders. You can find them on sale at around £5 - at Oswald Bailey, for example. Downside is that they are quite bulky, and sized on the large side. Tried most of the tips posted above (except Vaseline) and these socks work as well as any. If it is really wet use sandwich bags too. Always use overshoes. Anyone tried shoe liners as used by motor cyclists?

 

[byegad]

Looser shoes, fewer socks worked for me.

 

[craigwend]

Some good tips, though I just don't fancy covering my feet in vaseline...

I too try the two socks approach (shoes are 1/2 a size big), inner merino, outler light walking socks, use overshoes, indeed this year invested in some good one (endura mt500 - they were on offer) - though still 'suffer' with cold feet, though as thistler my hands tend to be okay.

I suspect as someone pointed out it may be the hole in the bottom of the shoes letting the cold air in, so in a virtually cost free 'experiment' I lined them this morning with silver foil, it made a 'difference', not massive, but better than my last ride. I think a pair of 'cheap' innersoles may be a better long term solution.

I also find warming the socks on the radiator useful if i can, if not wear them for 20 mins before the ride, and keep my shoes in a 'warmer' room before the ride if possible. So a combination of approaches help.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Tip - block the hole in the sole with a small piece of Blu-Tac. Never quite understood what they were for anyway - vent? drain? - I keep mine blocked all year round.

 

[Wardy]

This is from a posting I did on the same subject almost a year ago:-

"Read somewhere the other day, and I have not the faintest where, may even have been on this forum in some thread that the best way to keep your feet warm is to:-
Cover your feet in petroleum jelly, wrap in clingfilm, put your sock on and then wrap it all in tinfoil, or maybe the tinfoil is before the sock, and then after the ride you can reuse the tin foil to wrap the Sunday dinner in.
I have read about petroleum jelly and tried it last year, but cannot remember if it did keep my feet warm, all I can remember was my feet sliding about in the socks, maybe thats what the clingfilm prevents. I also had it from a friend who's a tree surgeon at the weekend that the best way to keep your hands and feet warm is to rub petroleum jelly well into your hands and feet, so I shall have to try it again. "
I cannot remember though if I did try the petroleum Jelly again so I do not know if it does work.

As a variation of this, I wonder if rubbing in Deep Heat to ones toe-toes would help? Think you can get that in the Pound Shop.

 

[HLaB]

LOL the title of this thread reminded me of a bloke at the ERC coaching session at the weekend; it was rotten wet and cold weather and he had put foil bags (crisp packets I think) over his toes before he put his road shoes on; that was certainly cheap

I think I prefer waterproof socks or overshoes.

 

[thistler]

As a variation of this, I wonder if rubbing in Deep Heat to ones toe-toes would help? Think you can get that in the Pound Shop.

I tried that when my toes were cold from just sitting in the front room.....there was a barely noticeable difference. I read somewhere that Deep Heat works best on muscle mass, and toes are mainly ligaments? Not sure if it's true....

 

[snorri]

I would appreciate any ideas/suggestions!

Try to walk at a good pace for a few miles every day, it worked for me when I had a cold feet problem.

 

[dodgy]

Sooner or later, cyclists realise they should stop fannying about with Heath Robinson cold feet solutions and buy a decent pair of goretex winter cycling boots. They're reasonably expensive unless you buy them in spring (which is what I did), but they'll last years and they're much less fuss than doing your feet up like the Sunday roast.

 

[Canardly]

Get rid of the cotton socks