Overshoes self-destructing

[Holdsworth]

I have had my BBB hardwear overshoes since September and only used them a handful of times. But every ride I go on they seem to be falling apart! On the inside heel of each shoe there are chunks of neoprene rubber missing. I can only think that they are rubbing on the cranks and wearing away. Considering that I have done less than 40 miles in total wearing them it seems stupid that they deteriorated so quickly I suspect that they will no longer keep the water out as where they've worn away the material is paper thin now.

 

[yello]

Mine too (not BBB though). It's the way I ride; heels clipping the chainstay or rubbing on the crank, not sure which it is. So I treat them as consumables. When I was regularly commuting, a pair would only last a winter before being binned.

 

[gaz]

This is why I bought winter boots. The cost of overshoes adds up.

 

[palinurus]

They do that. I was thinking about this at work last week. I recently bought some stuff for repairing wetsuits- Ironmend I think it's called, you cut a patch and iron it on- I used it to fix some shorts* that developed a small hole but next time I get some overshoes I'm thinking of using it to reinforce them.

*Worked well btw. Ironing lycra is usually a bad idea- but the patch is applied by ironing through another substrate to protect the lycra (or neoprene).

 

[palinurus]

I'm sure someone else on here once described another method for reinforcing overshoes- but it was some time ago, might be tricky to find (if it's still here...)

 

[palinurus]

Actually it was a piece of piss,

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/overshoes-diy-reinforcing-the-sole.61791/#post-1158154

 

[Holdsworth]

I knew that overshoes never last but I'd honestly expect the sole to be the first to go, seeing as how that would seemingly get the most abuse day in day out. If I were still in work and commuting I am confident that they wouldn't have lasted a week of daily use. The problem for me must be the angle at which my feet point when clipped into my SPD pedals. I get knee joint pain if I don't have them pointing outwards to a fair degree so the overshoes must've rubbed raw on the crank or chainstay.
Don't know where to go from here, I can't really afford the expense of another pair and seeing them destroyed within weeks. Winter cycling shoes would be good but again that is expense that I plainly cannot afford having been on the dole for over 2 months and no work in sight.

 

[DCLane]

My Aldi ones are about gone - but then they've been used 3-4 times a week for the past two months.

Oddly the left one is fine but the right's got holes in it now on the sole.

 

[lukesdad]

Ive had my BBBs 2 years superglue the holes and splits still going strong

 

[Holdsworth]

Ive had my BBBs 2 years superglue the holes and splits still going strong

Top tip, cheers

I had some Wilkos rubber-friendly adhesive lying around and have applied that to all of the holes and tears I could see, some were rather large (1cm across) but assuming that the glue (not advertised as superglue BTW) holds all should be fine and dandy. I'll see what they are like in the morning and will report back.

 

[lukesdad]

Top tip, cheers

I had some Wilkos rubber-friendly adhesive lying around and have applied that to all of the holes and tears I could see, some were rather large (1cm across) but assuming that the glue (not advertised as superglue BTW) holds all should be fine and dandy. I'll see what they are like in the morning and will report back.

99p stuff from wilkos !

 

[Mike_P]

They do that. I was thinking about this at work last week. I recently bought some stuff for repairing wetsuits- Ironmend I think it's called, you cut a patch and iron it on- I used it to fix some shorts* that developed a small hole but next time I get some overshoes I'm thinking of using it to reinforce them.

*Worked well btw. Ironing lycra is usually a bad idea- but the patch is applied by ironing through another substrate to protect the lycra (or neoprene).

Bit of an old thread I know but having somehow acquired a hole in pair of shorts I have tried Ironmend without too much success. The instructions imply the iron should be set to a low setting but to use extra heat when using a piece of wood to protect the other side of the shorts. By extra heat does it mean applying the iron longer or turning the iron up.

 

[palinurus]

Bit of an old thread I know but having somehow acquired a hole in pair of shorts I have tried Ironmend without too much success. The instructions imply the iron should be set to a low setting but to use extra heat when using a piece of wood to protect the other side of the shorts. By extra heat does it mean applying the iron longer or turning the iron up.

I still have the shorts, patched very nicely. Having said that I melted a pair of tights I tried to patch in a similar way (they were years old though). Practice on old lycra. It's possible to apply the iron for a short while, then check to see if the patch seems to have adhered, then apply a bit longer if not. I've only done it twice- and successfully once- so I can't say I have the technique worked out yet.

I've no idea whether it can be used to reinforce overshoes though, I did buy some new overshoes (bargain from Planet X) and didn't try it.