How do you keep your feet warm during winter cycling? In this video, I will compare regular socks with the Pactimo wool winter socks and Rapha winter socks, as well as discussing what else I do to keep my feet warm when the temperature gets down towards zero.
The Mavic Crossmax SL Pro Thermo shoe is a winter cycling boot. It supports SPD (mountain bike) cleats but Mavic also produces a road version named Ksyrium Pro Thermo that supports SPD-SL cleats.
My hands and feet get very cold on the bike so I have been on a long quest to work out how to keep them warm. These shoes are the closest I have come so far. They do an excellent job of keeping the wind and rain out so when coupled some winter socks your feet should stay toasty.
They have a lot of fastenings. There is a zip along the front and velcro around the ankle. You can tighten it using a boa dial. Once you have the boots on, you can ignore the zip and velcro and just tighten using the dial. My socks do sometimes get caught in the velcro when putting them on.
They are reasonably light. I measured one shoe at 582 grams, which is only 10 grams more than my summer Mavic shoes. That said, my summer Mavic shoes (573 grams) are heavy compared to non-cycling shoes or even my Shimano triathlon bike shoes which come in at around 350 grams each. For a boot, they feel pretty reasonable.
I am a size 11 in a running shoe and I go for an 11.5 when I buy Mavic. That said, they are generously sized, allowing me to get my big socks in them, so I could probably have gone with an 11 as well. They are pricy, so it depends on how much you value warm feet.
Elina usually buys her footwear from Deichmann. It’s the logical choice. They put all the shoes out there so you can help yourself to a box and try them on. None of this ‘having to interact with someone’ nonsense, that Elina especially hates. After all, it is weird. Sometimes they even take the shoe out and put it on your foot. It’s no surprise some people find that uncomfortable.
While we were at Crown Point, we dropped in to the Nike store. I was curious about how you filled a big retail space exclusively with Nike products. Half of the store is given over to trainers. These, like Deichmann, are just on the shelves for you to help yourself. Prices are really good too. Elina picked up a new pair of trainers for £26. I’ll go here next time, as it’s a nice shopping experience.
Finally we made it home with our new purchases. Being the modern couple that we are: Elina with her sporting goods, and me with my new hair dryer, after my old one packed up last week.
