Socks; are they really that complicated? « CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum

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Socks; are they really that complicated?

(25 posts)

Started 10 years ago by skotl
Latest reply from Focus

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skotl
Member

Last couple of days I have merrily commuted my way in from Dalmeny to the Edinburgh Metropolis.
Arrived safe and sound, (mostly) dry and warm. Except for me feet. Bl**dy freezing.

If I win the lottery then the answer is clear enough; invest in sealskinz socks.

Meanwhile, back in the commutery real world... Come on... £30 for a pair of socks? And I need five pairs to last me the week, so £150 on socks?

What do you folks do in the real world? Do I need to buy cyclist/sport/athlete socks or can I get some builders' socks from screwfix?

Posted 10 years ago #
Instography
Member

Decathlon have great socks. £5 a time. Really long - almost up to your knees. Slack lacing on the shoes to stop all the air getting compressed out and you're toasty.

The secret to warm extremities is to have your core really warm.

Posted 10 years ago #
Charterhall
Member

Some people are more susceptible to cold feet than others. For me I use normal weight socks for most of the year, supplemented by neoprene overshoes as necessary. I only need to call on thicker woollen socks when it falls below zero.

For me the most important aspect of socks are their length and colour but that belongs on a different thread.

Posted 10 years ago #
Nelly
Member

skotl, while this 'may' turn into another thread altogether......why 5 pairs of socks for a weeks commuting? I use pretty much the same gear - including sealskins if its cold and wet - all week.

Or is this unusual?

Posted 10 years ago #
Min
Member

Yep, I use my single pair of sealskinz all week. They have merino wool in them so don't smell like normal socks.

Posted 10 years ago #
SRD
Moderator

'Fraid I had the same thought as Nelly....but then my commute's pretty short and doesn't generate that much sweat.

Posted 10 years ago #
gembo
Member

I have longer commute. I have two pairs of sealskinz. If it hasn't rained I will put them back on again next day. If it has rained they get pretty wet and indeed can have water sloshing about inside them. They go on the radiator or straight in washing machine dependent on state of them. I use overshoes, I use hillwalking socks, I have socks for inside your shoes that are goretex, you can't walk in them, they are not recommended. Sometimes wear two or three pairs of normal socks.

if a size 42 pair of boots turf up in sales I will buy them, they are recommended.

Just tried this feeble joke on my youngest

CeeCee (not real name) Do your socks have holes in them?

CEeCee replies No

I say, well how do you get your feet in?

Posted 10 years ago #
Nelly
Member

hooray for Min and SRD ! I was wondering if I would get lots of 'yuk' type comments. I am always amazed at some commuters in my office - new tops and bottoms every day, their washing baskets must be himalayan.

skotl, Sealksinz are excellent at keeping your tootsies warm - I know, I suffer cold toes and fingers.

Invest in one or two pair - approx 2-3 x cost of normal socks, but the payback in warmth for the next 4 months is huge.

currently sitting typing this in a pair of Mavic 'cold weather socks' - that I am wearing them about to fettle indoors tells you something about their 'cold weather-ness'

edit - gembo, good one - my old man has been using that joke on me since I was a kid, and I am now 46 !!

Posted 10 years ago #
DaveC
Member

I have Endura overshoes. Toasty.

Posted 10 years ago #
gembo
Member

Of course sealskinz also have different grades of warmth and maybe length? I went full strength. Also had every pair out in blacks to find two that I liked as quality seemed variable in that particular blacks batch.

Two pairs so you can alternate if you are washing or drying them. Make sure they are not too tight and keep your toenails clipped. They will then last a very long time. Change out of them into normal socks at work so they are dry for home time and you can use them the next day.

I bought some dear socks from decthlon. Hiking. Lightweight but warm enough in autumn just to have the one pair on and thin enough for road shoes etc.

Posted 10 years ago #
skotl
Member

Hmmm... see? I knew there would be options :D

OK - so five sets of decathlon socks or one set of sealskinz - will have a look at the prices again!
At the moment, I just cycle to work and stay in the same socks but I guess I could wear skinz on the commute and switch to normal socks during the day.

Don't want to be offending other people in the office with smelly feet!
Cheers for the suggestions, all.

Posted 10 years ago #
wee folding bike
Member

Whatever socks are top of the pile and Docs.

The arrangement of your layers can be an issue with water proof socks. You might end up wicking water inside them.

Posted 10 years ago #
sallyhinch
Member

Another cause of really cold feet can be sweat, paradoxically. Some people find a squirt of antiperspirant on the feet works wonders - stops your feet sweating and then the sweat cooling inside your socks. Solves the smelly sock problem too.

I knit my own socks from merino mix sock wool. Costs about £6 a pair and they do last for ages and are very warm plus it makes me feel slightly less inadequate about my practical skills - sure, I can barely fix a puncture but at least I can turn a heel...

Posted 10 years ago #
Schemieradge
Member

When it's particularly cold I wear any old socks and trainers but I put on my terminally uncool (but ridiculously handy) £18 Eager Spats over the top. Best biking purchase I ever made.
Never had cold feet all of last winter. I guess it's the windproofing.

Posted 10 years ago #
Greenroofer
Member

I don't understand the point of waterproof socks. My aim is to keep the water out of the shoes.

I wear normal wool-mix work socks (Marks and Spencer's) inside a pair of Specialized Tahoe shoes. I keep warm and dry with overshoes on top. I've just bought some of these, which I am liking because they don't go under the heel so may not wear out as fast as I find overshoes usually do. When it gets really cold I put on neoprene overshoes instead.

I have a spare pair of socks at work in case of excessive water ingress through the top of the overshoe on the morning commute. They are rarely needed...

Posted 10 years ago #
Boab08
Member

Yep, I use my single pair of sealskinz all week. They have merino wool in them so don't smell like normal socks.

Ditto.

Don't see the need in changing them every day for two 30 minute commutes.

Posted 10 years ago #
EddieD
Member

The way I look at is - how often do you change/wash your cycling gloves (in my case, also sealskinz) :)

Posted 10 years ago #
Slug
Member

I picked up 3 pairs of Merino socks in GoOutdoors for £12 (or was it £14?) in a deal a few months ago and I had mixed results walking in them, so relegated them to minor hill routes. They were warm though.

I've recently taken up cycling to work and duly been suffering the 'toothache of the toes', (having previously suffered frostbite) even with wearing goretex boots and thick mountain socks. A work colleague suggested I get overshoes, which I duly did - a tenner from Decathlon - and this morning I wore them and a pair of the Merino socks to work. It was showing 4 degrees on the Pentlands but my feet were surprisingly warm... no problems at all! I have no idea if it was the overshoes, the socks or a combination of both, but something good was going on there!

Posted 10 years ago #
skotl
Member

I'm starting to wonder about the overshoes.
I bought a set of Enduras from EBC but they're a complete faff - I bought the extra large, having size 11 feet, but they are a huge stretch to get on and often pop their Velcro so I only wear them when it's raining.

For a tenner I'll pop into Decathlon and check our their overshoes. Cheers, Slug.

Posted 10 years ago #
Slug
Member

You're welcome mate, but as I said, maybe something to do with the merino socks? The overshoes are a bit awkward to put on, but if it means warm feet, I can handle that. Here's a link to the ones I got, (naturally, the cheapest!):

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/shoe-covers-3-black-white-id_8281458.html

Posted 10 years ago #
gembo
Member

I have two pairs of overshoes. One set for road shoes and they are ok. The other set I bought the largest size possible and they just about fit over my trainers.

They are a faff.

Posted 10 years ago #
fimm
Member

I find I can keep my overshoes on the front of my cycling shoes while taking the shoes on and off, which reduces the faff level of the overshoes quite considerably. I do have triathlon specific shoes, though, with a single velcro strap, which may make a difference...

Posted 10 years ago #
amir
Member

I use toe covers - e.g. craft or dhb. Made of neoprene, they are useful when the weather's not bad enough for overshoes.

There's an article on road.cc about keeping feet warm
http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/71966-how-keep-your-feet-warm-winter

Posted 10 years ago #
cb
Member

It's usually worth checking the ingredients of 'merino' socks. If the price seems really good you may find that they are only 30% merino or so.

Posted 10 years ago #
Focus
Member

A little warming tip:

Some insulating insoles use silver to reflect heat back towards the foot so I thought I might make my own. Last week, Lidl had radiator foil on sale, the type you stick behind radiators to push the air out from the wall. It's backed with a thin layer of expanded polystyrene so that would provide a small degree of insulation a well as making it pliable enough to fit the shape of the shoe.

So,I cut shapes to match the existing insoles, taped around the edges and placed them inside with the original insoles on top. It makes minimal difference to the space inside the shoe as it's so thin but does appear to make a small difference in temperature. I've got a pair of "Toasty Lidl Feet" (see what I did there?) in each of my main two pairs of shoes.

Maybe nothing dramatic but it cost next to nothing compared to shop bought ones.

Posted 10 years ago #

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Socks; are they really that complicated?

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