Old legs, new kit.

[Si_]

Hi all.

I am rediscovering the joys of cycling now i am back in the land of the prince bishops (county durham to the uninitiated)

problem is my old legs aint what they once were, as theve got twenty years more mileage on em since i last roade in all weathers.

So. i want to protect my knees, and feet from the cold. particularly as I dont have the best circulation in my right leg since i've had the saphinous veins stripped couple of years back.

my old cycle shoes, which are shimano spd "vans style" aint really cutting it, as i have properly painfully cold feet after about an hour. so any recomendations of a good all weather cycling shoe that can be walked in (need the reccessed cleat design) ?

I guess for the knees its bib tights or three quarters? Anyone else have similar issues and solved it with kit they could recommend?

cheers All

si.

 

[Mile195]

On the shoe front, I would suggest finding a normal summer shoe that you find comfortable, then a pair of thick neoprene overshoes for when the temperature requires it. I have some endura overshoes. Bought them for wet weather originally, but actually they get far more use for keeping the toes warm, and they do the job incredibly well.

I have one pair of bib-tights for when the temperature dips below about 5 degrees (above that I stay in shorts). B-Twin (decathlon own brand), and would have been about £40 had I not bought them on sale. I've never needed to add further layers on top of them (such as a pair of trackies which was my old solution before I had any proper kit), no matter how cold it gets.

 

[Si_]

I like the idea of the overshoes. never tried them before, so i'll look into it.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Merino socks, sandwich bags over, shoes then overshoes - make sure they are good thick ones. Tights or bib tights - roubaix and/or Windtex fabric. On the coldest days I also wear a pair of thin tights under as well. (Also wear Ski gloves, glove liners, and if really cold and wet, disposable gloves under. Skull cap, sometimes two if below freezing, under the helmet, buff (neck tube) or motorcycling balaclava - keep extremities warm!)

 

[musa]

TBH you have a lot at your disposal. If you plan to rotate your kit, buy bibshorts - then you can wear them with knee warmers (but in your case, I say do this on a mild day) or legwarmers and if the weather picks up, whip them off and shove into jersey pocket.

as suggested overshoes are good and thermal socks,,however your shoes be a size or half size bigger to allow movement in the shoes, I'm sure you'll know if you restrict flow, your feet will stay cold.

But the above has pretty much nailed it on the head.
Keep the legs pumping to get the blood flow going and if it gets bad, do some jumping jacks on the spot for 5-10minutes.