What to look for when buying winter cycling shoes

Weatherproofing

It’s not just chilly temperatures and the wind that make your feet cold in winter. Wet conditions are a real problem, too, so the key to a good pair of winter cycling shoes is weatherproofing and added insulation.

Look for shoes with Gore-Tex or other waterproof membranes built into the uppers. Just like with waterproof jackets for cyclists, these fabrics help make shoes waterproof, windproof and breathable (the last of which is important to avoid sweat building up on the inside and eventually making feet cold).

However, while winter shoes are designed to keep rain out, the cuff sometimes acts as a weak spot for water ingress.

Insulation, through the addition of thicker, fleecy fabrics, and a lack of ventilation in the uppers is also important because you want to trap heat within the shoe, rather than let it escape to the outside air.

Sole

Winter-specific cycling shoes tend to have a more flexible sole than race-dedicated summer shoes, and while you might be giving up a couple of watts when really cranking on the pedals, you’ll appreciate the extra comfort over the course of a long ride or whenever you have to get off the bike and walk.

If you’re a dedicated road rider, then a shoe with a road sole (i.e. one without any tread and designed to accommodate a road cleat), as found on the Fizik Artica R5, will do fine and often go better with the sleek look of your road kit.

But if there’s any chance of going off-road, or even just on rough or icy surfaces, then the grippy tread present on an MTB-style sole is a real boon – you don’t want to have to resort to walking on road cleats during the winter.

Road or MTB cleat?

Similar to the previous point about soles and tread, it’s easy to assume that if you ride a road bike you should get shoes that are compatible with road cleats, and though these will be fine on cold, dry rides on nice roads, for everything else, it’s worth considering mountain bike cleats.

Though they usually mean a smaller, marginally less stable platform than road pedals, MTB cleats and compatible shoes often have a number of advantages over road shoes that come into their own during the winter.

Things such as tread and mud clearance aren’t something most roadies usually have to pay much attention to, but come across a slippery section of road or an overly muddy farm track that you just can’t traverse on your road bike, and you’ll instantly regret having to climb off and shuffle delicately over the obstacle in your road shoes.

If you want a more in-depth look at the difference between road and MTB pedals and cleat systems, check out our guide on how to use clipless pedals.

Fit

While you usually want a pair of summer cycling shoes to fit snugly with thin, lightweight socks, a little extra room for warm socks can be invaluable in winter shoes.

Many brands build in this extra room as standard, meaning you might be able to just go with your normal size, but this isn’t always the case

As always with shoes, it’s worth visiting a shop in person or ordering from a retailer with a good returns policy, so you can try them on for size with the kind of socks you’re likely to want to wear while riding.

Other features

One of the most important areas of a winter cycling shoe is the ankle cuff. A well-designed cuff should fit snugly to help keep out wind and water, while still allowing you to get the shoes on and off without too much trouble.

While it might also add a little weight and bulk, a tall cuff that extends a bit further up your calf will also add a bit more protection and allow you to utilise one of BikeRadar staffers’ most beloved tricks: putting the end of your tights over the top of the cuff of the shoe or overshoes.

The idea is that water will run off the bottom of the tight and onto the outside of the shoe, rather than soaking down the inside of the cuff and into your socks. It’s not necessarily a great look, we’ll admit, but if you can get over that, it works very well.