What do ya do about cold toes?

Today was my first semi long ride in extreme cold weather. I've done my 15 minute commute to and from work in the cold many times and my Tourmaster suit and Widder gloves have always been adequate. Today I rode 80 miles from Dayton to Columbus to go to the Ohio State/Michigan game with my daughter. 16*F when I left the house (a new record low for me!) Everything was ok except my toes, and they were damn cold by the time I got to Columbus. So what do you all do to stave off the froze toes? Electric socks?? Inquiring minds want to know.

Layers. usually 3.

2 cotton, top layer wool.

Dangerous Dave said:

So what do you all do to stave off the froze toes? Electric socks?? Inquiring minds want to know.

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I have foot guards on my bike. I install them every late Fall in preparation for Winter. They do deflect the cold wind away from my toes though I sometimes have to keep the balls of my big feet on the foot pegs so let the engine heat keep my toes warm.

I don't know if they are made for the Gen I bikes any longer. I bought mine years ago from FJRGoodies. Man, oh man, have they gotten "pricey"! I don't remember what I paid for them but they have certainly made helped when riding in cold or wet weather.

madmike2 said:

Dangerous Dave said:

So what do you all do to stave off the froze toes? Electric socks?? Inquiring minds want to know.

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I have foot guards on my bike. I install them every late Fall in preparation for Winter. They do deflect the cold wind away from my toes though I sometimes have to keep the balls of my big feet on the foot pegs so let the engine heat keep my toes warm.

I don't know if they are made for the Gen I bikes any longer. I bought mine years ago from FJRGoodies. Man, oh man, have they gotten "pricey"! I don't remember what I paid for them but they have certainly made helped when riding in cold or wet weather.

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Foot guards? You wuss...

Must be a california thing??

:kiss2:

barb said:

Foot guards? You wuss...
Must be a california thing??

:kiss2:

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Absolutely! That would be a "warm-toed wuss" to you....and it may be more an "age" thing. :blush2:

And....thanks... :air_kiss:

:heart:

Dangerous Dave said:

So what do you all do to stave off the froze toes? Inquiring minds want to know.

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Isn't it obvious? Just loose the sandals!

madmike2 said:

I have foot guards on my bike. I install them every late Fall in preparation for Winter. They do deflect the cold wind away from my toes though I sometimes have to keep the balls of my big feet on the foot pegs so let the engine heat keep my toes warm.

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I have a 400-mile reconn ride into western Idaho tomorrow.... temps in the 20's. It would be a painful experience without these babies right here:



Sadly, the price has indeed skyrocketed on these, and a lot of it is due to shipping costs. Yamaha USA still refuses to import them, but FJRGoodies.com still gets a metric buttload of calls for these FootGuards, so they still import them. Gen II guys have it a little better, because they are color-matched for their bikes. Gen I guys get the charcoal-colored ones above.

Spendy, but still worth every cent if you ride year round in the High Desert of the PacNorWest, believe me.

Guess I should have mentioned that I already have the footguards. Even when I got them three years ago, I decided pretty early on they were NOT worth the hefty price of admission to me. Especially compared to the V-Strom handguards which were a freakin' STEAL by comparison! I had on two pair of socks, one being your off-the-rack over the calf cotton tube socks. On top of those were some really thick tall socks that my sister got for me which I suspect are cotton too, but they're very thick. I think I would have been pretty hard pressed to fit another layer inside my Fieldsheer riding boots. Seems to be a digit problem for me, or maybe as MM2 said, an age thing. My fingers used to be the only thing that was a real problem. Handguards helped when cool, but not cold. Ditto for grip heaters which are awesome on "cool" evenings, but not for this kind of riding. The Widder gloves were like a dream come true when I finally broke down and bought some. So now my toes have become the limiting factor.

Warchild, do you run any other heated gear when doing these kind of temps long distance?? I'm wondering if the elevated core temp helps substantially with this issue...seems like it might. I actually scored a Widder vest off Ebay for real cheap recently, but found out too late to make use of it yesterday that the cord was about 4" too short to make it out of my riding suit and to my Powerlet plug. I tried it on the bike without the suit on and it seemed to reach with a few inches to spare, but apparently, routing it out of the suit ate up more length of cord than I anticipated. Insufficient foresight sure cost me yesterday. I'm going to lengthen the cord, just didn't have the time or wire to do it yesterday. If my daughter would have had an old faulty lamp or kitchen gadget laying around, I would have made a new cord for the trip home, but alas she didn't. So am I on the right track here??

And Barb, I know you're up in cold (but strikingly beautiful!) country up there, but what kind of temps are you actually riding in? I'm sure wool socks can't be too hard to come by, I just don't know if they're enough. Yesterday was supposed to be my "acid test" for the Widder vest...but you already know how that worked out.

Funny, all these people coming from the game would say "aren't you cold??". My reply was, "I didn't have heated gloves in the stadium".

It was like 25*F during the game.

Silly people.

Dangerous Dave said:

Funny, all these people coming from the game would say "aren't you cold??". My reply was, "I didn't have heated gloves in the stadium".
It was like 25*F during the game.

Silly people.

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You might want to try these.

Neoprene socks

I wear medium weight wool blend Thorlo socks under them.

I haven't done the below freezing thing with them yet but as soon as I get my foot guards from one of the forum members I'll add a pair of silk sock liners and start back to commuting 43 miles with this setup.

I have used them below freezing on my mountain bike but never hit 60 mph. If i ever hit 60 it means I had ridden off a cliff. :nono:

Alpaca socks? Haven't tried them myself but they are supposed to be warm.

1 layer of cotton, 1 layer of wool.

...waterproof boots.

I got my toes frostbitten when I was 18 doing stupid stuff...so the circulation down there is suspect...and my toes tend to get cold early. The above combination has worked for me comfortably for riding 2 hours straight at about near freezing at hwy speeds. I get off, get gas and toes have warmed up by the time I am dome gassing up and using the john, getting a coffee, etc.

YRMV

I am less out in the winter cuz of road salt and beet juice spray...getting up in the bike's innards.

Dangerous Dave said:

Today was my first semi long ride in extreme cold weather. I've done my 15 minute commute to and from work in the cold many times and my Tourmaster suit and Widder gloves have always been adequate. Today I rode 80 miles from Dayton to Columbus to go to the Ohio State/Michigan game with my daughter. 16*F when I left the house (a new record low for me!) Everything was ok except my toes, and they were damn cold by the time I got to Columbus. So what do you all do to stave off the froze toes? Electric socks?? Inquiring minds want to know.

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I use a product called Hot Hands II when deer hunting in sub freezing weather to keep my hands warm. Here is a pic of the product: https://www.daddiesboardshop.com/heat-max-h...andwarmers.aspx

They can be had at most Wal Marts (in the hunting supplies dept) and come in a pack of 6 for a couple of bucks. They are a about the size of a tea bag, and when exposed to air, the chemical reaction starts and they stay warm to moderately hot for a period of 6 or so hours. It takes them about 10 or so minutes to start heating up, but after that, it's constant heat. I never go to the woods without them in cold weather.

Have not tried them in the toe of a boot, or inside a sock, but I plan to do just that. I am confident they could also be used to help with warming hands and other parts of the body that get cold during a ride. I believe they could be situated in the riding gloves to really help out on the cold days. So anyway, this is just a thought and it wont cost you much to try it out.

LCJ

First, I wear "Ultimax" socks. They're a "hiker's" sock and IIRC, I bought them at a "Sports-in-a-box store. like Sports Authority, Sports Chalet, REI, etc. (I'm sure Cabelas would have them). They give good support and actually help in the Summer because they "wick" moisture. They are also warmer in the Winter. When on extended trips, I can wash them in the motel and they dry overnight.

Cotton, even 2 or 3 layers, isn't going to help much. You might try some thin wool socks because the material is going to make all the difference in keeping your feet warmer.

Secondly, as noted above, foot position makes all the difference. If I place the balls, rather than the arch, of my feet, on the pegs (You know, the way we're supposed to ride), I can turn my toes slightly toward the engine and let the engine heat warm me.

Then again, I have rather large feet so your technique may be a little different.

Last, I wear a Gerbings liner and gloves (wired separately). I find that if I keep my torso and fingers warm..... B)

In the cold weather I wear a pair of zip up dress boots and have inserted felt liners from hunting boots in them and then of course wool socks. If you are going someplace where you need shoes you would have to carry them with you and change when you arrive. The rubber does a good job in blocking the wind. I wore this system on the Prudhoe Bay trip this year and had warm feet.

Kinda like the Mukluks we wore in the service in Alaska, the Mukluk shell, a heavy felt liner, a wool sock and then a low quarter sock. We were in some extreme weather and the feet were always warm.

Mac

I forgot to add to my previous reply , that if you wear some heated clothing and keep your core temp. up you will help your feet and hands stay warm. I wear a heated long sleeve jacket liner which really helps. I used to use a vest but found my arms getting cold so went for the full liner.

The older I get the harder it seems to stay warm.

Mac

This is all you need. They stay hot for hours and there's no way your toes will be cold with them. CLICK

Lots of company's make them and they're available everywhere. There's a light adhesive on one side to keep them in place while you suit up.

I'm in Columbus and I can vouch for the cold temps. Usually November is full of great 56° days but not this year. My hat's off to you for taking a day trip in these temps. Try the toe warmers, you'll be a believer.

Just put them on the tops not under. I went skiing with a friend who put them under and when we were done the powder was all over and of course the heating stopped.

Gerbing socks with controller. Gerbing socks, heated grips on the 06AE, and Gerbing jacket liner, closed helmet vents.

I gotta admit though that I would not head out from Dayton to Columbus in 16 F temps. That's what cages are for.

spalkin said:

This is all you need. They stay hot for hours and there's no way your toes will be cold with them. CLICK
Lots of company's make them and they're available everywhere. There's a light adhesive on one side to keep them in place while you suit up.

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Those look pretty sweet actually. But again, my (waterproof) riding boots are a close enough fit that if I were to use something like that, I'd probably have to drop down to one pair of socks only, but they could still be thick ones. From some of the other replies, it sounds like there are a few good choices out there. The price on those warmers isn't unreasonable either.

I'm in Columbus and I can vouch for the cold temps. Usually November is full of great 56° days but not this year. My hat's off to you for taking a day trip in these temps. Try the toe warmers, you'll be a believer.
Just put them on the tops not under. I went skiing with a friend who put them under and when we were done the powder was all over and of course the heating stopped.

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It was freaking COLD in the Horseshoe yesterday! Like I said, 16*F when I left in the AM, and I don't think it ever got over 25*F or so in the stadium. As far as the over vs under, I think under would be more comfortable, and I don't think riding creates as much motion in that area as skiing would, so maybe not an issue there.

Thanks for all these great tips y'all. I'm determined to ride as much these days as possible...just for me. Riding just helps me keep my sanity when lots of bad things are going on around me, like work slowdowns and family illnesses. Yamaha...take me away!

El Toro said:

I gotta admit though that I would not head out from Dayton to Columbus in 16 F temps. That's what cages are for.

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Apparently you've never tried to get through or park in Columbus on a game day. A motorcycle is always the weapon of choice under those conditions.