# Coolest (temp wise) shoes for hot summer cycling



## Upnorth

Recently on several very hot 90+ days with long rides 8 to 12 hrs, we had a number of riders experience hot spots on feet. It's a combination of hot weather making feet swell and the long hours. I switched from my black shoes to white shoes on a recent 12 hr ride and it was much better. This has me thinking maybe Tri shoes might be better for extremely hot weather? Thoughts? If you have tried this then what shoes did you find the coolest?


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## n2deep

I find that hot spots are related to cushioning and sock thickness, not ventilation. I wear a much thicker compression sock in the summer than in the winter. More ventilation will help keep your feet dry but at 100F and 90% humidity,, only an ice bucket works..


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## MMsRepBike

I certainly struggle with heat and sweat, but not my feet.

My feet also never swell. If anything, I have to tighten my shoes near the end of a long ride, not loosen them.

I wear socks that are super minimal, the tops are nothing more than a very thin mesh all the way from the toes to the cuff. That might be the key for me, not sure.

I'm going to tend to agree with the above saying that heat isn't the issue really with peoples feet, it's a fit issue with those particular shoes vs anything I bet. Shouldn't matter how hot or cold, there should never be hot spots on the feet. That's a fit issue for sure if you ask me.


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## Marc

Hot spots to me point to a setup problem....probably shoes, and cheaper ones at that.


Good wicking socks help with foot comfort. Coolmax socks can be had cheap on Amazon.


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## Oxtox

have never noticed my feet being uncomfortable in hot weather, that only happens when it's cold...

'hot spots' typically aren't related to air temperature.

usually more about shoe/cleat issues...


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## Jay Strongbow

I'm pretty sure tri shoes are just road shoes with a different retention system so they are quicker to take off and put on.
Sure a lot of them are well ventilated but so are a lot of regular road shoes.
I can't think of any logical reason a tri shoe would reduce hot spots just because it's a tri shoe.


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## Srode

I thought hot spots were due to joint / pinched nerve issue not temperature?  I wear shoes year round that fit lose enough foot swelling isn't an issue.


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## Upnorth

It is heat related for sure. 5 different riders that have multiple pairs of shoes each and ride from early spring to late fall all experience this issue only when heat is extreme. All are club riders that are averaging 200-600 kms per week. If it was fit or pressure issue we would get hot spots all the time. Normally I wear merino wool socks, this past weekend I tried some very thin Iron Man socks I picked up at running shop and that helped somewhat. I'm still thinking that tri shoes and bare feet may be the ticket for better ventilation? The tri shoes I've looked at are definitely better vented than the majority of regular cycling shoes.


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## bootsie_cat

I don't agree that it is breathability or color.
I wore a set of black Bont shoes in some really hot temps this weekend- no issues.

It has more to do with shoe fit, insoles, and cleat setup.

Being dialed minimizes issues.

I have also seen numerous people, put their shoes on and totally crank them tight- over-tightening a shoe will add to foot pain, especially on a hot day.


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## Oxtox

Upnorth said:


> It is heat related for sure.


case closed then. 

get white tri shoes and you should be all set.


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## Upnorth

This seems to be the general opinion so far. The difficulty I'm having on the fit part is: in my case shoes I've had for 2 years and over 5000kms so far this year - never an issue and then on extremely hot day - twice have this issue in same shoes? 3 others same deal - never an issue until these two very long hot days? One person said she gets the hot spot on all long rides - so that is fit issue for sure - the others????


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## Upnorth

I bought white Bontrager Tri shoes last night. Still has me puzzled but I'm willing to try anything to not have the issue as it was painful. My thoughts were that many others must experience this if there is 5 of us in a group of 16 having same issue. Might just be the extremes as well and very high humidity. A long distance cyclist that joined us one day said it's heat swelling issue. For me it has never been an issue in past, just on two rides that were extremely hot?


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## MMsRepBike

Upnorth said:


> It is heat related for sure.



We can agree to disagree then.

Changing shoes will only help if they fit different (better/correctly) or if you place the cleats different. If they fit the same with the same cleat position, you'll have the same problem.

I don't care if all of the riders had the same problem, I stand by the diagnosis of poor fit. Either poor fitting shoes/socks or poorly placed cleats.

Many of you could have feet that swell. I hear it's common. The swelling will make the poor fit obvious.

Try different shoes, normal ones, that fit you really well.

I've had several pairs of shoes in the past that give me hot spots and pain and issues in areas. Bont, Shimano, not talking anything but high end stuff here but that doesn't matter. It's about how well a shoe fits your foot.

Your feet change size and shape over time. You realize that right?


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## crit_boy

8 to 12 hours is a very long ride. That is especially long for people who ride less than 10 hours per week (200 km folks). Pain in all kinds of places will show up on with that much time in the saddle. That ride length is still long for people who do 20 hour weeks. 

I have found that keeping my shoes looser and/or loosening them way up for rest stops helps minimize my foot pain. 

Comes down to buying top end, well-fitting shoes (unfortunately this is now >$300 shoes) and spending a lot of time on the bike training for such long rides (200 km per week isn't enough to expect to ride 8-12 hours without really hating it).


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## Oxtox

fwiw, 90F isn't really what a lot of us would consider as 'very hot'...

summer temps here can hit 105+F with regularity and you never hear of anyone complaining of 'seasonal hot spots'...

and no one switches over to white shoes to have cooler feet.

it's not the ambient air temp that's causing the problem.


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## woodys737

Upnorth...I ride in Phoenix all year and have found heat is absolutely a factor with hot spots. To answer your question I've ridden a number of high end shoes over the years such as: Specialized S-Works, Giro Factor, Mavic Zxellium, Diadora (forget the model) and currently ride the DMT R1 and R1S...Easily the coolest shoe was the Mavic. Ironically the warmest shoe is the DMT R1S which I purchased thinking they'd be cooler than the regular R1.


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## Upnorth

I don't own a pair of shoes that cost less than $300.00 and they all fit good. By this time of year I'm riding 400-700kms per week. I have never had hot spot issues in all my years of cycling. Just these two really hot/humid days which where both over 8 hrs of riding. Loosening shoes and taking them off at rest stops helped me. Normally around here when temps hit close to 100 most folks don't do 8-10-12 hr rides. Another long distance rider who does 200-400-600 and 1200km rides each year told me it is something he sees and hears about only when hot as folks that ride that much get fit figured out pretty early on in game. So, we'll see how the new tri shoes work. Barefoot should help as well. There is a reason the locals in Africa, Australia and other hot regions go barefoot all the time when hot. The foot regulates the body temp to a much greater degree than the head which is what most people think has greater factor.


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## dcorn

Any shoe with a ton of mesh or vents in it is going to be cooler than one with just a bunch of small holes or perforations. 

Plus, white. I can feel my feet baking in my black mountain shoes, but not in my white road shoes.


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## Peloton808

I ride in Lake SPD sandals on my road bike in the summer then wear them with socks in cooler temperatures. Never have hot feet but it seldom gets really hot in the Seattle area.


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## GammaDriver

This thread is a disaster - people mixing up hot spots with hot feet, and some (apparently) mixing up heat with developing hot spots. 

Suggestion: Lock the thread.


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