Shimano SH-RW80 Gore-Tex Cold Weather Road Shoe

I commute by bike year round in the Washington DC area. A shoe that could keep my feet warm AND dry would be nice without using plastic bags as shoe liners for the dry part. This is a very well made pair of shoes but the Gore-Tex lining does little to keep water out - when riding in the rain my feet got wet slightly more slowly than with my regular road shoes with neoprene covers, but they certainly got wet. Upon arrival at the office, I was still wringing the water out of my socks!

An annoying aspect is that once these shoes are wet inside, they are quite slow to dry out.

So, what you are really getting is a good winter weather shoe - and this assumes you buy a size or two large so you can wear some good socks, too.

The Shimano description says waterPROOFgore-tex. How can the shoes draw so much water inside? It was bad enough that my socks were soaked, but it took 3 days for the shoes to dry out inside! I will use them as a sub zero riding boot, but never again in the rain. What a disappointment.

I previously wrote a review only addressing the fact that these shoes keep my feet warm. I live in Southern California and I have the luxury of avoiding the rain and still being able to ride as often as I want. However, the other day I got caught in a light rain which I had to ride through for an hour and a half before I could get home. The shoes kept my feet dry during this entire time. Granted, it was not a downpour, as described by some of the other reviewers, but it was constant. When I arrived home, my feet were still dry as was the inside of the shoes.

My husband bought a pair of these shoes and he loved them so I had to have a pair also. I was tired of suffering from frozen toe syndrome. Living in Southern California we have the luxury of not having to ride in the rain. We avoid doing so out of safety concerns so we cannot speak to the issue raised by some reviewers as to how good these shoes are in wet conditions. However, we can say that they keep our feet nice and warm wearing just standard cycling socks. I was concerned about wearing a hightop shoe but they are extremely comfortable and flexible in a good way.

After years of wearing out booties and shoe covers, I finally bought a pair of winter shoes. I wish I had done it years ago. They are extremely comfortable and I finally do not have frozen feet every day I go out on my early morning rides.