Shimano RW5 Dryshield SPD-SL Shoes

One of the worst things about riding through the winter is getting cold, wet feet. A good set of waterproof overshoes can help, but if you can stretch to a set of winter cycling shoes then they're a bit less faff to get on and off and should last a lot longer. The RW5 Dryshield SPD-SLs from Shimano certainly kept my feet warm through some fairly grim days, but the waterproofing is only effective if you can keep the opening covered, which I found difficult with bib tights.

The RW5s are made using a DryShield membrane, which is pretty effective at keeping water at bay. Road spray and showers didn't trouble it, and it was only when riding in persistent heavy rain that I got wet feet. The problem, as ever, is in stopping ingress around the leg. Shimano has used a neoprene cuff intended to provide a basic seal around the leg, but your leg and ankle are moving continuously when cycling, and it's just not a very good seal.

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With some overshoes, I can get a good overlap with the bottom of my bib tights, which serves to prevent the water running down my legs and straight into my shoes. Here, I found the neoprene cuff was about an inch too short to achieve a reliable overlap with a range of tights. That meant heavier rain would get in via the top of the shoes fairly easily.

What these really want is some good waterproof trousers, cut long enough to comfortably overlap the top of the shoes. It's fairly hilly around these parts, and waterproof trousers just don't work for me – leaving me as wet from sweat as I would have been from the rain. If you wear waterproof trousers then these shoes would do an excellent job of keeping your feet dry.

The RW5 is the road shoe in Shimano's 2016/17 winter range, and there's the similar MW5 shoe which is aimed at mountain biking. These RW5 shoes have holes for 2 and 3-bolt cleats, with minimalist markings to help with alignment – I'd have liked these to be more visible. They work best with road cleats, as without a cutout to accommodate the 2-bolt cleat they're not very stable to walk in. If you're intending to use mountain bike pedals, I suggest you'd be better looking at the MW5s.

Closure here is via a "speed lace" and a series of Velcro flaps. The speed lace is similar to that used on snowboard boots where you yank on a long loop of thin lace and slide down a friction lock to keep it tight. It's a low-cost solution, but it's certainly quicker than tying laces and I found it pretty easy to get a comfortable fit. There are three different flaps that you close up after tightening the lace, which is a little bit more fiddly than seems strictly necessary.

Fit is good. I've got on well with recent Shimano shoes, and it's the same here. As with the RP5 from last year, there's loads of wiggle room up front, so if you find that some shoes pinch your toes, these are definitely worth a look. The inner surface of the shoe is lined with a fleecy material which I found really helped keep my feet warm and cosy.

> Essential wet weather cycling kit

The absence of carbon fibre in the sole makes for a bit more flex than some higher-end shoes, but I doubt this will be an issue for most people – these don't pretend to be race shoes. Winter shoes tend to be quite a bit heavier than regular cycling shoes, and at just under 900g for a pair of size 48s, these are lighter than some I've used, such as the MT90s. 

Shimano has thought about visibility, which is welcome, and used a novel fluorescent material around these shoes that also glows in the dark for a while after being exposed to light. These yellow sections aren't as eye-catching in car headlights as true reflective material, but they're better than nothing.

So what of the holy grail of warm, dry feet on a filthy day? Well, you'd either need to have overlapping waterproof trousers, or to use some sort of gaiter around the top of the boots (I've heard of people fashioning a gaiter from the wrist part of a rubber workshop glove). Worn with tights and no seal, they'll keep spray and drizzle off, but won't keep your feet dry for long if it's really teeming down.

Verdict

Warm and comfortable winter shoes, but they won't keep heavy rain out for long without assistance