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Chilly or warm, there’s nothing worse than riding a bicycle with soggy wet socks and shoes.

To combat this, you can either go the expensive route of purchasing waterproof cycling shoes, or go the cheaper route and buy some waterproof overshoes.

Being a bicycle commuter I set off on the bicycle regardless of the weather and a staple of my cycle kit are waterproof overshoes (I’ve had the same bicycle shoes for around 5 years now so buying specific waterproof shoes seemed like a waste of money).

Not sure what to buy, my first overshoes were BBB’s Waterflex overshoes. Two years of use later, here’s my review of them.

Design wise the BBB Waterflex overshoes fit over your shoes with a velcro strap on the bottom and a zip up the rear (with another velcro strap on the calf).

This design works well enough however I did find that the ankle fit was a bit loose (even with the calf velcro strap done up tight) when compared to the fit of the overshoe on the shoes.

I run mountain bike SPD compatible bicycle shoes so I had to purchase slightly bigger overshoes than BBB recommend for road shoe sizes. I don’t know if this had something to do with the calf fit (bigger shoes, bigger calves?) or whether I just have non-standard calves but the end result was water seeping through the top of the overshoes.

This was alleviated with the purchase of waterproof cycling trousers, however I still found my feet eventually getting wet.

BBB state that the Waterflex overshoes are made from

outer polyurethane (PU) rubber with inner MicroFleece give the highest level of water-resistance, flexibility and durability.

In the two years I used BBB Waterflex overshoes, I’ve found that typically by the end of a winter season with non-daily use, the material looks pretty worn.

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I found that the Waterflex overshoes worked well for a few months but by the end of the season was definitely letting water in from somewhere. My calves were covered by the trousers so it wasn’t getting in from there.

The only culprit left I believe is the polyurethane material itself, which cracks and lets water in.

On the topic of build quality, while I never had any problems with the velcro strap underneath the shoe and the zip and strap on the rear of the shoe, I can’t say the same for the sole of the overshoe.

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Note that the above photo was taken of my left overshoe, which is worse given that when riding only my right foot touches the ground (the right overshoe has even more wear in the same place). I make a pointed effort not to walk around in overshoes so what wear occurs is only from brief walks to and from the bike.

This happened to both pairs of overshoes bought over a period of two years.

All in all for the $50 USD or so I paid for the BBB Waterflex overshoes I was left pretty unimpressed. They keep the water out when new for a few months and then just stop working altogether.

I suppose I could use them as windproof overshoes but having bought them for the specific purpose of keeping my shoes dry, that’s a poor compromise.

I’d recommend looking at other waterproof overshoe options over the BBB Waterflex.




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