Velotoze Tall Cover

The Velotoze Tall Covers are overshoes simply made from rubber, not that dissimilar to Marigold gloves. They provide highly impressive rain and wind protection with arguable aerodynamic benefits, but a lack of breathability leads to sweaty feet in warmer weather or on longer rides.

Getting the Velotoze Tall Covers on is a battle, if you try to fit them on like regular overshoes. Velotoze suggests the best way to fit them is to first pull them over your feet and up your ankles, slip your shoes on, and then stretch the overshoe over the top and front of the shoe.

The first time you use them does take a while, but you soon get the knack of it. Just don't try to do it in a hurry. Velotoze also recommends reapplying some talcum powder after a few uses, as that helps with the removal. Rubber, talcum powder, we're on thin ice here...

Find your nearest dealer here

Buy these online here

The rubber material forms a second skin. It's like they've been shrink-wrapped into place. The overshoes have a cleat hole and another hole at the heel, to help with the fit. Unlike regular overshoes, though, there are no zips or Velcro straps to fail.

They are snug around the ankles and at first it's a bit irritating as they apply more pressure than other overshoes, but I quickly got used to it.

The first benefit they offer is fantastic bad weather protection. They completely block wind and rain, and I detected no ingress of water during some very wet rides. They easily surpass most other overshoes for weather protection. Apply some silicone spray and the mud will slide right off them.

A second benefit is the aerodynamic one, though it's harder to support with no wind tunnel data. They don't look that dissimilar to the overshoes worn by Team GB and Wiggo, and that seems to have prompted what amounted to about half the competitors in my local 10-mile time trial to rush out and buy them. As far as smoothing the airflow over any sort of shoe, there's no question the super-tight fit achieves that.

The downside is that after some rides my feet and socks were soaked. There is zero breathability. Even a short 10-mile time trial, plus a 30-minute warm up beforehand, was enough to get my feet really sweaty. Not pleasant.

While there's no reason why you couldn't wear them for a longer ride in cooler temperatures, they are most definitely a product best saved for road racing and time trialling. You're going to look a bit of an idiot if you rock up to a club run in a pair of these I reckon, but don't let that stop you.

They're available in two versions, short and tall as tested here. The short ones are a good option over a summer race shoe, but do look a bit odd with exposed socks. The seal around the top isn't as good as the longer version, and is susceptible to letting water drip in. The tall version looks better and provides better protection from the elements. They're available in three sizes and a choice of colours.

Verdict

Fantastic bad weather protection and great for racing and time trialling, but lack breathability for longer rides