Cleats and Cold Feet

My patent solution is the Hot Hands handwarmers - available in packs of ten from Halfords and on-line.  They look like tea bags and you put them on top of your shoes, inside neoprene shoe covers.  Not exactly hot on a cold day, but not cold either, which is a result.  They last for ten hours, BUT, if you wrap them up tight in a plastic bag after use, they go cold, and reheat when you take them out into the air again.  I manage to make one pair last for two days of commuting, an hour each way.

I bagged some Craft neoprene toe covers from Rutland Cycling for £3 a pair recently, they're like overshoes but as the name suggests only cover the toebox of the shoe.

I'm a new convert to neoprene overshoes, the basic £20 ones from Wiggle. I suffer from cold toes and they're the best thing I've discovered for ages!

Tin foil??? Rule 5.......

Tape up the vents on your shoes with electrical tape.

Slightly off-the-beaten path solution - I use single-sided SPD's i.e. with plain backs (Shimano M324 combination pedals). When the weather gets colder I use ordinary shoes (Clarke's sale!), slightly oversize, with enough room for 2 pairs of socks! Cheap, cheerful and practical!

I had the same issue with cold feet until I taped up my shoe vents and used overshoes. 

Get these: only £8 at the mo and I swear by them on my commute through the dark months...

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLPXOSH/planet-x-neoprene-overshoes

Best move i ever made - for winter i use cheapish shoes which are about one size and a half too big then i can layer up with thick socks. Cheapish shoes also tend to be less vented and warmer.
Just make sure your cleat position is pushed further back than normal to compensate for the larger shoe.
Then overshoes on top.

If you are going to wear thicker socks and use different insoles, make sure you have enough room in the shoe. If it's tight your blood flow won't be as good and you will still have cold feet. I went up half a size and my problems went away. Although I now own winter boots!

I've had great results with the GCN tip of putting tin foil round your toes to help keep the heat in.

silver foil under the insoles -shiney side up ....

prendas thermolite socks are excellent, galibier 'softshell' over shoes for this time of year and some sealskin neoprene for winter / wet.

I just tend to wear overshoes from October > March; sorts out my cold feet.

It's another one of those things you tinker with til you get what works for you. Combination of better socks, doubling up on socks, overshoes, winter inner soles....

Or, follow Wiggo's tweets from a few years back: sock on, cling film over your sock, then shoe. He made no comment as to whether his chosen brand was the most appropriate solution for his situation, or whether there were performance-enhancing side effects.

you need these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/castelli-diverso-socks/

(other brands are available)

and then when temperature drops lower you may need these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/northwave-celsius-2-gtx-spd-winter-boots-wiggle-exclusive/ or at least these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-extreme-weather-neoprene-overshoe/

As Chris says, cycling shoes tend to have a ot of vents, which is great in the summer, less good in the winter. More likely to be the vents causing you problems than conduction through the cleats.

In the deepest deepness of winter, you may notice the effect of metal cleats acting has mini heat sinks.

At any other time, it'll be vents and airflow through the upper that will freeze yer feet.

That aside, I do have foil backed wool insoles that I use in my spring-autumn commuter shoes... But being in Glasgow the temperature range is roughly 5-20 degrees so hardly extreme.

My cycle shoes have a lot of vents or fabric sections in them in them for summer when my feet can get a bit hot.  Overshoes solve the problem on colder rides.

I went out the other day without my overshoes and I knew about it pretty soon, even with merino socks!