My cycling shoes stink. It’s gross. They’re not that old, but a combination of getting them wet and sweating in them have made them stink. I stuff yen with newspaper when they get really wet, and I’ve washed the inner soles, but that’s it.
Any suggestions?
Dunno. I’ve worn the same pair of Sidis for commuting for nearly 4 years, rain and shine, and they don’t stink. Maybe YOU stink, JLN…
Sun- UV light is the best deodorant
I find mine only stink if I dont air them. As long as I change my socks, air them after a ride or dry them asap after wet weather I havent had a problem. Maybe stick them in the washing machine then dry them in the sun or with a fan? Ive tried that shoe deoderant on runners - it makes the problem worse.
I’m sure I’ve had some luck with soaking in a vinegar solution. That’s for sneakers though, not sure if soaking cycling shoes in vinegar will fuck with shit?
Doesn’t bicarb soda work? ask Nik Cee - that guy has mad skills with this kinda stuff - he’s the one who taught me the newspaper trick, best shoe related advice ever.
If you grew up playing footy in Melbourne, especially the northern suburbs near the Merri creek, you learned that newspaper trick at an early age. The best way to get stink out is with sun and fresh air.
FWIW, that’s the only thing that gets the stink out of my ice hockey gear. Which I’m not allowed to keep in the house.
The stink is bacteria, best burn them.
I washed my sidi’s a few times but they never stank really just hot dirty.
1:5 is vinegar:warm water or close enough too and a couple of drops of eucalypt or tea tree oil.
I’ll try the #outsideisstinkfree this weekend (it’s supposed to be sunny). If that doesn’t work, I’ll try the vinegar x water x tea tree oil collabo.
Cheers.
The bi-carb ting will get rid of any fungal issues should there be any, and probs some smell too.
I feel your pain, my shoes have more funk than a James B, Parliament and Brass Construction triple headliner at the moment. Its poured rained everyday for a month in Perth and more often than not my feet are getting soaked daily. Had ankles colder than my toes this morning which makes for a strange sensation.
The stink is getting embarrassing at work so gotta do something this weekend.
McLintock’s Vanilla Fridge Deodorant. Available at most supermarkets.
Forget everything else. I use it on wetsuit booties, thongs, gumboots, cycling shoes…whatever stinks.
It’s anti bacterial and makes your rank footwear smell like a cake shop from your childhood.
With all due respect CC, that sounds horrible!
What…you don’t like cake? What sort of person doesn’t like cake? Or the smell of cake?
bicarb soda + euco oil. let it sit for a few days (in the sun is best).
make sure you have plenty of airflow into the shoe (eg pull the tongues out)
shake out the leftover bicarb
enjoy.
(ti tree oil is also good, but i like the euco smell more).
also when i dry my shoes with newspaper i make sure i do it with the tongues open and change the paper frequently (daily or more if they are totally soaked).
and use good euco oil… the generic stuff is rubbish.
I left them in the sun with the inner soles out and the tongues out all Saturday and it seemed to kind of work. I tried the vinegar x water x tea tree oil collabo on Saturday night and let them soak, then rinsed them and put them in the sun (again with the inner soles and tongues out) all Sunday. That made it a bit better.
I might give the bi-carb soda a shot this weekend.
one time i forgot to do this and for a whole day i was a one-man smoke machine.