Spatz Legalz GLO UCI Legal Race Overshoes with High Viz Reflective Detailing

The Spatz Legalz Glo UCI Legal Race Overshoes with High Viz Reflective Detailing live up to the excellent reputation Spatz has earned, and are a great choice if you don't want to go for one of its knee-high offerings. They're expensive, but if you're serious about riding through the UK winter, it's a purchase you won't regret.

You'll find more options in our guide to the best cycling overshoes, if your budget is a bit more limited – or you're not keen on the Spatz look...

> Buy now: Spatz Legalz Glo UCI Legal Race Overshoes with High Viz Reflective Detailing for £69.90 from Merlin Cycles

If you've ridden a bike in the UK during the winter months, I can guarantee you will have had cold, wet feet at some point. The best way I have found to get around that is with a pair of Spatz overshoes.

If you haven't come across Spatz before, you might find the overshoes' look quite unusual, especially with the fluoro details of the Legalz Glo. I've become very accustomed to them over the past few years and now really like the way they look, and much prefer them to a more traditional overshoe design.

They're made from neoprene, with a Kevlar-reinforced toe area, and a more durable patch on the inside of the ankle.

The neoprene means these act in a similar way to a wetsuit, so that if water gets in, whether through the underside of your shoe or from soaking down from above the cuff, the Legalz Glo traps the water close to the skin, and keeps you warm with it – unlike non-neoprene overshoes that get very cold if water manages to make its way in.

The only downside of the neoprene is that it can be damaged quite easily by sharp objects. It is possible to repair them with neoprene glue, but in my experience they're never as good as when new, so it's important to look after them.

Legal height

I've enjoyed using Spatz overshoes for a few years, and the excellent Legalz Glos are every bit as good as the others, performing excellently throughout the winter, but without the 'aggressive' height of the Roadman or Pro ranges.

The Spatz overshoe range includes the Legalz, the Roadman and the Pro, with the main difference being – no prizes for guessing – that the Legalz are UCI legal, and sit halfway between the ankle and knee. The Roadman and Pro overshoes finish a lot higher, just below the knee.

The Legalz also incorporate Spatz' excellent Glo from the Roadman 3 overshoe. I think this is a great addition for anyone riding in the UK, as the days have a tendency to be dark and with low visibility, so any bonus provided by manufacturers is great.

The Legalz are also slightly thinner, and therefore slightly cooler. They're aimed at the worst weather for racing, while the Pros and Roadmans (Roadmen?) are simply aimed at the worst weather imaginable.

In my experience, I'm happy to wear the Legalz down to about freezing, but will choose the Roadmans if it's colder than that.

Though lower than the Pro and Roadman overshoes, the Legalz go come up quite a lot higher than other brands' neoprene overshoes, giving more coverage and therefore warmth.

They also have durable and reinforced patches around high-wear areas, which is crucial for neoprene.

Get ’em on

When you get a pair of Spatz for the first time, you might be a bit confused as to how to put them on, with no zip or Velcro at the back. It might seem a bit strange, but the tip is to put them on before you put your shoes on. There's a little Velcro tab on the underside which then wraps around the sole of your shoe and tightens the package down beautifully.

I found the sizing to be totally accurate. As someone who rides with a size 45 shoe, the M-L overshoes fitted me like a glove, being nice and snug – not baggy, but not so tight that I was risking damaging them while putting them on.

They're also a breeze to clean. I found the best way to clean and dry the Legalz Glos was to spray them off with a hose after a dirty ride, or a sponge if they were exceptionally dirty, and then put them on the radiator inside out, to make sure the inside is nice and dry for my ride the following day.

Value

At £69.99, the Legalz Glo are reasonably expensive – nearly twice the price of the DexShell Light Weight Overshoes, for example – but when you compare the performance, there is no rivalling the Spatz for keeping your toes dry and toasty no matter what the elements throw at you. I thoroughly believe they are worth spending the extra on; it is an area you won't regret splashing the cash a little.

Some overshoes even cost more – the Universal Colours Mono Overshoes are £80, and don't offer nearly the performance of the Spatz.

Looking at other neoprene overshoes, Castelli's Diluvio ULs, which Mat reviewed a couple of years ago, are slightly cheaper at £65, but don't sound quite as warm and don't come up as high, nor do Rapha's Deep Winter overshoes – which are also more expensive at £75, though we haven't tested those.

Conclusion

Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed using the Spatz Legalz Glos, and would recommend them to anyone, especially if you think the full-length offerings from Spatz are too extreme, or if being UCI legal is important to you.

I think Spatz has worked out the recipe for making winter months a load more bearable, and these overshoes are an excellent example of that. If you enjoy having feeling in your toes, then these overshoes are for you. They're the only brand of overshoe that has kept me warm.

Verdict

An excellent set of overshoes, outshining others for the winter