Which cycling shoes

[Muswell Phil]

I commute by bike through London everyday and thought a pair of cycle shoes would really help, a fiend has advised that I would be a lot better with the mountain bike style ones rather than road as I will be able to walk a bit better in them (though I'm not so worried about this) and more importantly they locate on the pedal a lot easier making it easier off the dangerous London lights. Is this right?

[thirdcrank]

There are all sorts of clipless pedal system and you are looking at buying shoes + pedals. There is some interchangeabilty in that some makes of shoe have adaptors available to allow them to operate with more than one sort of pedal. I.e. you need to look at the whole system, not just the shoes.

The systems are very broadly divided into two types: 'road' ie primarily racing pedals and mountain bike types. This is not hard and fast, as plenty of road riders use that type of pedal for commuting etc, but I fancy a majority of tourists use mountain bike types, of which probably the most common is Shimano SPD.

The sole of the shoe has a metal widget called a 'cleat' and snaps into the pedal - an idea originally copied from ski safety bindings. To remove your foot you twist it out. Pedals are adjustable to make release easier or harder. There is one type of Shimao cleat (Type M I think) which is intended to allow release any which way.

Although you can walk in racing type shoes, they are not inteded for the purpose, it is not easy and can damage them. It is possible to get protectors for some types but they are not for walking far. Mountain bike type shoes tend to have a heavier sole and the cleat is recessed which means they are a lot more suitable for walking. You can get SPD shoes in trainer styles and even open toes sandals which arguably makes the wearer appear more normal.

If you are worried about whether you will like them, Shimano do a relatively cheap model which is plain on onside, and takes cleats on the other. Once you get used to it locating them is not difficult but racing type pedals are one sided while most MTB types are double sided which means whichever side you hit, you will meet a cleat. I suppose that is what your 'fiend' is talking about

[Biscuit]

In my humble opinion, the cats whiskers in terms of 'style', function and general availibilty has got to be the Shimano (wash my mouth out) MT90 not too 'outdoorsy' and not too 'towny' or 'Lycra racey'. And tho' I wouldnt condone such acts can be very useful in kicking things into touch Kind of only joking

On a more serious note they offer fabbo protection for both the medial and lateral malleoli - the lumpy ankle bone bits either side of the erm ankle. If one is asked to leave one's cycle in an uncontrolled manner.

Gore tex and a Vibram sole - good for Summer and Winter in my opinion.

[dmiller]

I like my specialized tahoe's - they look like a decent pair of trainers. Not very waterproof though.

They dont really offer much ankle protection. Tough as hell though, was in the back of an ambulance a few weeks back (would you believe the driver didnt see me? ) and the paramedics had some grief getting them off. In the end as I wasn't that badly injured (just some blood leaking from knees / elbows / legs, muscle damage and whiplash - not bad for bike v car at around 20 mph) they gave up and undid the laces. They couldnt get the scissors in under the laces and the velcro thing give them trouble. The shoes do look a bit hacked up now though...

Best bet is to try a few pairs on in a shop - they all end up looking the same after a few rides on city streets anyway

David.

[DavidT]

Hi

I would just repeat dmillars point about trying shoes on. I would advise very strongly against buying over the net unless going for a like for like replacement. I wasted loads of time and too many £ on return postage trying to suss out the various (and often misleading) shoe sizing. Eventually bought my Shimano SH-RT30 road touring shoes from a shop that had a good range of alternatives that I could try on and directly compare. Bliss!

All the best.

[PW]

I have 3 pairs at the moment. The Carnac Passys are obsolete, though I think I saw an ad somewhere recently (Spa?) - they were an excellent touring shoe, nice & warm, comfy & walkable, look like a road shoe. Then there's the new Exustar Stelvios, which look "normal" so are good for work use. They take trad boot polish & are reasonably weather resistant, comfortable walkable & have shoelaces(!) The 3rd pair are Northwave Celsius, which are a Goretex lined MTB boot for heavy weather. Everything proof but take a bit of cleaning, I usually turn the garden hose on them every couple of days when I'm cleaning the hack.
All 3 pairs are set up with Time ATAC cleats. Simple, reliable, comfortable, plenty of float & easy in/out.

[Muswell Phil]

thanks people

[Bodie]

I had my first pair of shoes and pedals a few weeks ago and followed my LBS's advice and went for the SPD's as they are double sided. Slight mishap on the first time out with them when I tried to pull my foot up and out at a traffic light instead of twisting but it's not a mistake I have made since. I have found them very easy to locate back when you ride off again and all in all wish I'b bought some years ago.

Shoes are Specialized, not sure which, £60 and very comfy. I needed a size more than my normal shoe size so I'd agree about avoiding the cheap 'net deals for your first pair.

[meekychuppet]

I sue Shimano SPD pedals and I have two sets of shoes, both Diadora. One pair are purely for mountain biking. The other pair I wear all day at university. Nobody yet has noticed that they aren't regular shoes.

[dmiller]

The other pair I wear all day at university. Nobody yet has noticed that they aren't regular shoes.

Not even with the smell?

[Paul Smith SRCC]

There are some that look like cycling shoes:



Some look more like trainers and have a slighter softer sole:



Some have a similar specification to the training shoe style but look even more like a normal shoe:



All the above are are SPD compatible, SPD is the Shimano name for this kind of pedal and stands for 'Shimano Pedaling Dynamics'



Although it is a bit like calling a vacuum cleaner a 'Hoover', many will use the name SPD as a generic description of that style of pedal system, there are many similar manufacturers that naturally do not use that name yet are extremely similar; like Wellgo for example, these are also well worth considering:



For example if you are very worried about entry and exit then most SPD style pedals have an adjustable spring tension, the slacker the tension the easier entry and exit will be, the tighter the tension the more secure the shoe will be in the pedal, especially for out of the saddle effort such as accelerating out of a corner or during a climb to maintain cadence. The spring tension on Wellgo pedals for can start at less than the tension on the Shimano versions, so for beginners the pedals that offer the weakest starting tension are popular, most will tighten the tension as their technique and as such confidence improves.

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

I sue Shimano SPD pedals and I have two sets of shoes, both Diadora. One pair are purely for mountain biking. The other pair I wear all day at university. Nobody yet has noticed that they aren't regular shoes.

[Bodie]

[quote="Paul Smith SRCC"]There are some that look like cycling shoes:



Those are the ones I have, fine to walk to and from the garage (50 yards) in but a bit awkward to walk much further I would have thought.

As has been suggested, go and try a few pairs on and see what feels right.

[Paul Smith SRCC]

I use the Specialized Sport as well, for my longer tours (the older version as can be seen in the Corsica write up below) and agree, would not want to walk miles in them, although I would not want to wear any cycling shoe off the bike for any lengh of time.

I also have a pair that look like trainers for the occasions where I simply don't want to look like a bike rider and perhaps if I am walking around a bit more. I will ofetn wear them on a sight seeing day out ride along the Thames tow path and Wandle Trail for example, which will include quite a bit of wandering around admiring the sights.

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

There are some that look like cycling shoes:



Those are the ones I have, fine to walk to and from the garage (50 yards) in but a bit awkward to walk much further I would have thought.

As has been suggested, go and try a few pairs on and see what feels right.