Walking in SPD cleats/shoes

mattward1979
mattward1979 Posts: 692
edited January 2010 in Road beginners
hey all,

Just ordered myself a shiny new Raleigh Avanti U6 and planning to go clipless for the first time!!!

these shoes look comfortable and are SPD compatible, but im wondering if anyone knows if they will be ok to walk in for extended durations off the bike.... I go to work and Uni mainly, and spend a LOT of time on my feet so need completely recessed cleats.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Lake_ ... 360041825/

they will be used with Wellgo WPD982 SPD Pedals

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Wellg ... 360006644/

Cheers!

EDIT: Uses these cleats if it helps at all!
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Shima ... 000000886/
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Comments

  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    You can walk a lot better in MTB shoes than with the road shoes - but I'd not wear mine all day long. Cant you change your shoes when you get to Uni and work ?

    None of my workmates wear their cycling kit in work itself.
  • mattward1979
    mattward1979 Posts: 692
    I usually travel with books/uniform etc so its a pain in the backside to have to carry spare shoes/trainers everywhere with me... so was hoping for something that could be used as all round, but with the SPD cleats...
    exercise.png
  • Bikerbaboon
    Bikerbaboon Posts: 1,017
    mattward1979 wrote:
    I usually travel with books/uniform etc so its a pain in the backside to have to carry spare shoes/trainers everywhere with me... so was hoping for something that could be used as all round, but with the SPD cleats...

    No way of getting a locker that you can pop the shoes in or get chummy with a reception department and ask if you can leave your shoes there.
    Nothing in life can not be improved with either monkeys, pirates or ninjas
    456
  • mask of sanity
    mask of sanity Posts: 610
    How far do you have to cycle? Because I cycle to uni on look keo's using skate shoes and it's not to difficult. It is only two miles though.
  • mattward1979
    mattward1979 Posts: 692
    its about 5-6 miles, but I want to be using that distance as sprint training.

    If there really are no alternatives, ill just buy some extra trainers to leave at work and Uni
    exercise.png
  • Lagavulin
    Lagavulin Posts: 1,688
    Idiot here who having punctured 7 miles (give or take) from home thought with it being a lovely sunny day he'd walk rather than struggle - having left home without his trusty Soma tyre levers - with his bare hands. Bad idea. By the time I was at Souter Lighthouse and roughly 2 miles from home I'd shed my shoes having instigated the start of some hellish blisters. :evil:
    I now never leave home without tyre levers anymore, my saddlebags also each comprise a pair of Compeed blister plasters just incase I do run out of tubes and I can't wangle a lift.

    I'd recommend a change of shoes for being on campus. :wink:
    2010 Cannondale CAAD 9
    2008 Wilier Izoard
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    Lagavulin wrote:
    Idiot here who having punctured 7 miles (give or take) from home thought with it being a lovely sunny day he'd walk rather than struggle - having left home without his trusty Soma tyre levers - with his bare hands. Bad idea. By the time I was at Souter Lighthouse and roughly 2 miles from home I'd shed my shoes having instigated the start of some hellish blisters. :evil:
    I now never leave home without tyre levers anymore, my saddlebags also each comprise a pair of Compeed blister plasters just incase I do run out of tubes and I can't wangle a lift.

    I'd recommend a change of shoes for being on campus. :wink:

    One of the best ways I know to get rid of blisters is to get a needle ( heat it or some other way to clean it ) and put some thread in it, push the needle through the top part of the blister, which will be dead skin so will not hurt.

    Thread the cotton in the needle all the way through, then cut the thread so that the needle is now not on the thread and tie a knot in the thread which should go through the blister.

    This will slowly day it out without the skin coming off until it has healed.

    I have used this a few times and it works very well.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I've been told never to prick blisters - can lead to infection ? I swear by Compeed - they've even let me run on blisters when marathon training.
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    cougie wrote:
    I've been told never to prick blisters - can lead to infection ? I swear by Compeed - they've even let me run on blisters when marathon training.

    It is a trick I learned when in the TA from the training corporals, plus that is why I said to clean the needle first.
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    When I used to do alot of hiking I would use the needle & thread treatment too. Works well but sometimes the holes still reseal and you have to reopen them.
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    apreading wrote:
    When I used to do alot of hiking I would use the needle & thread treatment too. Works well but sometimes the holes still reseal and you have to reopen them.

    The way to stop that is to leave the thread in and tie and knot in it.
  • disquieting_museeuws
    disquieting_museeuws Posts: 601
    I use a pair of cheap Lidl SPD shoes (look like normal chunky trainers) for walking around a zoo all day, so it is possible. One of the keys for walking is flexibility in the sole - my Lidl ones are actually a bit stiff in this regard (good for cycling, not walking) and the cleats tend to chatter on the ground a bit because of this. I have some basic Shimano ones which have a lot more give in the sole, so are better for walking, but are not really robust enough for the zoo (plus they look more like cycling shoes than trainers).
  • stubbo
    stubbo Posts: 43
    here you go...

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Vans_ ... 360046167/

    they look a fair bit comfier then the option you came up with.

    Obviously your into the realms of what can i wear to go with my new shoes.....
  • neil²
    neil² Posts: 337
    Those Vans look nice!


    My commuting shoes are Spesh trainers with cleats and can be tolerated for a day, but I do usually keep shoes at the office and change.
    The Riddler
    The GT
  • mattward1979
    mattward1979 Posts: 692
    the vans look pretty similar to the trainers I wear anyway so If the other ones dont fit or clack too much, I can always send them back and go for the Vans.

    Ill look a right pleb in a lycra get-up and skate trainers though =P But no one ever said cyclists would trouble the catwalks!

    thanks for the inputs!
    exercise.png
  • Wulz
    Wulz Posts: 100
    Ive spent quite a few nights in the pub wandering around wearing MTB spd`s and thought it was ok. The more ive done this the more ive come to realise that its actually quite bad ( in my case anyway ) for my calf muscles. after a couple of hours i notice how tight they have become. My shoes have a very stiff sole so that would obviously make matters worse but any shoe which is flexible enough to make them wearable would perhaps be a bit crap as far as spds are concerned.

    just my experience, hopefully you can get your paws on something more forgiving than my spesh shoes. My pedals have a semi-normal flip side so i now wear trainers if im going to be on foot for any length of time and thats better than the spd`s.

    willie
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Most cycling shoes do not have much heel so walking far will pull on the calves and Achiles tendon.
    My Fleet.

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