budget shoes

roundthebend

Hello

During the summer I've been wearing my rather fetching croc style sandals for the short commute to work. They're almost worn out and I doubt they'll give the protection required during winter so I'm considering getting some SPD shoes for the first time.

I know Aldi are getting some in soon but they say "can be converted to SPD" which doesn't sound promising.
I've seen Shimano FN51 and MT21 at CRC which look quite smart.

Combined with M324 SPD/flats I think that gives me a versatile setup.

Any thoughts? Are the Aldi ones a good option?

Ta

bigmat

I imagine they'll be pretty good if they fit you. Properly SPD compatible so don't worry about that.

roundthebend

Cool.
And, are they easy to walk in? Most road shoes look like you'd slide around all over the place or end u ptap dancing. MTB style shoes look a bit more suitable.

EKE_38BPM

I have the M324 pedals and they are very good, but I have since found out that when/if you want to rebuild them, a special tool is required but this costs almost as much as the pedals themselves.
Decathlon do similar pedals (which I haven't tried) but I've heard that they don't need a special tool to rebuild them.

Just a thought.

roundthebend

Oh yeah, those Decathlon pedals look nice:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/combination- ... 99662.html

bigmat

roundthebend wrote:

Cool.
And, are they easy to walk in? Most road shoes look like you'd slide around all over the place or end u ptap dancing. MTB style shoes look a bit more suitable.

They look similar to the Lidl ones, which just feel like stiff soled trainers (but with tap-shoe style clicks!)

roundthebend

I think the Aldi ones will be too big for me. I'm usually a 7 and they only do sizes 8-10!

AyrshireBacon

I usually wear size 9, but needed a 10 in Aldi last year. Worth going along to try them on for the sake of £20.

prawny

I've got a pair of Aldi ones in the garage, they're excellent for the money. I use them as back up if there's anything wrong with my spesh ones. They don't look as good and the heel cup isn't as deep but there's not 50 quids worth of difference.

Phil_D

I've got the Aldi ones. They are my only pair and are fine. I've done some long routes in them and although they aren't waterproof, I have had no complaints. They are fine to walk in, although the cleat does sit half a mm or so proud of the soul so you know they are there.

PBo

If you want to spend a bit more but get a branded shoe, I think this is as good a deal as you can get at the mo - well pleased with mine.

spesh primo

Not waterproof, but then you need to spend a fair amount more for that.

EDIT: you may need to go up a size or 2 over normal shoes.

Also - when ALDI say "can be converted" that means that you can cut a bit of rubber out the bottom to reveal the fitting for the cleats - this is not unusual. I have some decathlon shoes which did that. The primos com already "exposed" though, so no choice to use them as plain trainers for cycling.